Flocking (flocage)

Flocking, called "flocage" in French, is a textile marking technique where a motif cut from a thin material (flex or floc) is applied to a garment with a heat press. In everyday French, the word covers both true flocking and flex, a different heat-transfer film.

Flocking in practice

In the workshop, French "flocage" actually covers two distinct families. Floc is the original technique: short fibers glued onto the motif, giving a velvety, raised texture. Flex, far more common today, is a cut vinyl film heat-applied to the fabric: it is what most workshops mean when a customer asks for "flocage".

Flex has honest limits: a thin plastic layer sitting on the fabric, which can crack after dozens of washes, and a cost that climbs with every added color, much like screen printing. On a large run of the same design, screen printing or DTF often take over, with a better finish and a price that drops with volume.

Flex still keeps real niches where it remains unbeatable: a different name and number on every jersey of a team, single-piece personalization with no minimum, or a technical fabric that screen printing does not like. Typical case: a team ordering twenty jerseys with a different number on each, exactly where flex is still the right answer.

What to remember

• Flocage covers two techniques: floc (fibers, velvety texture) and flex (heat-applied film), with flex being the more common one today.
• Flex cracks over time and costs more with each added color; screen printing or DTF take over on large runs.
• Its real strength: single-piece personalization and designs that change from one item to the next, like jersey names and numbers.