Flock Your Box

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Now that I have your attention, you may be asking, “What is flocking?” Flocking is the process of taking small fibers and creating a felt-like, velvety surface, often used in jewelry boxes, pen cases, or lined boxes.

Wooden jewelry box before and after flocking with red and blue velvet lining and added drawers.
Woodworker applying adhesive to wooden box interior for flocking process
Antique wooden jewelry chest with five drawers and brass handles on cabriole legs

When I refurbished my jewelry armoire, I did NOT like the original red color inside the drawers. Plus it didn’t go with the updated paint and new crystal knobs. So I selected some blue flocking materials from Woodcraft and completely changed the insides of the drawers! It is way easier than you think and the results will impress you! 

This is the jewelry armoire before… it looks a little 80’s because it was! And somehow over the years, two of the drawer pulls had come off and gotten lost.

See how I completely changed the inside of this jewelry armoire...

Open box with red flocked interior, Zinsser SealCoat can, adhesive can, blue flocking fibers, and yellow flock applicator

Here are the supplies I used. As you can see in this pic, the insides of the drawers were red. First I used a small vacuum attachment to clean the surface of all interior sections, making sure to get into the corners too.

Woodworker applying adhesive inside a wooden box with a brush in a workshop setting

Next, I taped off all the edges of the drawers so I wouldn’t get the adhesive where I didn’t want it. After coating the drawers with Zinsser Bulls Eye Seal Coat to prep the surface and letting it dry, I applied Donjer light blue Undercoat Adhesive to all areas I wanted to flock with a foam brush. The adhesive matches the flocking exactly to ensure a flawless look.

Wooden compartment box interior partially flocked with red and blue textured flocking material.

I had to make sure to get into each nook and cranny because the flocking will only stick where there is adhesive. I didn’t want any of the red to show through, so this step was critical. This drawer was the most challenging!

Square wooden box interior coated with blue flocking material inside a taped plastic-lined workspace

I created a “flocking box” to catch any excess fibers (trust me, this stuff is “fluffy light”!). With the Donjer Mini-Flocker, application is easy though. The flocking fibers go into the tube and you “shoot” them into the adhesive with this little puff sprayer. It’s kinda fun actually! 

One thing to remember with flocking – when you think you’ve added enough flocking material, ADD MORE! While the adhesive is wet, you really want to overcoat each area. It’s much easier to gather up excess flocking than it is to try to patch a spot you miss.

Wooden box with blue flocked interior divided into small compartments and a mirror on the lid in a workshop setting.

After letting the adhesive dry, I shook out the excess flocking fibers into my “flocking box.” These fibers can actually be re-used so I gathered up all I could and replaced them in the bag they came in. However, I found that very little of the material came off once the adhesive soaked into it.

Drawer interior lined with blue flocking material inside a black wooden box with metal handles

Here’s the final product! You would never know there was previously red in the drawers of this jewelry armoire. 

I did this process in conjunction with a larger refurbishing of the entire jewelry armoire.

To see the entire makeover, click here.
woman in workshop setting with necklace, posing for woodworking blog header

We hope you'll be inspired!

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