How to Use Siser StripFlock HTV
I recently discovered Siser StripFlock HTV – it’s fuzzy HTV! This would have so many great uses where you want texture and something soft. Once I got a hold of some StripFlock, I couldn’t wait to try it out. It’s so easy to work with. I love it!
I am a big fan of Siser HTV. It seems to be the most popular among crafters as it is reliable and easy to work with. Siser makes a number of different types of HTV. Perhaps the most popular and most used are Easy Weed and Stretch. These work on a variety of fabrics. However, I’ve been playing around with Siser StripFlock lately. All are worked with the same way – shiny side down on your mat before putting it into your cutting machine and don’t forget to mirror your image. This applies to all 3 of this vinyl.
Siser Easy Weed & Stretch
This is an all-purpose heat transfer vinyl that truly lives up to its name. The excess vinyl just peels right off. I love working with Easy Weed. It comes in a variety of colours and is available at Michaels, as well as a number of online vinyl suppliers.
Stretch is a great HTV for applications that will require stretch. Sometimes the nature of the fabric (ie stretchy fabric) and you want the HTV to match. It is available in pretty much the same, if not all the colours that Easy Weed is available in. Stretch is also very easy to weed. It is a bit thinner than the Easy Weed. It’s easy to get Easy Weed and Stretch mixed up if you don’t label your materials.
On my Cricut Air 2, both the Easy Weed and the Stretch can be cut on the Iron-On setting.
Things I have used Siser Easy Weed on include, but are not limited to:
- clothing, such as t-shirts, baby onesies and pyjamas
- cotton canvas tote bags and pouches
- fabric accessories like dog bandanas and socks
- home accessories like aprons and pillows
- tulle – yes you can apply HTV to a tutu; read about that here.
Siser StripFlock
Flock is a really neat material that is fuzzy and soft. It has a low/short nap but has a nice feel to it. You can substitute flock anytime you want some added texture. Some examples of uses for flock would be pillows and stuffies, even clothing
Working with stripflock is a bit different, however. You’ll notice right away that Flock is thicker than the Easy Weed and Stretch. So for that reason, I used my strong grip mat – the purple one.
On my Cricut Air 2, the setting I use to cut flock is Iron-On+.
You still weed it as you would any HTV. I used a thicker, stronger weeding tool for StripFlock as it is thicker. This made it easier to weed. You’ll notice that the carrier sheet is not sticky and has a lot of the fuzz on it. Don’t worry -that extra fuzz will not end up on your final product.
However, be careful placing your vinyl as the carrier sheet is not sticky and so you want it exactly in place when pressing. With Easy Weed and Stretch, the stickiness of the carrier sheet helps hold it in place. Quite often I will place the HTV on the item while the item is sitting in my heat press so that I don’t have to move it. I also like to use my quilting ruler to help make sure it’s level.
What I typically do is press the item in half so that I have a centre line – that makes it easier for me to line it up. You’ll see the fold line on this pillow that I made.
Siser recommends Flock to be pressed at 320 degrees Fahrenheit or 160 degrees Celsius, which is hotter than Easy Weed and Stretch (which is 305 degrees Fahrenheit or 150 degrees Celsius). You also press for 20 seconds (instead of 15), which is a little bit longer.
Perhaps the biggest difference is the cold peel. With Easy Weed and Stretch, I can pull off that carrier sheet immediately and see my finished work. With Flock, it needs to be cooled off first – hence the cold peel. So resist the urge to see your work right away – put it aside and do something else and then come back to it. Just to be on the safe side, I will do a second press (without the carrier sheet), just to make sure it’s really on there.
The finished results are amazing. I love the feel. I made these pillows with it. The pillow covers already have a velvety feel to them and so that flock just blends in nicely with that. This works especially nice with pillows as you can cuddle them and the entire surface is soft and fuzzy. I feel like all my pillows should be made with StripFlock! Here are a bunch of pillows that I made, using a blank pillow I found at Ikea.
Siser Stripflock is great on stuffies! It blends right in with the texture. It totally matches – both are fuzzy and soft, making it perfect. I only use Siser Stripflock on stuffies – it’s perfect for that.
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Hi, thank you so much for this product review/directive! I found it super helpful!! I did however find that even with my purple mat, the vinyl did not want to stick to my mat and kept rolling up. I tried rolling in the opposite direction and straightening out then resticking to the mat but it still rolled and got caught a couple times while cutting in my machine. Any advice? Thank you again!
Hello! Is it a new-ish mat or a mat you’ve been using a while? I find that as they get used and washed, the stickiness wears away. Sometimes I “help” it by taping it down with green painter’s tape. Hope this helps.
It is a brand new mat but I will try and tape down the corners. Thank you so much!!!
Mine too! My standard green mat wasn’t cutting it, so I ordered the purple ones and same problem! Brand new mat, but the vinyl is rolling up.
If I have a “new-ish” mat, I’m okay, but otherwise, I tend to use green painter’s tape to help it. Hope this helps.