Freezer Paper Stencil With My Silhouette

Have you tried freezer paper stenciling yet? I love this stuff! Cutting the stencil with my Silhouette makes this project so easy. My little one is under the weather this week, so I stenciled a train on his shirt to cheer him up.

I grabbed my gigantic roll of freezer paper and cut a piece large enough for my design.

When it comes to freezer paper stenciling, simpler is better. Using the Silhouette Studio software I resized a simple train shape to fit on my toddler’s shirt. Then I drew a box around the train. The box isn’t necessary, but I like having a cleaner outline to work with. You don’t have to reverse your design as long as you remember to face the shiny side of the freezer paper down on your cutting  mat.

These are the settings I like to use when cutting freezer paper:

• Speed: 3
• Thickness: 9
• Blade: 2

Once my design was cut I was left with these three pieces. I’ll save the recognizable train piece on the top left in case I want to do reverse stenciling later. Right now I just need the outline of the train and the little window.

Placing the shiny side of the freezer paper stencil down, I positioned it where I wanted it on the shirt. Then I slowly ironed it down. Make sure you don’t use steam when you’re ironing. You just need the dry heat for the freezer paper to adhere.

Then I placed my little window piece where I wanted it and ironed again. Make sure everything is ironed down well.

I slipped a piece of cardboard inside the shirt to make sure the paint couldn’t seep through. Using a foam brush and fabric paint I slowly and gently painted inside my stencil. I find it best to start in one corner and work my way out from there.

Instead of practicing patience and waiting for the paint to air dry, I grabbed my hair dryer. A few minutes later the paint was dry enough to touch. The freezer paper peeled right off. Look at those clean lines!

Since the little window wasn’t attached to the main design it was a little harder to peel off. I’ve got a great trick though. Carefully run a sewing pin along the edge of the stencil. It helps to separate the paint and allowed me to peel the small bit of freezer paper right off.

I left the shirt overnight to make sure it was completely dry. By the next morning it was ready to wear.