Tutorial: three-colour freezer paper stencil

I made this penguin stencil t-shirt for the Bug to wear to a birthday at the Melbourne Aquarium. I used the freezer paper stencil technique. Click on the images to get a closer look. This is my first three-colour print, and here’s how it’s done:


1. Doodle your design.








2. Make three copies on freezer paper, shiny side down. You will use one stencil per colour, so use a craft knife to cut out the area of the design for each separate colour.








3. Iron some freezer paper to the underside of your fabric, shiny side up, so that the paint doesn’t seep through.
4. Iron your first stencil to your fabric. It doesn’t really matter which stencil you use first.
5. Using a stencil brush and fabric paint, paint the first colour. I used white, and also added a touch of yellow at the top. Remove the stencil and allow paint to dry.





6. When the paint is completely dry, you are ready to iron on the next stencil and paint the next section. Repeat steps 4 & 5, then repeat again for the third colour.









7. When the final coat is dry, add small details with a fine brush. I added eyes to my penguins.
8. Set the fabric paint according to manufacturer’s instructions.
9. Put on your shirt and party with the penguins! For a two-colour stencil tutorial see here.