Freezer Paper Stencil Shirt

Last weekend, my sweet godson Kevin was christened.  I wanted to make him something special, so I decided to stencil some custom t-shirts for him.  I wanted one shirt to simply have a "k," and the other shirt to say "no. 7" since Kevin is the 7th grandchild in my family.

I found the fonts I liked, and printed out the "k" and the "no. 7" to the scale I wanted.  Then I got out the freezer paper.

Freezer paper is great for stenciling, because it irons neatly on to the shirt, and peels off easily.  More on that in a minute.

To do this, first make sure the shiny side of your freezer paper is face-down.  Slide your design under the freezer paper, and trace with a pencil.

Then, using an X-acto knife, cut out your stencil.

Remember, the back of the freezer paper is shiny.  That's the part you're going to iron to your shirt.  Warm up the iron, and put your stencil where you want it on the shirt.

Iron it down for a few seconds.  As it heats up, it becomes like a big sticker and sticks to the shirt.  Use your finger to press the edges down...that will ensure that paint doesn't get under there.  Then, put a thin towel or heavy piece of paper inside the shirt, so the paint doesn't seep through.

Next is the fun part.  Get your fabric paint, and get to work!

I only had to do one coat with this green paint...it saturated really nicely.  I did white paint on a red shirt for the "no. 7" shirt, and I needed 7 coats of the white!

When I was finished painting, I let it dry for a few minutes (not completely), and peeled the freezer paper off.

I didn't get a shot of the finished "no. 7", but here was the halfway point:

Didn't they turn out cute?  I hope Kevin loves them.  Because I love Kevin!  :)