How to stencil fabric – a quick update for pillows and more

When you want a quick and easy update for pillows, kitchen towels, and more, this “How to Stencil Fabric 101” tutorial will be your go-to-guide.

Not so long ago, stenciling was all the rage…and was filled with themes such as ducks wearing bonnets, ivy galore, and cutesy-country-everything.

Bless.

While I realize those things were the hot trend at the time, stencils have come a long way, baby. 😉

And *now*, lots of stencils now come with adhesive backs! This is a huge help in ensuring sharp lines and crisp edges.

I hope you’ll take the time to watch the video I’ve included at the end of this post, but if you’re more of a reader, here are the super-simple steps to upgrade a pillow cover or flour sack kitchen towels. (both projects are done in a flash!) Stenciling is such an easy, fun way to add another element of “you” to your home. And there are stencils for every taste and style.

Supplies You’ll Need

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• Item you want to stencil (I used this pillow cover in white and flour sack dish towels)
• Paint colors
• Have at least one (2-3 would be even better) stencil brush on hand.
• Small jar of water for rinsing brushes
• Paper towels
• Paper plate
• Cardboard for underneath fabric (optional)

In the above photo, I’ve used my kitchen towel to help keep the best dinner rolls ever warm in a serving basket. Hot rolls, slathered with butter and jam, it just doesn’t get any better. 😀

How to Stencil Fabric 101

1. Lay fabric on top of cardboard (if using)
2. Apply small dollop of paint onto paper plate
3. Place stencil where you want it to lay on your fabric
4. Using a dry stencil brush, lightly load paint onto brush and dab-dab-dab any excess on an unused portion of your paper plate (see video tutorial below)
5. In a straight up and down motion, apply paint lightly to your stencil. You can always add more later – better to start with a light hand.
6. Make sure you’ve covered every part of your project completely before removing the stencil.
7. Remove stencil carefully and lay aside.
8. Set your project aside to dry for at least 10 minutes. After 10 minutes has passed, you can check to see if it needs more time or not.

If you’d like to use multiple colors for your project, that’s an easy process and I show you how to do that (plus all the above steps) in the video at the end of the post.

Now that you know how to stencil fabric – and how easy it is, let’s stencil all the things! The ideas are endless!

• tea towels
• pillow covers
• table runners
• table cloths
• placemats
• serving boards
• signs
• napkins
• tote bags
• craft bags as gift bags
• floors (yes, floors!!)
• aprons
• and anything else you can dream up! 😉