Freezer paper, available at the grocery store, came on the scene as a printmaking material a few years ago, and it has not lost its luster for us—not one bit. For projects that require printing, we turn to this paper (and a handy craft knife) as the perfect medium for creating quick, one-time-use stencils. The stuff is cheap; ask for a piece at the butcher counter or find it shelved with the rolls of foil and plastic wrap.
What to know: Freezer paper has two sides: a shiny, plastic-coated side and a dull paper side. Draw on the paper side. We have provided templates to trace if you want to re-create what we made (we hope so!), but we also encourage you to jump in and design your own stencils.
How to do it: Draw or trace a design on the paper side; for extra stability, pin or tape the template onto the freezer paper before tracing it. If you’re making your own design, start with a simple silhouette. If you want a more detailed design, trace and cut shapes from the freezer paper that fit within the interior of the main shape. Cut along the traced or drawn guidelines with a craft knife.
What to know: The plastic side of the freezer paper can be temporarily fused to fabric, using an iron set to the appropriate heat for the project fabric. It’s also a good idea to fuse an extra piece of freezer paper, plastic-coated side up, to the back of the fabric being stenciled. This second piece creates a block to minimize bleed-through and further stabilize the fabric, making paint application easier.
How to do it: Press the freezer paper stencil in position on the fabric, with the plastic-coated side down. If there are interior elements to the design, press those pieces in place. Apply a thin coat of paint over the entire cutout area (including over any interior elements). Let the paint dry, and if needed, apply a second coat. Once the paint is dry, peel the paper away.
1. When pressing the stencil in place, make sure the edges of the stencil are securely fused with the fabric.
2. Handle the fabric with care when moving it from the ironing board to your work surface; don’t rumple it or allow it to pull away from the freezer paper.
3. We prefer foam brushes for stenciling. Stroke your brush in one direction, moving from the paper to the fabric instead of the other way around. This keeps the paint from being pushed under the stencil’s edges and blurring the line. Dabbing and gently brushing work best.
4. Apply a thin layer of paint so it isn’t wicked under the paper. If you want greater opacity, apply a second coat after the first has dried.
Cutting tip: Do yourself a favor: when it’s time to cut out your shapes, use a craft knife with a new, sharp blade.
The perfect traveling companion for a well-groomed dude, this modern, manly pouch will keep his razor, shaving brush, and extra blades close at hand.
Press the linen and then measure, mark, and cut the following:
—linen exterior: 9″ × 12½″
—nylon interior (it doesn’t have a right or wrong side): 7¼″ × 12½″
Pin the interior piece to the wrong side of the exterior piece so the bottom and side edges are aligned. Baste the pieces together.
Press the top edge of the exterior piece 1″ to the wrong side, over the top edge of the interior piece, and pin it in place.
Starting ½″ down from the top edge, sew three or four parallel lines, parallel to the top edge of the outside piece, with a straight stretch stitch. These stitches form a casing for the drawstring and secure the interior piece.
Fold the joined fabrics in half so the short edges meet and the right sides are together. Using a knit or overcast stitch and starting ½″ below the top edge (lower edge of the casing), stitch a ¼″ seam along the open side and the bottom (your stitches will overcast the edge).
Turn the pouch right side out. Cut a piece of freezer paper about 1″ larger than the design on all sides (our letter measures 4¼″ tall). Trace the letter stencil or draw a freehand letter onto the paper side of the freezer paper. Cut along the lines with a craft knife.
what you’ll need
• 
yard of natural linen
• yard of ripstop nylon
• 1 spool of contrasting thread
• Freezer paper
• Letter stencil*
• Craft knife
• Fabric paint
• Foam brush
• 18″ of ½″-wide twill tape or cotton cord (for drawstring)
• Safety pin
*You can buy a letter stencil, make one from a computer printout in a very large font, or draw one freehand.
Slip another sheet of freezer paper, plastic-coated side up, inside the pouch to prevent bleed-through (it will fuse to the pouch interior piece). Press the stencil with an iron set on the synthetic setting. Paint inside the stencil with fabric paint and a foam brush (see chapter intro for tips). When the paint is dry, peel away the freezer paper.
Attach one end of the drawstring to the safety pin and slide it through the casing until it comes out the other end. Knot the ends of the drawstring together.
Ditch the plastic and make a bunch of these ecofriendly bags to bring to market. If you keep the muslin damp, your produce will stay fresh longer, too. We’ve supplied a suitably fruity template for stenciling, but of course you can draw any shape you can dream up. Or, cut an apple, lemon, or orange in half, brush paint on to the surface, then stamp a design on the bag instead of stenciling.
Fold the muslin in half, then measure, mark, and cut the following piece through both fabric layers:
—bag panel (cut 2): 18″ × 12″
On each panel, press one short edge 1¼″ to the wrong side. Zigzag along the raw edge to create the casing.
With the right sides together, straight stitch a ½″ seam along the sides and bottom, starting and finishing the stitching just below the casings. Turn the bag right side out.
Cut two 8″ × 14″ pieces of freezer paper. Trace the pear onto the paper side of one of the sheets. Cut along the lines with a craft knife.
Slip the remaining sheet of freezer paper, plastic-coated side up, inside the pouch to prevent bleed-through. Press the stencil with a hot iron onto the front of produce bag, fusing both sheets of paper to the muslin.
Paint inside the stencil with fabric paint and a foam brush (see page 211 for tips). When the paint is dry, peel away the freezer paper.
what you’ll need
• ½ yard of muslin
• 1 spool of contrasting thread
• Freezer paper
• Pear template (page 307)
• Craft knife
• Green and brown fabric paint
• Foam brush
• 58″ of cotton cord
• Safety pin
Attach the safety pin to one end of the cord and slide it through one panel’s casing, then feed it through the remaining casing. Finally, feed it back through the first panel’s casing. Trim the cord length as desired, and knot the ends to prevent fraying.
Life’s too short to waste time searching for the tv remote or the game controller. Stash it in the small pocket, and stow reading material or a knitting project in the larger pocket of this convenient catchall. The opposite end is anchored under the sofa cushions, so it can securely hold all your couch-time necessities. Don’t you feel more relaxed just thinking about it?
With the wrong side facing up, measure, mark, and cut the following:
—body panel (cut 2): 21″ × 36″
—small pocket: 7″ × 7½″
Align one short edge of the two main panels with the right sides together and stitch a ½″ seam, through both thicknesses of fabric. Press the seam open, and zigzag the raw edges of the seam allowances to finish them.
On both 7½″ sides and one 7″ side, press ¼″ to the wrong side.
On the remaining 7″ side, press ¼″ and then another 1″ to the wrong side. Straight stitch along the inside fold to form a 1″ hemmed edge.
Trace all the outlines of the television template onto the paper side of the freezer paper and cut along the outside edges with a craft knife.
Next, cut out the screen along its outer edges, and cut out the switch and knob.
Center the television stencil on the right side of the small pocket with the shiny side of the freezer paper down and a second piece of freezer paper (shiny side up) under the fabric (this will stop paint from bleeding through).
what you’ll need
• 1 yard of 60″-wide solid canvas (or other fabric that looks good from both sides)
• 1 spool of coordinating or contrasting thread
• Freezer paper
• Craft knife
• Fabric paint
• Foam brush
• Television template (page 307)
Position the screen, switch, and knob within the stencil, referring to the photograph at left for placement, and press them in place.
With the foam brush, dab brown paint over the stencil. Once the brown paint has dried, remove the stencils. Cut out the inside rectangle from the screen border rectangle and fuse the screen border back in place. Dab blue paint within the stencil. Let the paint dry and remove the paper.
Press one short edge of the main panel ½″ and then another 1″ to the wrong side to make a double-fold hem. Topstitch the hem in place 1″ from the folded edge.
Pin the small pocket to the main panel so the hemmed edge of the pocket is 2½″ from the hemmed edge of the panel and 3″ from the right side. Edgestitch the pocket in place, leaving the top, hemmed edge unstitched.
Fold the hemmed edge of the main panel, with the stenciled pocket facing out, up 10″ to create the large pocket. Press the crease and pin the sides together.
Press the long edges (including the pocket edges) ¼″ to the wrong side and then ¾″ again to make a double-fold hem.
Straight stitch ¼″ from each long edge to secure the hem and the pocket. Use a smaller stitch when stitching the pocket, and switch to a longer stitch length (ours was 3) for the remainder of the panel (a reinforced stitch isn’t necessary beyond the pocket).
For extra reinforcement, stitch three parallel rows of straight stretch stitches along the pocket sides at 
″, ¼″, and ½″ in from the edge.
Zigzag along the remaining raw edge to prevent fraying. (No need to make it too beautiful; it will be under the sofa cushions.)
While making this skirt, we had a Sound of Music moment. Remember how Maria was outraged that the von Trapp children didn’t have any play clothes? To rectify this situation, she sewed the kids some outfits from her bedroom’s brocade curtains. We prefer a nice soft jersey, either from yardage or upcycled adult t-shirts, which we then double-stencil for fun. The results are comfy, stretchy, and one of our ″favorite things″—well suited for marching and singing, eating schnitzel, or putting on a marionette show.
Follow the instructions for step 1 of the Two-Panel Skirt (see chapter 3, page 46).
Place a large piece of freezer paper with the paper side up on the right side of the front skirt panel to plan the stencil layout. Using the template, trace the dots onto the paper at the desired locations. Take the paper off the skirt and cut out the dots with the craft knife.
Trace the cutout dots onto another large sheet of freezer paper. Trace the flower template over the dots. They don’t need to be centered; make them a little wonky and playful. Cut out just the flower shapes.
Place a piece of freezer paper plastic-coated side up on your work surface, and then place the skirt front panel on top of it with the right side facing up (the paper should extend beyond the skirt panel edges). Position the dot stencils on the panel and press them in place with a hot iron.
Using the foam brush, dab paint over the stencil. Let the paint dry, then peel off the paper.
Position the flower template sheet on top of the stenciled dots, fuse it in place with a hot iron, and apply paint. Let the paint dry, then peel off the paper.
what you’ll need
• 1 yard of 60″-wide jersey fabric
• 1 spool of coordinating thread
• Fold over elastic
• Freezer paper
• Craft knife
• Fabric paint
• Sponge brush
• Templates (page 308)
Design tip: Don’t add too much flare to this skirt since a lot of fullness might make it hard to see the stenciled designs. The standard 6″ (3″ on each side of the center line) for an A-line skirt should be fine.
Stenciling tip: The freezer paper beneath the skirt panel will function as a stabilizer as well as prevent bleed-through.
Stenciling tip: We often peel away the freezer paper before the paint has dried, because we’re impatient types. It doesn’t really seem to make a difference, but if you’re a cautious soul, by all means, wait and be sure.
When the paint is completely dry, align the panels with the right sides together. Sew ½″ side seams with a straight stretch stitch. Attach fold over elastic along the waistband (see chapter 1, page 19).
Our wrap skirt design is made from a bouncy bamboo jersey and contrasting homemade binding. The crowning touch is a stenciled umbrella. Don’t feel as if you have to save this one for a rainy day, though—it’s a great look no matter what the weather promises.
Follow the instructions through step 2 for the Three-Panel Wrap Skirt (see chapter 3, page 49). Finish the bottom edge and both side edges of the skirt with a knit stitch in contrasting thread.
On the fabric cross grain, cut a strip of jersey fabric that is 2″ wide by the skirt waist measurement (all three panels) to use to make binding. Follow the instructions for making binding (chapter 1, page 19), folding and attaching it to enclose the skirt’s raw top edge. Gently stretch the binding as you sew, but avoid stretching the skirt material. Cut any excess binding flush with the skirt ends.
Following the directions for your sewing machine, sew two vertical buttonholes (sized to accommodate your buttons) on the waistband, one at the seam joining the middle and front panels, and the other at the end of the waistband on the front panel. Slit the buttonholes with a seam ripper or craft knife, being careful not to cut any stitches.
what you’ll need
• 2 yards of bamboo jersey
• Jersey fabric for binding strip
• 1 spool of contrasting thread
• Freezer paper
• Craft knife
• Fabric paint
• Foam brush
• Umbrella template (page 306)
• 2 coordinating buttons
Try the skirt on and mark the proper button placement, then hand-sew the buttons on at the marks.
Trace the template onto the paper side of a sheet of freezer paper. Cut along the lines with a craft knife, including the four interior umbrella shapes. Position the iron template on the skirt front panel as desired, with a second sheet of freezer paper beneath the stencil area to stabilize and protect the back of the skirt from seeping paint. Press with a hot iron, fusing both sheets with the fabric (see page 210 for illustrations).
Using the foam brush, dab paint over the stencil. When the paint is dry, peel away the paper.
Cut and use the raindrop stencil included with the umbrella or paint raindrops freehand as desired.
Design tip: Feel free to add some hand-stitched raindrops for extra rainy day fun.
We both share our homes with a big dog, and we have both found that big dog beds are either incredibly ugly or outrageously pricey. Finally, we came up with this simple solution, which can be color matched to complement any room and personalized with any motif; we chose a bouncy tennis ball for our inexhaustibly enthusiastic canines.
Cut the canvas to measure 38½″ × 54½″. Press one long edge 1¼″ to the wrong side. Zigzag the hem in place.
Stack together three of four squares of freezer paper, larger all around than the tennis ball template. Trace the template, including the U-shaped center marking on the top sheet, then cut along the outline through all the layers. Cut the U-shaped motif out of each tennis ball shape and save them. Repeat until you have the desired number of stencils.
Position the tennis ball stencils as desired on the right side of the fabric. Be sure to include a U-shaped motif inside each stencil. Press them in place with a hot iron. Brush the stencils with paint (see page 211 for tips). When the paint is dry, peel away the freezer paper.
With the hemmed edge along the top, fold the fabric in half with the right sides together and the short edges aligned. Press the crease. With the fabric still folded, center and pin the hook side of the Velcro ″ from the hemmed edge on one side of the cover. Starting and ending with a box stitch, stitch the Velcro in place along the edges. Flip the cover so the opposite half is facing up, and repeat with the loop side of the Velcro.
what you’ll need
• 1¼ yards of 60″-wide canvas*
• 23″ of 1″-wide sew-on Velcro
• 1 spool of coordinating thread
• Freezer paper
• Craft knife
• Tennis ball template (page 308)
• Fabric paint
• Foam brush
• 3″ × 24″ × 32″ piece of high-density foam*
*For a dog bed with finished dimensions of 24″ × 33″
Stitching tip: Sewing Velcro onto large pieces of fabric can make sewing in a straight line trickier than normal. Take extra care and sew slowly.
Starting at the hemmed edge and using a straight stitch, stitch a ½″ seam along the open side and the bottom edge. Be sure to backtack at both ends. Turn the cover right-side out and insert the foam or other cushioning.
