Hello everyone my name is Debbie Anderson from Phoenix
Arizona and sharing with you my technique for using Derwent Inktense pencils
and blocks with StencilGirl®
Stencils to decorate a t-shirt!
Materials Needed:
- StencilGirl® Stencils for
this project I used 2 Stencils: Doodleit Borders and Normanand Running Horse
- Small Stencil Brush – mine was ¼ inch bristles
- Fabric Medium – I used Martha Stewart brand but any
brand will do find this in your craft store in the fabric painting area
- Freezer Paper – 1 piece cut large enough to cover stenciled
area of t-shirt
- Cardboard or T-shirt board
- T-shirt – Cotton in white
- Small plastic disposable cup for the stencil medium
- Iron and Ironing board or a towel to protect your
counter
- Painters Tape or some low-tack tape
- Inktense pencils and blocks – the colors I used are:
- Pencils - #0900 Iris Blue, #0230 Golden Yellow, #0500 Chili
Red
- Blocks- #1720 Tan, #1700 Mustard, #1800 Baked Earth,
#2000 Bark
Note: I didn’t have any but if you use a spray
temporary adhesive on the stencils it will help keep them in place while
stenciling.
Turn the t-shirt inside out and take a piece of
Freezer Paper (you can buy a roll at any grocery store). Place the waxy side down on the inside front
of the shirt where you will be stenciling and use an iron to fuse the paper to
the shirt. This acts to stabilize the fabric a little so it slips around less
when stenciling.
Turn the shirt right side out and place it on a
cardboard t-shirt board or a piece of scrap cardboard cut from a box. You can
purchase t-shirt boards at craft stores. Look in the fabric painting section. I
taped the sleeves to the back to keep them out of the way.
For my design I started with the border, which is all
done with Doodleit Borders
Measure out a 12-inch square on the front of the
t-shirt and mark the corners with blue painter’s tape from the hardware store.
This will help in placing the border.
I taped around one of the square motifs from the
center border, this will be placed in the 4 corners. I lined the stencil up
with the taped corners and used a little more tape to hold the stencil in
place. With a Number 12 stencil brush (1/4-inch bristle diameter) I poured out
a small amount of fabric medium. Stencil the motif first with just some fabric
medium.
You want the area moist as it makes applying the
pencil color easier. Apply this just like you would paint don’t over-do it.
Then I used Inktense pencils to apply color. Just
scribble in a little color. I used Iris Blue, Golden yellow and Chili Red.
Then go over the colored areas with the stencil brush
again with just a little bit of fabric medium to blend out the color. Blot on
paper towels to remove excess fabric medium. Clean the brush on paper towels
between colors. Hold the stencil down as you work to keep it from shifting.
Fabric will not have as crisp an image as paper will.
Move the stencil to the next corner and repeat until
all four corners are done.
Next tape off the border motif on the right side of
the stencil. I thought this looked like rope. I positioned it on the t-shirt
and stenciled in between the corner motifs. Using the same method, first
stencil with fabric medium then add the color. I used an Inktense block color
is Baked Earth. Don’t worry if it looks scribbly, your final go-over with the
stencil brush will smooth out the color. Use a circular scrubbing motion with
the stencil brush held vertically. Finally go back over to smooth the color
out. Move the stencil as needed to go around the square.
Here is the t-shirt with the finished border.
Make sure the fabric is dry before proceeding with the
center portion.
Center the stencil in the middle and use some painters
tape to hold the stencil in place.
I followed the same steps go over the area to stencil
with just fabric medium, add color with Inktense blocks, smooth out with just a
touch more fabric medium on the brush. I used Baked Earth for the mane and Bark
for the body.
Once you have all the open areas of the stencil
colored, remove the stencil. I filled in the open areas on the horse body with more
Baked Earth. Blend all over the horse with the stencil brush with a little bit
of fabric medium. Don’t work it too much.
Let the horse dry. Once try to touch (it will depend
on your humidity but it takes about 15 minutes here in Arizona). You can leave
the design as is or you can add some background color and a shadow as I did. I
just took a few of the brown Intkense blocks and added some light lines in the
background to indicate ground and a little darker below the horse to indicate
shadow. I blended the lines with a bit of fabric medium on the brush (mostly
dry brush).
I added a dot of white acrylic paint (applied with a
ball stylus) to bring out the eye on the horse.
After everything is dry you can remove the t-shirt
from the board.
The fabric medium will have set the paint into the
shirt but just to be sure the colors are set I place a light cloth over
stenciled area and use my iron to heat set the color in. No steam and use a
cotton setting.
After heat-setting, remove the freezer paper. Any
residue left on the shirt will come off in the wash.
You can wash your t-shirt in the regular wash and dry
in the dryer. The color is set and does not fade even with many washings.
This technique will work on any cotton fabric.
Stenciled kitchen towels would be a lovely gift!
Debbie Anderson
