Three Stencilling Techniques By Amy Dodd
When I first started thinking about what to do with a blog about stencilling I wasn’t quite sure where to begin – but once I started the ideas just wouldn’t stop! I hadn’t realised what a fun, versatile craft it is and I loved using different designs and techniques to create new projects. I can feel the start of a new crafting obsession – time to make room in the craft stash...
Inking
This is one of the most common uses for stencilling and such a fantastic way to enhance cardstock and papers. There are lots of different inks available and it’s fun to experiment and combine colours, see how they blend, and how they look on different colour cardstock. My preferred tool for this is the Spectrum Noir round blending tool, working the ink in small circles onto the stencil. You can get so many different looks this way using just one stencil, or why not combine different stencils on one project!
How to stencil with ink
Step One
Choose the material you want to stencil on and secure your stencil in place using either a repositionable stencil adhesive, or I also often use a low tack tape (top tip – you can use tape and scrap paper to mask off areas of the stencil if you only want a certain area covered).
Step Two
Apply ink to your blending tool and work over the top of the stencil in small circles, making sure you cover all the detail – keep an eye on those little corners.
Step Three
Remove the stencil to reveal the design!
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Gilding
I absolutely love gilding flakes, they’re one of my favourite ways to enhance a project and I often use them to add that finishing touch. Using them with a stencil is such a beautiful technique – one I hadn’t tried before this blog but will definitely be using again!
How to create a gilding design
Step One
Choose the material you want to stencil on – I’ve chosen a plain craft paper sketchbook to customise :) - and secure your stencil in place.
Step Two
Using adhesive for gilding flakes (it does need to be specific to this as it stays tacky in a different way to other adhesives) and dab a thin layer on with a paintbrush, ensuring all the detail is covered.
Step Three
Remove the stencil and allow the glue to dry to a tack – it will be clear at this stage.
Step Four
Apply the gilding flakes to the design, making sure all areas are covered – expect this to be messy but pretty!
Step Five
Brush away the excess – I use a soft paint brush to help with this – and your flakes will be in the design of the stencil!
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Printing
This is such a fun technique, and has so much potential because you can create customised pieces of fabric with it! It uses the basic premise of screen printing (drawing ink through a stencil but without the screen) and so I used readymade inks for this, but you can also create your own with acrylic and screen print medium. The advantage of using this specific type of ink/medium is it slows down the drying time of the paint so you have longer to work with it, creating a cleaner print that doesn’t clog in the details, and you can even heat fix it onto your fabric. I also used a little craft hack here, drawing the ink through the stencil using a plastic cake scraper! Normally used for smoothing buttercream, these are a cheap little tool, flat edged with a little flex to them - perfect for creating an even print through the stencil.
How to print with stencils
Step One
Prepare your fabric by ironing it flat (creases will interrupt a smooth print)
Step Two
Place your fabric ‘right side up’ and secure your stencil to it using tape – I used washi tape but a low to medium masking tape would work too. The tape helps protect the fabric around the stencil from excess ink too.
Step Three
Liberally apply screen printing ink at the top of the stencil – there needs to be enough that it will drag down the length of the design.
Step Four
Take the cake scraper and place the edge at the top of the stencil, above the ink. Hold the scraper at an angle and pull towards you, dragging over the stencil so the ink travels down the design towards you. It helps to maintain an even, firm pressure as you do this.
Step Five
Scrape off any excess ink and the bottom and return to the pot to be used another time – if it looks as though the ink hasn’t gone through the stencil in any places, add a little more ink to the section and drag the cake scraper over the area again to fill in any gaps.
Step Six
Carefully remove the tape from the edges, keeping the stencil in place so the ink does not smudge.
Step Seven
Slowly peel off the stencil to reveal the design, and allow to dry well before working with the fabric or heat fixing.
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