Screen printing with freezer paper stencils, a tutorial by Ooh Leela!

We prepared this tutorial to share with our friends at Sew Doggy Style, in honor of National Craft for your Local Shelter Day.

Freezer paper stenciling is so freaking addictive! You can use it to print shapes, text, and pretty much anything. Speaking of text, we thought it would be a great idea to add an “ADOPT ME” sign to the bandanas we donated to our local shelter.

Here is what you will need:

Freezer paper (found mine at Safeway)

Exacto knife

Pattern/sign (download here) 

Fabric paint (I like Tulip fabric paints)

Paintbrush

Cut one 8.5”x11” piece of freezer paper (so you can run it through your printer). Print sign on the dull side of the freezer paper (ignore the shiny side for now). 

 

Using an exacto knife, cut the image out being careful not to cut anything besides just the image. Any cracks or extra cuts in the paper will allow paint to seep through. Be sure to save the inside of the letters A, D, O and P. You will need them too.

Iron the stencil (shiny side down) onto your fabric.

This is where the magic happens. The shiny side becomes sticky with heat. Make sure you iron around all the edges of your stencil, so as to create a good seal. You don’t want paint seeping through. The trick here is to use low heat and make sure that the iron doesn’t touch the shiny side, or else it will lose its sticky-ness. Believe me, been there, done that.

Using a paintbrush, paint over the stencil. Use painter’s tape (like me), if you need to cover any additional areas. It is better to use a light coat of paint. Too much paint will cause the stencil to unstick and you will not get a crisp image. If you end up using more than one coat of paint, make sure you let it dry in between coats.

Let paint dry or if you are impatient like me, get the big gun out: use your blow drier to speed up the process. Oh yeah!!!

When the pain is dry, peel off the freezer paper (like a band-aid). Make sure you heat set your ink, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. **this step is really important otherwise the ink will fade when you wash the bandana.

Voila! The screen printing part of the process is done. Mind you, you can turn this into just about anything. But we decided to turn it into  a bandana, using one of these tutorials.

Oh, and instead of tying the ends, we decided to add a snap.  

Then if you have a cute little baby (no she is not a dog), ask her to model it for you. Warning: treats may be needed. Lots of it.

Got questions? Leave us a comment!

What sort of interesting projects have you been working on lately?

About The Author : Leela

Leela is a 4.5 y.o. Silky Terrier who truly believes she is a baby. She is the Chief Designer at Ooh Leela!™, a dog boutique that specializes in personalized dog shirts, trendy dog clothing, beds and accessories. She is sassy and sweet, full of personality and attitude. You can follow her on Twitter and you can connect with her on Facebook