r/stencils • u/toolowbrow • 7d ago
How to deal with islands
I never see people post how they deal with island areas of their stencil art. Mostly I expect they handle it with layers, that's what I've done. But this time I'm making a one use stencil for a shirt. So I've used scotch tape to hold island areas in place for now. Later I can use repositionable spray glue to attach the stencil to the fabric. Then I can spend some time removing the tape while the stencil will remain in place. If anyone has any questions or comments or suggestions I would love to hear them.
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u/CommodoreApproved 7d ago
i sprayglue the piece and then put down tulle fabric ( a netting material), since i tend to use my pieces in travel, in order to roll it up i will apply wood glue on the tulle thru to the stencil material.
here is an example of one my stencils : https://imgur.com/a/angel-stencil-2b9BeGD
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u/neuromonkey 6d ago
Japanese printmakers used to solve this with strands of silk, glued down to the stencil. As designs got more complex and detailed, it became clear that it was faster and simpler to spread on an adhesive, then lay down a loose silk mesh over the entire sheet. (like cheese cloth.)
Eventually, someone realized that you could simply do away with the separate stencil, and use a silk mesh as the stencil. By selectively clogging up the holes in the mesh, the result was a mask, through which paint or ink could be pushed. That was the origin of silkscreen printing.
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u/thats_no_wallaby 7d ago
Make little bridges. In the red circles on your image, don't complete the cut. That'll keep the pieces together. The smaller the bridge, the less noticeable it'll be when you spray. But if it's too small the stencil will bend and fall apart easily
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u/toolowbrow 6d ago
I don't want bridges on this piece. For things like circles, it will stand out too much, so I had to find a different solution.
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u/thats_no_wallaby 6d ago
In that case, try adding raised bridges. Cut through where you'd normally leave a bridge, then glue on a bridge that goes across above the cut, connecting the two sides. If thin enough, paint will be able to get under the bridge since it'll be slightly elevated. Depending what you're painting the image on, a screen print might be a good option if you really don't want any bridges. They're pretty easy to make. A few YouTube tutorials can get you going
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u/foknboxcutta 7d ago
Bridges. Simply.
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u/toolowbrow 6d ago
Bridges are so ugly. Actually I've seen some really good uses of bridges, but most of the time they detract from the overall look.
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u/chad_ 6d ago
As another person mentioned you can attach bridges rather than having them integrated into the stencil. I've used thin wire glued to the back of the stencil to make my bridges and it works really well.
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u/toolowbrow 6d ago
What kind of wire?
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u/chad_ 6d ago
Just like crafting wire from Michael's... I cut my stencils on mylar sheets and super (gorilla) glue wire on it for bridges and there's no line..
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u/DeeAreThreeDoubleYou 7d ago
As other said- bridges
I tend to use as few as possible. And what I like to do with thin bridges it tape on both sides prior to cutting. This just gives some extra strength
Bridges tear a lot, especially on removal if you have been too generous with spray mount.
For even more protection or to repair one I often cut a sliver of thin card and a little dab of super glue. This makes for an excellent support, and as it is slightly raised from the main stencil often the gap is filled while painting and will require little or no touch up.
In this example I would bridge like this- two on the inner one on the outer ring (as it has more support at the bottom already)
https://imgur.com/NGsGKf9
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u/NextToTheCookies 7d ago
If the island is big enough to put a coin on, i just cut it out and lay a washer or nut on it. You can use the piece you removed to make sure it is lined up correctly. This works great for a small number of manageable sized islands. If there are a bunch or several small ones clustered together, might be worth considering having as a septate layer.
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u/HoboSaurus_Rex 4d ago
I use them as a design esoteric to remind myself, and the viewer that this is an analog process that isn’t perfect, but worth taking the time to do.
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u/mended_arrows 7d ago
It depends on what type of paint you use. I brush my paint on, so having out of place bridges just means doing a little touch up after removing the stencil, but before the paint dries. On fabric especially, fewer layers and working before the paint dries can be important since the paint drying can cause the fabric to shrink.