help, im bleeding, lol

[toodaloos93]

I have a problem with my stencils. the inkl keeps bleeding and making the stencilwork kinda useless. any suggestions?

[Load3r]

What materials are you currently using? How do you apply the ink?

2 things to come to mind immediately is how securely is the stencil on your fabric and how runny your ink is (and what type.)

I use spray adhesive for my stencils and it works really well. just let it dry for about 2-3 minutes and it will only temporarily stick and leaving nothing behind.

I have never tried myself but have read suggestions on adding stuff to reduce bleeding, i.e. cornstarch.

Oh and the width of the stencil might play a roll. The thicker the stencil, the more ink that will pool up and bleed out.

[Idle_Time]

well INK, i don't think, should be used in stencils 0.o its more for spray paint or screen printing. Because ink is to liquid and the cloth absorbs it. try some acrylic paint, spray paint, fabric paints. basically anything that has some density to it. so the cloth wont absorb. also for future reference try laminating your stencils before you cut them with the X-acto knife. it helps the stencils stay longer and you can reuse them more.

[Load3r]

oh and textile medium is designed for this kind of thing

1 part acrylic paint + 1 part textile medium = 2 parts textile ink

[toodaloos93]

i'm using a brush/make-up sponge to apply puff paint. who knew it doesn't puff when you spread it?
won't the spray paint fade?

[toodaloos93]

oh, i also laminate the stencils.

[Load3r]

well sponges are supposed to work well but i havent used any myself.

also be careful of the direction you paint into the stencil. you want to paint away from corners and pointy bits. here is a quick diagram.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a209/Load3r/stencil_diagram.jpg

[sewittogether]

heh. stencils gone bad lol.

[toodaloos93]

thanks for the tips. I'm gonna try spray paint next.

[toodaloos93]

oh yeah, I wanted to give a shout out to a really cool show on youtube-thepinkyshow. check it out!