I’m always looking for new home décor items, especially for what I call “eating” holidays — where the family gather around the table to enjoy some good cooking and quality time! This project is super simple, but can add a really special touch to your Easter (or any holiday) decorations in about 10 minutes!
THE PRODUCTS
Of course All About Blanks is one of my all-time favorites, when quality matters because I want to use this year after year! So that’s where we scored these super thick and durable burlap table runners. I already tested it, of course, and it is the perfect length for my 6-chair dining table!
While burlap isn’t really a difficult fabric to work with (although it can be messy if you try to cut it!), it can be a little rough or lend to a rustic look. Let me tell you, adding Chemica’s Flocked HTV from SewingMachine.com is a great way to soften up the look and get a really unique contrast between the two materials. You probably guess it by now, but UpperFlok is a super cute HTV that is great this time of year, and of course we just HAD to show you what it’s all about.
THE TUTORIAL
So this process is pretty straight forward. The UpperFlok from SewingMachine.com is a great product to add (for the reasons discussed above), and it cuts with the standard Flocked HTV settings in Silhouette Studio. As usual, you do still mirror the design before cutting.
What I want to talk to you about with UpperFlok is that it weeds about like glitter HTV, in that you have to be more delicate with the cut lines and you may have some (very minor) lifting of the edges. This is not anything to worry about, just something to be conscious of when you are weeding.
With that in mind, go ahead and size and cut design you want to add to your burlap table runner. We chose to add an Easter egg to each end, since I have a special centerpiece in mind for the middle already. We used an intricate egg from a dingbat font to show you some of the tips we have when weeding flocked HTV.
First and foremost, don’t be afraid to grab your scissors or craft knife and cut loose from any internal or intricate designs while weeding the outside. Sometimes we get too comfortable when weeding and just rip it off, but we don’t want to do that with this type. Each time the HTV tried to pull into the inside cuts of the egg, I just clipped it loose so I could pay more attention to those parts.
Here is an area of the file we weeded that shows were there was some minor lifting. The dark pink is where the HTV is adhered well, and the lighter pink is where I wasn’t careful and started pulling the HTV from the clear carrier sheet while weeding. Now flocked HTV isn’t something to be afraid of, just paying a little extra attention to detail to make sure your design weeds properly.
When you’re ready to press, it’s also pretty straight forward, like other HTV types that you have worked with. Here are the heat and care instructions from Chemica US, but remember that you can download the entire data sheet from their website, along with other great information.
Naturally, we want the table runner to cool completely before removing the carrier sheet, because the UpperFlok is a cold peel vinyl. So don’t rush it! By the time I finished pressing both ends of the table runner, the first end was cool and I was able to remove the carrier sheet right away.
