A Couple of Craft Addicts: Freezer paper stenciling

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Freezer paper stenciling - Mrs. Squirrel

I absolutely love freezer paper stenciling! It's the easiest way to embellish fabric and the possibilities are endless. Last night I finished a onesie, bib, and headband set for a friend. She requested something with a squirrel to give as a gift. I hadn't seen too many cute squirrels around in blogland so I was a little concerned with the request. I can say I'm pleasantly surprised with the outcome of my little squirrel. If you haven't used freezer paper yet, check out this great tutorial at Mmmboppin' (a great blog I just discovered).

Now I'll share how I made this:

I started by tracing a squirrel silhouette onto freezer paper.

I cut out the images.

I ironed them onto a bib and onesie.

Very important step - place something (I always use a scrap of freezer paper) between your shirt layers so the paint doesn't bleed through.

I picked out some paint from my nicely organized paint shelf (can you hear my genuine enthusiasm about my new shelf??).

Next I painted the squirrel onto the fabric.

They looked like a couple of blobs...

...until I let them dry and peeled off the freezer paper.

Then I traced the squirrel's tail to make a pattern for fabric.

I ironed my fabric onto steam a seam and then traced my tail pattern on the back.

I cut out the tails and ironed them onto the painted squirrels.

Next I stitched around the tails with my sewing machine. You can use a zig zag stitch but I didn't because I wanted the fabric to fray a little as it gets worn and washed for a vintage look.

I ironed light and dark brown felt onto steam a seam and cut out acorns. Then I ironed them onto the onesie and bib.

I stitched around the acorn parts and then used a honeycomb stitch to give the top of the acorn some definition. I think the honeycomb stitch was my favorite part of the entire project! I stitched on some buttons for eyes and they were done!