Nerdy Stenciled TShirts

How to Create Your Own Stencil Shirt

1. First decide on your design. I used a Silhouette Cameo to make my stencil, but you can make this project without a fancy cutting machine too. All you have to do is cut your design into a piece of freezer paper (shiny side down) and you'll have a stencil. If you're using the Silhouette, you can find any high-contrast jpeg image and turn it into a cut file using the trace tool. That's how I made the Chewbacca stencil. For the "I'm blogging this" stencil, I just cut using fonts I had downloaded onto my computer.

2. Once your stencil is made, iron it onto your T-shirt. The good thing about using freezer paper for stencils is that it will stay in place when you iron it (shiny side down!) but it's easy to peel off when you're done. Make sure you iron down all the corners and tiny strips that make up the details of the image.

3. After you iron the stencil, use your fabric paint to apply paint to the negative space in the stencil. Wait about an hour between coats of paint (or follow the directions on your paint bottle), and let dry over night.

4. When the paint is dry, peel back your freezer paper, and your shirt is done!

5. Grab your favorite nerd and make him model it for you.