Freezer Paper - not just for stencils or the freezer

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Good Morning!

I know that we have all come to love freezer paper because it is so amazing for stencilling fabric, but have you ever used it for other uses? When I was working on my sister's baby shower, I discovered how handy it was for cutting things out of fabric. So here is a simple tutorial on how to use it for cutting out shapes from fabric, such as appliques or in my case, pieces to sew pacifier clips.

What you need:

a computer and printer
freezer paper
fabric
scissors
an iron

Here's how to do it:

1. Decide what you're going to make and get it all set up on your computer. I just needed some basic rectangles, so I drew them out and got them ready for printing. Leave a little space between shapes if you are printing multiples.


2. Cut a piece of freezer paper to 8.5"x11" (the size of regular printer paper) and roll it back on itself to flatten it a little. Put it in your printer, shiny side down (or shiny side so it won't be printed on)



3. Print your design. If you are printing letters or anything that isn't symmetrical, you don't have to reverse the image; print it exactly as you want it. Also, make sure your printer isn't on its fastest setting, this tends to grab the freezer paper too quickly and sometimes ruin it on my printer.



5. Leave some space all around your shapes, but trim away the bulk excess of paper from around them.




6. Iron the pieces onto the right side of your fabric. You don't need to iron like crazy, just enough for the paper to stick.


7. Cut along the lines! I find that the freezer paper not only acts as a pattern that stays in place much better than something that has been pinned, but it also stabilizes the fabric which helps with the cutting.


When you're done cutting you'll have paper on one side, and the wrong side of the fabric on the other like this:


8. Once everything is cut out, start at a corner and gently peel the freezer paper off of your fabric.


And voila, you now have some beautifully cut shapes!



3 wonderful comments:

Tiffany @ Another Pie In The Sky said...

Thank you for sharing this tip! I didn't realize I could use it for that. Being a new sewer/quilter I appreciate the info!

Erica @ Acire Adventures said...

You're very welcome, Tiffany! Sometimes I figure these things out and forget that I should be sharing all of these discoveries with the world. :) Thanks for stopping by!

Eli said...

Great tip! Thanks!