Handmade Christmas :: Stenciled T-Shirts

I love making stenciled t-shirts. I remember before I tried them I was a bit afraid of them but they are so  so easy & yet so so great! So, can you tell I like making stenciled t-shirts? Anyway, these are a great Christmas gift & as the count down to the big day is well & truly on you'll be able to make a few in no time at all!

What you'll need

:: Freezer paper(you can get it from here)

:: Craft knife

:: Fabric paint

:: Paint brush or sponge

:: Image to transfer onto t-shirt

:: Iron

::

Trace or draw your image onto the paper side of your freezer paper. I used an image from picnik that I enlarged & also added the name of our little buddy that will be receiving this t-shirt.

Carefully cut around your image with your craft knife. Remember, whatever you cut out will be filed with paint.

Put some news paper between the back & front of your t-shirt so that any paint that leaks through won't go through to the back of your t-shirt.

Iron your freezer paper onto your t-shirt, shiny side down(or else it will melt all over your iron & just make a mess of your iron!). 

Now get your fabric paint out & start painting over the exposed areas of your stencil.

You may need to paint a couple of coats of paint on, letting it dry in between coats. You'll definately need a few coats if you are using a light coloured paint on a dark t-shirt like I did!

You can use your hair dryer to speed up the drying processes.

Once the paint is dry, gently peel your freezer paper off.

You may need to use the tip of your craft knife to get the corner off any of the 'floating' pieces of your stencil.

And there you go, you have made a stenciled t-shirt! But don't forget to heat set your fabric paint or else it will just come off in the wash! Follow the instructions on your paint bottle for this. I always use a cloth between my t-shirt & the iron when doing this bit so that you don't get that weird yellowy iron mark on your t-shirt