StencilGirl Guest Designer Mandi Ballard

Hi! My name is Mandi Ballard and I’m a textile artist. Maria invited me to create a garment project to share with you using some awesome StencilGirl stencils. The stencils I chose to work with were Corrugated Lines, Fractured Glass and Rafters.

Fall is finally coming to Texas and I knew I’d really enjoy making a long sleeved top. I chose to make the Bo-Ho Deluxe Woodstock Tunic from an independent pattern company, Hot Patterns 

As a dyer, I have tons of undyed white and natural fabrics on hand and when I reached into my cabinet I came out with some really nice linen. I wanted to used one of the stencils to create a pattern using thickened dyes and a product that I purchased last year called Color Magnet by Jacquard. I needed to thicken the Color Magnet a bit to use it with my stencil, Rafters. Once I was set up with the fabric on the table it took a bit of time with a foam brush to carefully brush on the Color Magnet. This was a very open stencil, and the Color Magnet was a bit goopy, but I was able to get some good images scattered here and there across the fabric.

Once dry, the yardage was put into the dye bath, a light gray. Color Magnet works by attracting more dye to the area where it is applied. The result I got was very interesting...textured. Part of that I think  is because I applied the Color Magnet rather thickly.

The next step was to cut out the garment and get to stenciling! This tunic has a separate facing that is meant to be beaded or stitched before applying to the garment. I thought this would be a great place to use my other stencils. I also created a separate facing for the sleeve hem to match. Using the Fractured Glass stencil and some Setacolor textile paint (blue and black mixed together), I covered the front and back facings as well as the sleeve hem facings.

Once that was dry I used some Lumiere paints (old brass) and the Corrugated lines stencil to create a funky little edging. I love how this effect turned out...it’s very striking!

After all the paint was dry I assembled the garment, and stitched down the facings using a decorative stitch on my machine. A zig zag or even hand stitch would’ve been just as nice.

You might be wondering why it suddenly looks blue. Well, I changed my hair color by the time this was finished and I decided that under bright lights

You might be wondering why it suddenly looks blue. Well, I changed my hair color by the time this was finished and I decided that under bright lights the gray just wasn’t working for me now. So the entire garment was dipped into my indigo vat. I did a little test before hand to see if the stenciled print

(from the Color Magnet) would still show up and it did, as you can see from the two detail shots. The first is the neck facing area and the second is the sleeve facing.

Before I go I thought I'd show you a skirt that I made recently with the July StencilClub stencils from

StencilGirl.

This was a fun project and I really enjoyed using my StencilGirl stencils. I have lots of ideas for future garments, but I’ve also used my stencils on simple t-shirts and casual skirts just to add a little something.

Back to School Chic - How to Stencil and Tie Dye Shoes

I love a great deal on shoes or clothes. What makes a deal even sweeter is when I can remake it into something special! My daughter burns through shoes like nobody's business and I am not digging this idea of paying $60 for some sneakers that'll be shredded to bits in 3 months. I found some crazy yellow knock-off "Chucks" for $7.99 at one of my fave stores for deals, Fallas Paredes. Super shiny happy people yellow was not gonna fly with the teenage girl so I had to come up with some way to alter these so she would actually wear them.

When my daughter saw the StencilGirl Thanks A Lotus stencil, she said, "That's the one!" This DIY fashion project fell into place so easily, I could pinch myself! We mixed up some tie dye and dyed the yellow shoes with teal and purple to make a dreamy, watery effect on the fabric. The teal turned green, as we expected, when it hit the yellow fabric. After letting the shoes sit for 6 hours, we rinsed them in cold water to remove any excess dye and dried them in the sun.

Tip: Remove the laces before dyeing unless you want the laces dyed as well.

After the shoes were dyed, they were ready for stenciling. I made a half bleach, half water mixture in a spray bottle to use with the stencil. I carefully laid the Thanks A Lotus stencil on sections of the shoes, starting with the tongue, and sprayed the bleach mixture to stencil on the lotus pattern onto the fabric.

Tip: Wipe the stencil dry after each application of the bleach. The mixture was very watery and that led to some bleeding under the stencil.

After spraying the shoes, allow them to sit for a few minutes until the bleach has had time to react as much as you like. Rinse the shoes well in water and then allow to dry. Add the laces once they shoes are dry.

Here is a video I made of the process, start to finish:
Supplies:

• StencilGirl Thanks A Lotus Stencil
• Knock-off Chucks Shoes
• TieDye
• Bleach
• Spray Bottle
• Water
• Masking Tape (optional)

You can do this same technique on a pair of old, faded shoes as well. Do you have a pair of crazy colored or old shoes that could use a little stenciling? How about a pair of jeans!? An od purse? I can't wait to see what you dress up with your StencilGirl stencils!

Thanks for stopping by today,

Jennifer

hydrangeahippo.com