How To Do Spray Stencil Printing

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cal patch, contributor

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This is a quick, easy project for all ages!

Cal Patch

Cal Patch

This is a quick, easy project for all ages!

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You can peek underneath the stencil to see how it's going; I determined that I should spray a little more to get the paint through all of those tiny holes.

Check to see if you have enough coverage.

If your paint color is light (like mine), you may want to let it dry for a bit and do two or three layers of spray to deepen the color.

Let the paint dry between layers of spraying.

4. Remove the stencil. Once you have applied enough paint, you can carefully lift off the stencil and allow the print to dry thoroughly. Check the label of your paint for heat-setting instructions; usually a minute or two of ironing does the trick.

Here's a close-up of the finished print. You want to get paint in every little hole, without over-spraying, which can cause the paint to bleed and obliterate the pattern.

See how easy that was? Let the kids choose or cut out their own stencils, and print on old T's that need a second wind. On dark colors, use a mix of one part water and one part bleach for a discharge printing effect (use caution though: don't let children use bleach and be sure to do it on a non-windy day.) Before you know it, all of your solids will become glorious prints!

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Comments (14)

Rowan_Autumnhold writes: At the 2 to 1 ratio of water to paint, do you find that the paint/water mixture soaks through? I didn't risk it when I tried this project and I slid a piece of cardboard inside the shirt, to protect the fabric the back of the shirt and made sure not to soak the piece. After the paint dried I found a few little blotches of paint on the cardboard and was immediately glad I'd thought ahead.
Posted: 6:06 pm on July 29th

cazmc writes: Unbelievable!
Posted: 9:49 pm on December 8th

Chantal2628 writes: this looks cute and easy. I am thinking christmas snowflakes right now.....
Posted: 10:10 am on December 6th

FlipFlopFancy writes: This is AWESOME!! My 2.5year old will only wear tees right know so this is a great way for me to get different looks for a cheaper price. Thanks for sharing this.
Posted: 5:38 pm on December 1st

debx writes: I love this idea for stencils. The oil stain delema... Short time ago I had this oil stain on my shirt that went through the laundry, so I tried some Engine degreaser that I had nearby and thought why not. I was happy with the results. Spray it, rub it, and wash it.
Posted: 12:55 pm on November 19th

LaserStencils writes: We offer laser cut adhesive stencils that work really well for T-shirts. My daughters room made Homecoming shirts and they all got a sticky back stencil on their shirt.. it made it a bit easier for the kids.

We cut up foam and rubberbanded the corners together to make dobbers.. and taught them LESS is MORE...

They really turned out great!

Love the doily.. that is a great idea...
Posted: 5:02 pm on September 14th

SusanElizabeth writes: how cute! love the idea of spray painting designs. i know what my next project will be!
Posted: 5:08 am on August 19th

thread123 writes: I would also like to know the answer to the cardigan question. I ran into the same problem. I posted but no reply.
Thanks,
Posted: 7:55 am on August 7th

JenniferStern writes: Hey Cal...I love that idea!!! looks great!
Posted: 5:34 pm on August 6th

kandiodesigns writes: What a great idea, my daughters going to love this!
Posted: 11:50 am on August 6th

DebraC writes: Oh, I love this! Simple, with striking results. My head is spinning with ideas. Thanks for sharing :).
Posted: 10:46 pm on August 5th

vicky_north writes: Hi sokkertenngrl,
Cal has posted a reply to your question on the ruffly cardigan post. Hope this helps.
Posted: 3:39 pm on August 5th

resalikescolors writes: I have a shirt that I got some oil stains on, this will be a great fix!
Posted: 12:37 pm on August 5th

sokkertenngrl writes: Hi! I actually have a question about the red ruffly cardigan from a t-shirt. I posted it in the comments box for that, but I believe you haven't seen it since it's so old, thus I'm commenting on the recent tutorial of yours. Plus, I don't think there's anyway I can message you.

Hope you can answer me here!

I tried it with a fitted t-shirt, with a slightly low neckline, but longer. Everything was fine, up until the pinning and gathering. It came out too short, so I sewed the 4th on, and it still was too short. Especially when it was gathered.
My question is, what is the normal length of one piece of ruffle strip? Also another question is, did you do two gathering basting lines or just one? I did one, and I gathered, and I sewed the ruffle, but the ruffle wasn't set, and I could still spread it.
Posted: 12:56 am on August 4th

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