Stains turn designer

Get creative and stencil out blots on T-shirts

It was bound to happen: a perfectly good T-shirt, a plate of Buffalo wings. The fallout - an embarrassing stain - called for a little wardrobe Rx.

With a stencil and some fabric paint, that ratty T-shirt was transformed. But what, one may ask, is so new about stencilling? Two words: freezer paper. Crafters gush about the magic kitchen wrap, which has a plastic coating on one side and is sold in rolls at the grocery store.

Some genius discovered that if you iron the stuff to fabric it creates a tight seal, tight enough to keep fabric paint from bleeding and blurring the edges of a design.

Here is how to use freezer paper in your next stencilling project.

Step One: Gather your materials. You will need a stencil and freezer paper (try looking next to the cling wrap and aluminium foil at the store). At a crafts or art supply store, pick out fabric paint, a sharp craft knife and a sponge brush.

Manicure scissors are great, too, for cutting curves and complicated designs. Make sure your canvas (aka T-shirt, tote bag, jeans) is clean and dry and round up an iron and a cutting board.

Step Two: Print out your design and cut a piece of freezer paper big enough for it. Attach the printout to the matte side of the freezer paper, using a little glue, some tape or staples. (If you glue or tape it, make sure you do it an inch or two from the actual design so that there is no residue on the stencil to gum up your iron.)

Step Three: Cutting the design might take a while. With a cutting board underneath, use the knife to cut out the parts of the design you want to paint.

Take your time. When you are done, set your cut-out freezer paper aside. Take another sheet of freezer paper and iron it using a medium-heat, dry setting onto the backside of the to-be-stencilled part of your canvas.

This adds some stability to your painting surface and prevents paint from leaking through the fabric layers of your T-shirt.

Finally, separate the cut-out paper design from your freezer paper stencil and position your stencil, shiny side down, on the front side of the fabric, making a freezer paper sandwich. Iron the stencil on to it.

Step Four: Lay your canvas on a flat surface. Start dabbing on paint, using your sponge brush, until the holes in the freezer paper are all filled in.

Let dry, then go over it again if you want. Let dry again, then peel off the freezer paper. With a clean cloth or paper towel on top of the painted area, go over the design with your iron to heat-seal the paint. Then pop on that T-shirt and go show off your handiwork.