Applying Paste with Your Stencil
The goal in using a traditional stencil is to be able to create a repeating
pattern in such a manner so as not to be able to tell where the join occurs.
Normally this entails a little overlapping of the paste, which is designed into
the stencil before carving, This overlap builds in a slight "fudge-factor" to allow for slight adjustments
in position as you work.
-Soak your stencil for thirty to sixty minutes before beginning to paste.
-Remove the stencil from the water and allow the majority of excess water to
drip off. Then blot the stencil between several sheets of newspaper.
-At this point your fabric should already be adhered to a paste board, or pinned to a tabletop as shown in the photos to the right.
-Carefully align the top edge of your stencil with top edge of the cloth.
-With paste and spreader close at hand, glop the paste to one side of the stencil (to left if right
handed), and use spreader to ply the paste to the opposite edge. Repeat as
necessary until an even layer as been pushed through the stencil.
-Reposition the stencil while matching the repeat with a slight overlap. Repeat
as often as needed.
To keep the border up off the pasted area, a common practice is to push straight
pins through the top border every few inches and about 1/4"in from the top
edge. These act as stilts, or crutches, helping to keep the border from coming
in contact with the paste.
-Once you are finished pasting, return the stencil to the water and soak for
about one hour to dissolve away the remaining paste.
-Once all traces of paste have been eliminated, remove the stencil from the bath
allowing as much water as possible to drip off the stencil before placing it
between sheets of newsprint to blot. Transfer the stencil to fresh sheets of
newsprint and weight until dry.
copyright John Marshall, 1992
