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September 19, 2006

Freezer Paper Stencils

I know there's a lot out on the web about freezer paper stencils, but when I was looking for directions (and my anal nature likes really detailed directions) I found bits and pieces, but I still had some unanswered questions about the whole process. Grumperina did some really cute ones last week - just adorable. When I saw her's I decided I "needed" to make some to add to the baby shower gift I was already working on.

I decided to do a little tutorial on the freezer paper stencils because I am absolutley in love with how simple they are and how cute the end product is (plus you don't have to spend a lot of money to get really cute, personalized gifts).

Before you begin, it's probably a good idea to wash whatever you're going to stencil to remove the sizing and help the paint adhere a bit better. I know people have done it without washing and it's worked fine, but I washed the onesies first (no fabric softener). The first thing you need to do is to find some stencils. You can trace them out of books or pictures and there are a lot of free stencils available on the internet. Google images is a great place to look if you have an idea of what you want.

Once you have the stencils you like, you may have to enlarge or reduce them to get the correct size for the garmet you want to stencil. I stenciled onesies that were the 0-3 month size, so I needed pretty tiny stencils (I'm still amazed babies are really that small). After you have your stencils the size you want, trace them on to freezer paper (I know you can buy freezer paper at the grocery store around here, so check your local stores before you order it).

The important part of tracing the stencils on the freezer paper is to trace them onto the right side. One side of freezer paper is paper (almost like a thick parchment) and the other side has a waxy residue. Make sure you have the paper side up when you trace your stencils (waxy side down, obviously). After you've traced the stencils you need to cut them out with small scissors or an exacto knife. If you have simple stencils, scissors will work just fine, but if you have detailed stencils, use an exacto knife - in the end it will be much easier. If you use an exacto knife, using a cutting board (I have a rotary cutting mat) will make the cutting go a lot smoother. You want to cut out the portions of the stencils you want to have color. And don't forget to save the little floating pieces in the center of the design that you don't want to have color so you can add those back later (like eyes). You can only use each freezer paper stencil one time, but aside from the time it takes to cut them out, each stencil is so inexpensive that making new ones isn't too big of a deal.

Now it's time to iron the stencils on. Trust me. This really does work. You want the freezer paper stencil and then another piece of freezer paper roughly the same size as the stencil. Turn your iron on the proper setting for the fabric (I used cotton, so my iron was pretty hot). Put the stencil on the shirt/bag/whatever where you want it and the extra piece of freezer paper on the inside of the garmet opposite the stencil. The extra piece is to prevent your paint from leaking onto the back of your garmet. You should have the stencil wax side down and the blank piece wax side up (so the 2 waxy sides are facing each other). Then iron for awhile. It doesn't really take that long to get the stencils to stick to the fabric - maybe 30 seconds to a minute. Make sure you gently move your iron around so you don't scorch the fabric and test the pieces of the stencil to make sure everything is nice and stuck - do this gently so you don't pull the stuck stencil away from the fabric. On the stencil I used that had floating pieces, I ironed on the outside piece and then added the floating pieces while looking at the original stencil to ensure proper placement. So, you should have your freezer paper stencil stuck to the outside and your blank piece stuck to the inside. Now you're ready to paint.

I had kind of a hard time finding fabric paint that wasn't the puffy variety. I eventually found some screen printing paint at the art supply store. This particular paint is pretty thick, but it worked well with a small stiff paint brush (and you can thin it with a bit of water if you want, but I didn't). I just put a small amount of paint on the brush and brushed it on the fabric. I made sure to go up and down and side to side to really get the paint into the weave of the fabric. Then I spent a little extra time on the edges and the points and curves to make sure everything had a nice coat. Then I added another light coat of paint.

I set that one aside, washed out my brush, and repeated the process on the other onesies.

Once I had them all done I transferred them to the guest bedroom to dry. I waited until the paint felt dry to the touch, which probably took 6 hours or so (leaving them overnight is the simplest thing). Then I pealed the stencils off the front, but I left the blank piece on the inside while I heat set the designs. I turned my iron back on to the appropriate heat setting and used a tea towel over the design to heat set the paint. I probably spent a couple of minutes ironing each one. The directions on the paint weren't very helpful because obviously I don't have a commercial dryer, but I think the iron and the tea towel worked just fine. I let them cool from the heat setting and then pulled the blank piece of freezer paper off.

That's it. Freezer paper stencils and cute, custom-designed onesies. I don't do very many tutorials, so let me know if anything is unclear and I can add some more information.