So, as any self-respecting human should know, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 came out this weekend. And you bet your cornish pixies I was at the midnight showing with the thousands of other awesomely nerdy Potter followers. There were hundreds of Harry/Hermione/Dracos, even a Luna Lovegood and Rita Skeeter here and there, as well as nondescript Death Eaters and Hogwarts students. But the most creative costumes I saw included a female dressed as the Fat Lady (with huge picture frame, head wreath and all), and a pair of teenagers in shiny metallic get-ups. Right away I spotted the gold teen was a Snitch, but my housemates and I were baffled by the silver teen with the antlers. Then Gabrielle guessed that she was Harry's Patronus, a stag. AWESOME. I admire these folks and would not usually hesitate in joining them in full costume attire, but I decided to go the more subdued route. I set out to make some shirts that I would be proud to strut around in, not just at a Potter nerd fest, but any day of the week. I think I can confidently say I accomplished this task.
Supplies:
Acrylic paint + fabric medium*
Sponge stencil brushes
X-acto knife
Freezer paper
Stencil or graphic printout
Shirt
*You can purchase fabric paint as an alternative to the above combination, but the color selection is very limited with fabric paint.
Step 1. Trace your text or design onto freezer paper. Be sure to trace on the matte side. Using an x-acto knife, cut out your design. You now have your stencil.
Step 2. Lay your shirt out on a flat surface, preferably an ironing board. Place your stencil, shiny side down, on your shirt. Carefully iron on your stencil, leaving out the strips for letters like "P" and "R." Since freezer paper typically curls, it is best to wait until the main stencil is ironed down and then position and iron on the little strips second so that you end up with cleaner lines.
Step 3. Mix equal parts of acrylic paint and fabric medium. Then stencil away! Make sure you have either a piece of cardboard or an old magazine in between the front and back of your shirt. If you don't, the paint will most likely seep through to the other side.
I wanted a more vintage and old-school-varsity look for my shirts, so I only applied a light layer of paint. But if you want a more saturated look, you can reapply your paint a few times. But let your paint dry at least halfway before reapplying to protect the seal on your freezer paper.
Step 4. Wait patiently for the paint to dry completely before peeling off the stencil. This is the magical step - I always get so excited for the revealing! Sometimes, pieces of paper are stubborn and don't easily come off. Just be patient and slowly pick away at it; it should come off eventually.
Step 5. Admire your handiwork. And wear it proudly. Like Sam. :)
It might be a good idea to try your shirt on and make a couple of pencil marks or use pins to outline where you want your stencil to be. This way you can be sure you don't accidentally put the design too high or too low on the shirt. I may or may not have run into this problem. :)
And here's my two sentence review of DH: Part 1 - HARRY FREAKIN' POTTER was sooooooo good! Except for the completely unnecessary naked make out sesh, everything about that movie was incredibly well done. :)
