Leading up to Christmas I had my machines out sewing up some new swimsuits for my girls. As I explained in my Super Summer Swim Bottoms post, rash shirts are a must in Queensland. The UV Index is predicted to reach 16 [Extreme] every day this week.

So I busted out my Patterns-for-pennies Super Swim Bottoms pattern, (look out for some updates to that post soon), and made some matching rash shirts and swimming caps too. They turned out really cute, and I will be posting up some more patterns soon, but I wondered if you could add a freezer paper stencil to the front of the rash shirts to liven them up a bit.

I gave it a go, and happily the answer is yes!!

If you have never tried freezer paper stenciling I urge you to give it a go, it is very easy and lots of fun.

I am not going to do a step-by-step tutorial for freezer paper stenciling because there are loads of great tutorials around on the subject. If you need to know the basics check this tutorial out.

I do, however, have a few tips for stenciling on Lycra/Spandex:

• The first possible problem was if the Lycra/Spandex could handle the heat of the iron for attaching the stencil. I found that if you use a low setting and some patience you can adhere the stencil without melting your fabric. I do advise testing your settings on a piece of scrap fabric first.
• You can’t iron Lycra/Spandex at a hot enough temperature to set ‘heat set’ fabric paints, so I recommend using DecoArt So Soft fabric paint which doesn’t need heat setting.
• I avoided putting the paint on too thickly (I actually used a tissue to dab off the excess). Lycra/Spandex stretches a lot, and if the paint is layered on too thickly it is more likely to crack apart when stretched.
• One last tip: do your stenciling before you sew your garment. That way, if it all goes horribly wrong you only need to re-cut 🙂

If you have a go at stenciling your handmade swimwear, be sure to grab some pics and hashtag them #SEW4BUB I would love to see your creations!

As always, thanks for reading.

Liz xx