Stencilling T-Shirts

I wanted to put things on my t-shirts but all the instructables that I could find were for stenciling with freezer paper and I can't find freezer paper anywhere. Especially in the one grocery store we have here. You'd think it would have some but of course it doesn't seem to have anything I need. Especially not freezer paper. At least they didn't when I looked. I found an instructable about making your own freezer paper and I was having a hard time figuring out what exactly I was supposed to do. So I did it this way.

I found that this way is very easy, and doesn't really take very long.

Step 1 Get your stuff

So for this you'll need some things I'm sure you'll be able to find around your house very easily.

• Towels or ironing board. I found that towels work better and if you cut out your picture on it it'll be a lot easier to cut.
• An iron. You're definetly going to need one of these.
• A garbage bag. Don't throw it away after you've cut a rectangle out of it because if you want to put something on a different shirt you can just use more of the one you already used instead of cutting up a whole other one.
• Paint. I use acrylic and it holds up very well. You could use other types too, like fabric paint which I'm sure would work best.
• Your design. Have it be just black and white and to save ink use the quick print option because the colors don't have to look nice.
• A pair of scissors. You'll need them to cut the garbage bag.
• An x-acto knife. This will be much much easier if you use one.
• A paintbrush. Sure, you could use your hands but that doesn't exactly work very well... The paint would end up uneven. The foam like brush I use works a lot better than regular paint brushes. Bumpus thinks so too.
• Another towel or cardboard to put inside the shirt so the paint doesn't leak through onto the other side of the shirt. Don't use a good towel for this.
• A shirt. Use a t-shirt that doesn't stretch much and that you have washed.

Comments

[ilpug]

i love the flaming squirrel

[sadiecoons]

So cool!

[shyamiko]

The squirrel is the best :3

[Tommyhzy]

I've gotten acrylic on my white shirts before, and they never seem to come off. (Even after 3 months of washing, it only cracks) So when you stretch the shirt, does it crack? This is a cool idea. Definitely trying!!!

[Sunbanks]

I've had the pink biohazard shirt that I made for over a year and the paint has only faded a bit. :D It's probably one of my favorite t-shirts and I wear it quite a bit. It only cracks if the shirt is super stretchy, but then when you stop stretching the shirt it still looks normal.

[helkeahm]

thanks _{now i have an idea how to print my plain shirts}

[afatflatcat]

nice. The giraffe just looks like it has an adams apple. No biggie.

[☮dontshootstars☮]

the shirt looks really cool :D is there an easier way so that i can show a like beginner?

[Sunbanks]

Thank you :D Well you can always start out with a simpler stencil. Or just to make it so it doesn't take as long you could make a sheet of duct tape and cut out your design on it.

[ShielaAngel]

This is awesome! :D I'm rather fond(I wrote that backwards at first) of the name of the second step, and you made it all seem so simple :P You should totally wear that t-shirt to horse camp! :D

[Sunbanks]

You're rather dnof of the neme of the second step? XD Haha totally.

[TheCheese9921]

Nice shirts and good ible., that flaming squirrel stencil is especially sweet, can you email me a copy (if you still have it) pleaseandthankyou

[Sunbanks]

Thanks! Yeah I can email you it.

[TheCheese9921]

awesome, thanks

[bumpus]

Good job Sunny! You might want to point out its easiest to use a foam brush, other than a regular paint brush, foam brushes usually work better... You need to work on the platypus :P

[musicalbee2003]

Also, be sure to use a dabbing motion, straight up and down. That'll minimize on messing up the stencil and getting paint under it.

[bumpus]

Yes, I forgot to mention that.

[Sunbanks]

Thanks! Ok I'll do that. Haha I need to get some shirts before I start the platypus, I've used all of mine XD

[bumpus]

hahahah, You can never have enough shirts...
Well, I guess Randy did...
http://www.instructables.com/id/T-shirt-Rug/

[Sunbanks]

Haha that's for sure

[saites2001]

These aren't bad at all. Some of them didn't quite turn out right, but overall, it looks like you did a good job with what you had. +1

[Sunbanks]

Thank you :D Parts of the giraffe definetly turned out funky, and so did some of the letters.

[ll.13]

Instead of painting you could use bleach in a spray bottle...
http://www.instructables.com/id/T-shirt-Designs-with-Stencils-and-Bleach/
=) nice work anyhow!

[Sunbanks]

Looks like I'm going to need a lot more shirts then :D Thank you!