written by marieann

My boyfriend treated me to orchestra seats (center, fourth row) for the Mary Poppins musical on Broadway for Valentines’ Day. It was fantastic. I cried and laughed and really had a great time. He offered to buy me a shirt but they were so pricey. And not as cool as I could make. So, after some craftster inspiration, I made my own.

Materials
Acrylic paint
Fabric medium
T-shirt to paint on

Tools
Xacto knife
Packaging tape
Printer
Stencil brush (that is, the kind with very short bristles, shaped like a circle; it is made for this very purpose)
Very thin brush

Instructions/Tips for Stenciling:
1. These are the stencil patterns. Print them on regular paper. (Click to view the large size)

2. Put one layer of packaging tape over the entire design. This is so that the paper doesn’t tear and so that you can reuse the stencil without tearing. Some people stencil in different ways but this is my favorite way (that’s why I’m giving it as my tip, hehe).
3. Cut out the design (leaving bridges in the letters, as explained in this post). I find that its easiest to cut out small things by making very tiny straight lines. Don’t try to curve the Xacto blade as it doesn’t turn out very accurate or smooth. But if you just make a small straight cut every chance you have to do so, it’s easier.
4. Tape the stencil to the shirt. I don’t use sticky adhesive spray but that is because I do dry brush stenciling. I put a rolled up piece of tape under the island still attached between her body and outstretched carpet bag holding hand to be sure that piece also stayed flat.
5. Mix one half paint with one half fabric medium. Dip the brush lightly into the paint. THEN, and this is CRITICAL, stamp out the brush on something else until there is barely any paint at all left on the brush.

See my paint holder on the upper right, and on the lower left, my paint dobber? Seriously, dob nearly all the paint off, this is why it is called a dry brushing technique.

6. Stamp onto the shirt. Because you barely have any paint on your brush, you’ll have to dip it back into the paint multiple times. But this is the way that you ensure you don’t spill outside the stencil.

7. Do that everywhere. You’ll probably dip and stamp out at least 10 to 15 times to paint everything. Leave the stencil stuck to the shirt for about five minutes to let the paint set up a little bit more before you remove the stencil.

8. Use your small paint brush to fill in any bridges or to smooth any rough edges.

9. This final tip is from other people and I have decided to start trying it. After the shirt is completely dry, layer a towel on top of the design and iron it. This will ensure that the paint stays attached and vibrant longer. I don’t usually have that problem with shirts unless they’ve been washed dozens of times but it’s definitely worth the extra effort.