Hi, everyone! This is Margot Krekeler, and I’m
delighted to be here writing a guest post for StencilGirl Talk!
I’m a fabric painter – two years ago, I started
blogging about fabric painting, on my website Your Colourful Mind,
and I’ve recently released the first in a series of fabric-painting guide books
for beginners.
In my first project, I used Suzi Dennis’ stencil Garden Dreams to play around with various stenciling methods and enjoy experimenting with them.
I applied the stencil directly to a T-shirt which
I’d already prepared during a shibori-workshop (shibori - a Japanese manual resist-dyeing technique for producing a
pattern).
I liked the final result, and the
T-shirt became one of my favorites. However, it’s no longer ‘my’ T-shirt,
because one of my friends was so excited about it that I gave it to her for her
birthday! J
I continued applying the stencil directly, this time to a tote bag. I used
adhesive spray to cover the stencil’s reverse side so the stencil would lie
flat and evenly on the fabric and so no paint would slip under the stencil’s edges.
I then decided to try something different: coloring in both the stencil’s cut-out areas and
its covering areas.
First, I again used adhesive spray to keep
the stencil firmly stuck to my tote bag’s reverse side.
Next, I used a ballpoint pen to trace the outlines of the cut-out holes.
The tracing worked well, so I now had a
clear design I could use fabric markers to color in.
I started
by coloring in the areas the
stencil would’ve covered if I’d done the stenciling directly.
Next,
I colored in the areas that would’ve been painted if I’d
done the stenciling directly.
The coloring took a while, but I
found it quite relaxing.
My next
idea was to use fabric-spray paints on the stencil.
I alighted on the solution of adding another layer, again using the
stencil but using it combined with some
simple circular shapes I’d cut from an old plastic table mat.
By placing
the self-cut round shapes over the stencil, I was able to both use the
stencil’s pattern and create circular prints.
This was the final result:
Of course, the reverse side of the second
tote bag also required some color.
This
time, wanting to test the stencil’s stamping potential, I used fabric paint to cover
the stencil.
Then i turned the stencil over and
pressed it on to the tote bag.
Next, I brought a darker and more opaque paint into
the game, applying black paint to the stencil and then ‘stamping’ another layer
on to the tote bag.
I choose two fabric markers – the colors were grass
green and turquoise – and started coloring in the design I’d stenciled:
For my next project, I used Mary Beth Shaw’s Dart Board stencil
and three paint applicators: fabric-spray
paints, a paintbrush and paint, and fabric markers.
The first
step was to place the stencil loosely on a white T-shirt and repeatedly spray over it.
I used the ‘stamping’ technique again, spraying the stencil all over
and pressing it face down on to the
T-shirt:
I used adhesive spray to cover the
stencil’s reverse side so the stencil would stick to the fabric.
I then used the paintbrush to apply the paint:
On
the T-shirt’s reverse side, I applied much less
paint to each dart board design, spraying only a thin mist of it over the stencil. I then used a fabric marker to color in sections of the stenciled dart boards.
Now let’s have a look at the final
results, for the T-shirt’s front side …
… and reverse side …
I had a lot of fun working
on these projects!
We can apply stencils in so many ways –
actually, in limitless ways – and we always get some surprises when we lift the
stencil and see the design we’ve created. I can’t wait to keep fabric stenciling!
Enjoy
your own fabric-stenciling!
Margot Krekeler
blogger and non-fiction author
fabric painting - relax
creatively!
pinterest: www.pinterest.com/MargotColour
