Flocking with a stencil

Flocking has the coolest feel, like velvet. It's possible to flock using a stencil, adhesive sheet, and loose flocking without creating a massive mess. For a fuzzy knit look I used the Sweater Weather stencil from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps with a variety of coloured flocks.

Putting It Together

Flocking is a lot like glitter. It can be an amazing mess is you don't take steps to contain it but has a great look and feel.

First step is adhesive on the panel. The easiest way is an adhesive sheet or a Xyron. You want something that has a permanent hold but it doesn't need to be super strong. Peel back the release paper and be careful not to touch the adhesive with your fingers.

Place the plastic stencil over the adhesive and use the release sheet to press it down firmly.

To contain the mess, use a shallow box lined with Swiffer dry cloths. Mine is recycled packaging from a Spellbinders Contour die, but any shallow box large enough for your project will do. The dry Swiffer cloth will hold glitter and flocking that spills over. I try to always keep any open bottle in the box, too. That way, if you accidentally knock it over, both the box and the Swiffer drey cloth will contain it.

I use coffee filters when pouring glitter or flocking. This both helps to contain the mess and makes it easy to pour it back into the bottle. Coffee filters are non-static by nature so very little will stick to them, and they're dirt cheap and easy to get. With flocking, while pouring it back in the bottle, you might need to stop and tap the bottle a few times to get it all back in, especially with a full bottle.

Dump the first colour over the exposed adhesive. You can use a fluffy dollar store makeup brush to move the flocking around and wipe excess into the coffee filter.

After the exposed adhesive it covered and the excess tapped or brushed away, use your fingers to press the flocking into the adhesive by burnishing it.

Carefully remove the stencil, You can use the release sheet to keep from touching the newly exposed adhesive. A super-thin or very intricate stencil might curl a bit as you pull it off especially if the adhesive is super strong.

Pour the second colour over the exposed adhesive the same way as the first. If, after burnishing, it looks a little sparse, you can either go over it again with the same colour or a third. Though there will be very little adhesive for it to stick to.

After finger burnishing the flocking, to make sure there is no loose flocking left, you can go over the panel with a dry Swiffer cloth.

For this panel, I used two flocks from Glitters Galore and a retired flocking from Stampendous. I used the Sweater Weather stencil from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps for a lovely Autumn knit look and velvety feel.

Using the same stencil, I used two different flocks from Glitters Galore for a festive sweater.

One last panel with the same stencil and two more Glitters Galore flocks for a much more subtle knit sweater.

Of the three, the first one, the browns, is my fav, but the other two are rather nice, too. Now I just need to put them together with other elements to make a card or something. The panels are wonderful to 'pet'. Mmmm so soft.

Loose powder flocking isn't that easy to find anymore, but Glitters Galore has a variety of colours, some with added glitter.

Supplies