Back to School: Easier & Better Stenciling

I'm back. Hurricane Isaac and four long, sweltering days without power are behind me, so I'm itching to get down to some creative business. And in the spirit of a new school year, I've decided to add a new feature here. Back to School will cover subjects I previously considered myself well versed in, but have discovered something fundamental that changes, streamlines, or elevates my old process.

Today's Back to School involves stenciling. I've done my fair share of projects, with some nice successes, but I've also had my gripes with it along the way. First is the edge bleed. It doesn't happen all the time, but I've never been able to complete a project without some edge bleed, no matter how much adhesive I've used, how light I've stippled, etc. And I'm a little bit of a perfectionist, so I end up going back and fixing everything with a liner brush. Effective, but not the most efficient use of my time. Second, I abhor stencil adhesive. I've always assumed it was a necessary component of stenciling, but it's difficult to completely remove and I end up having to line all of my used stencils with waxed paper so they don't stick together. It's not all that cheap, either. But honestly, I just didn't know there was another way.

So when I was learning about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, Lisa Rickert passed on a stenciling technique she'd picked up from Melanie Royals of Royal Design Studio. The first thing I noticed were the brushes she pulled out. They didn't look anything like the brushes I've purchased at Michaels and other craft stores. The bristles were longer and softer, not what I think of as a stenciling brush. The second thing I noticed (after she'd offloaded almost all of the paint onto a paper towel), was the light, swirling motion she used over the stencil instead of the traditional pouncing or stippling motion.

I tried it for myself and was surprised at how much easier it was than the stenciling I'd been doing, how little fatigue I felt in my hand, how quickly I was able to move across the stencil, how little paint was required for good coverage, how clean the final design was, and how not one bit of stencil adhesive had been used. I was so blown away, I went right home and emailed Melanie.

I've been thinking about what I learned ever since and with a set of Melanie's stencil brushes in hand, I tried my hand at stenciling fabric. I experimented with both smooth and nubby fabrics, small and large stencils, and used Chalk Paint for all of it (Lisa had informed me that Chalk Paint could be used on fabric without the addition of textile medium.) The swirling technique worked every time, on every fabric, just like it did on wood.

I have lots of experimenting to do, and as I complete projects, I'll post them. But for now, here's what you need to know:

1. Forget the cheap, hard bristled stencil brushes that you find in craft stores. Invest in good, natural bristle brushes instead. (I highly recommend the set of brushes from Royal Design Studio.)

2. Instead of using stencil adhesive, try either holding the stencil secure with your hand (which is generally enough for a smaller stencil), or tape the edges to the surface you're stenciling (better for larger scale stencils).

3. When you load your brush with paint, turn around and offload the excess paint onto a paper towel - until the brush seems almost dry.

4. Instead of using a pouncing or stippling motion, swirl the brush in a circular motion, working along the edges of the stencil first, gradually moving in to the center of each design area. (See this tutorial for examples.)

And if you try this out, I hope you'll comment and let everyone know how it goes for you. I'm truly excited about what I've learned because I know I'll be able to finish projects in half the amount of time it normally takes me - without having to go back and touch up!

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I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for my experiments, but you can use any paint specified for fabric or a craft paint mixed with a textile medium. (The color used for the bottom swatch is "Henrietta.")

Posted by: Suzonne | 01 October 2012 at 09:50 PM