There are multitudes of ways to stencil fabrics. Stenciling is essentially a way to embellish any surface that will accept a stencil medium. Stencils make use of a re-useable template made by cutting a shape or image into a thin medium, such as cardboard, stiff coated paper, plastic, or metal. Stenciled designs can be created by daubing paint, inks or dyes, or various enzymatic pastes, waxes, and washes, even the power of the sun, applied to the stencil template. When the template is removed, the resulting precise image will be visible on the underlying surface. The image may be reproduced over and over until a pleasing iterative effect is obtained. Alternatively, a template can be made using the cut-out shape itself. This kind of template produces a negative image. Interesting leaves found in nature make wonderful negative imprints for stenciling. Pam Stallebrass in Simple Stenciling Dramatic Quilts (2007) shows how to use leaves and other found objects when stenciling.
Silkscreen printing also utilized a negative of the printed image. This stencil technique is used to create a sharp-edged image. Well-known artist Andy Warhol used a silk screening technique for many of his famous art designs.
Mimeograph machines utilized a stencil technique. Once common in the classroom and offices, now an obsolete printing device, the stencil duplicator, or mimeo for short, pre-dates today’s photocopying technologies. It is sill in use in developing countries, as no power is needed.
Tattoo and graffiti artists often use a variation of stenciling techniques as well.
Stenciling Techniques Relating to Fabric:
From The Fiber Techniques Library of The Wearable Art Connection of Southern California, Stenciling on Fabric described by Lucilla Warren.
A Threads Magazine article by Diane Ericson recaps the basics of her article on stenciling on fabric in a Stenciling Workshop.
Stenciling Tips:
From wikiHow - How to Stencil Fabric
Fabric preparation – Pre wash fabric to remove any sizing, do not use fabric softener, and iron the fabric when dry.
Fabric types – Natural fabrics work best; choose those types that are not stain resistant.
Thoughts on copyright - An image found in a variety of media that you may want to use for stenciling requires extra consideration as the image may be subject to copyright law. The U.S. Copyright Office has much information on copyrights relating to images and their use.
The many stencil techniques continue to be used around the world frequently in industrial, commercial, art environments, home and other settings including the military and government. Interestingly, the oldest surviving printed book in the world is a Chinese Buddhist text - the Diamond Sutra - printed in 868 AD, using a wood-block technique, essentially the inverse of stenciling. The wood-block technique used a relief, where the areas to remain as background are cut away leaving the characters or image to show as raised so that their impression would remain on the printed surface.
Happy sewing.
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