How-to: Stencil and Cut Vinyl

Reupholstering some worn out bar stools has been on my mental decor projects list for longer than I’d like to admit. I think part of why I put this project off so long was a complete lack of experience working with furniture, the cost of vinyl, and wanting to incorporate a stenciled element in my reupholstery project.

So I said screw it. Let’s just try this. I whipped out the ole credit card (and some coupons) at JoAnn’s and decided to go for it. Today, I wanted to share how I stenciled some nautical silhouettes on to a piece of vinyl.

Supplies

vinyl (check out the remnant rack at your local fabric store before paying full price)

freezer paper

very sharp fabric scissors

printed silhouettes of your choosing

iron

pencil

straight pins

x-acto knife

scrap cardboard

Directions

Trace your silhouettes on to the unwaxed side of a piece of freezer paper. Iron the waxed side of your freezer paper to the wrong side of your vinyl.

I found that the freezer paper didn’t want to adhere to the vinyl too well. Stenciling other fabrics, felt in particular, with freezer paper has worked much better for me than the vinyl did. That being said, I didn’t want to let my tracing efforts go to waste. Adding straight pins before cutting my vinyl helped secure the freezer paper for the next step.

Using your x-acto knife, cut along the lines you traced and in to the vinyl itself. Make sure to lay a piece of cardboard on your work surface to protect it from damage.

Peel the freezer paper from your vinyl, and you should be able to see your silhouettes on it. Cut along those silhouette lines with a sharp, sharp, sharp scissors. A great timesaver I discovered involved carefully examining my vinyl before cutting:

Looking at the vinyl, you should be able to see where you’ve cut all the way through it and where you haven’t. Use your x-acto knife or scissors to carefully trim little pieces like those shown above, rather than maneuvering a scissors inside those little nooks and crannies. For lines that are not cut that far through, follow the silhouette lines using a fabric scissors.

Hours later, you’re all done. Check back or subscribe to the feed because next week, I’ll be showing you how I reupholstered some thrift store bar stools and appliqued these silhouettes to the back of them!