You might remember a little while ago I posted this Henry Rollins Stencil featuring our beloved Hello Henry Rollins graphic by our good friend Leposova. One industrious Hello Henry reader, Kat, downloaded the stencil and used it to create a a kick ass Rollins t-shirt. Kat’s been kind enough to write this tutorial on how she did it. Thanks Kat! { Download the stencil here }.

How to Screenprint a T-Shirt with Freezer Paper
By Kat McCarthy

Step 1. Find a stencil. I printed this one off from HelloHenry.com! If this is your first time stenciling, you might want to stay away from the more complex stencils with a lot of words.

Step 2. Cut a piece of freezer paper big enough to cover the whole stencil design.

Step 3. Tape the stencil to the freezer paper STENCIL-SIDE DOWN, so the image is touching the WAXY side of the paper. It’s very important that you get this right, because if not, it could ruin the whole project.

Step 4. Flip the paper over, so you can see the image through the freezer paper. To keep it steady and secure, I used a clipboard with a small stack of scrap paper underneath to prevent any damage while cutting out the stencil.

Step 5. Using your exacto knife, (or mini box cutter), start carefully cutting out all the positive space- that is, all the areas you want filled in with ink later. Be sure to take your time so you don’t accidentally cut out too much, or the wrong parts, or your hand. Ouch.

Step 6. If you’re dealing with letters, be sure to make those little tabby-type things connecting the middles of certain letters, such as A’s O’s, R’s, B’s, etc. You can see I did that here with the R’s.

Step 7. Your finished stencil, when placed face up, should have the non-waxy side facing you.

Step 8. Take the shirt (or whatever you’re screenprinting on), and line up your stencil. Then iron the stencil onto the shirt. The wax will melt, and make sure the stencil stays in place. Take your time here – it usually takes about 4 to 5 minutes of ironing to make sure you’ve got the whole thing down and secure.

Step 9. Place some newspaper or a piece of cardboard in the shirt to keep the ink from seeping through. Take a paintbrush and your screenprinting ink and start stenciling! I recommend loading up the brush and kind of gently patting it onto the stencil. Do NOT wipe hard, or ink will creep under the edges of your stencil. Be thorough and again, take your time.

Step 10. When you’re done with the ink, the stencil will be a mess. This is normal.

Step 11. Carefully, CAREFULLY, peel up the freezer paper. Be sure to keep the shirt secure so it doesn’t accidentally rumple and get ink all over while you’re pulling the stencil off. I actually had my boyfriend hold the shirt down while I peeled the stencil off. You can now see your finished design!

Step 12. Wait about 12 hours for the ink to fully dry. In the meantime, go out, see a movie, make dinner, watch TV, check your facebook, etc etc etc. Then, try on your new design and take a myspace-esque photo of you in it! Good job!