All About Painting Using Stencils

1. Understand the paint:
Textile Paints can be applied with brushes, sponges, stamps and squirt bottles.
Luminere are metallic paints that brush on like butter. The paint remains flexible. They are opaque, even on dark fabrics.
Paint Sticks are oil paint in a crayon like form, very suitable for stenciling on fabric.
Dye-Na-Flow & Seta color are free flowing textile paints, not suitable for stenciling

2. Easy Clean up: Tape plastic to your table.

3. Discourage leaks: Use some hairspray on the underneath side of your stencil to make it stick on the surface, and to help prevent the paint seeping in at the edge.

4. Securing basics: keep a stencil in place by taping it at the top and bottom with a piece of tape and iron the fabric to freezer paper.

5. Less is more: Load the brush lightly, so that the ends of the bristles are covered evenly; wipe off any excess on a piece of paper or cloth. You'll get better results by applying two thin coats rather than one thick one. Wait for the first to dry before applying the second.

6. Work from the outside: Start painting on the edges of the stencil, working into the center. This helps prevent paint getting under the edges.

7. Appling the paint: Stencil brushes are round with short, stiff bristles. Use quick up-and-down movement to dab paint onto your fabric. This helps prevent paint getting under the edges.

8. Go multi-colored: To use more than one color in a stencil, use tape to mask off areas of the stencil you don't want in a particular color.

9. Wash regularly: If you're doing a repeat design, wash your stencil regularly in warm water to keep the edges free of paint. If there's some paint on an edge, you won't get a crisp edge to your painted stencil.

10. Store stencils flat: A stencil needs to be flat to be usable. Store it in a large flat box.