Vintage surfing stencilled T-shirt

Surf’s up! Use your Brother ScanNCut to create this weathered, vintage style stencilled T-shirt. 

Can’t get enough of the vintage surfing style? I’ve created another ScanNCut T-shirt vinyl design, which you can download here, and build yourself a whole new summer wardrobe!

Materials needed

• T-shirt 
• Craft vinyl in any colour, approximately 5cm bigger than the size you want to use for the design 
• Transfer tape or vinyl – same size as the vinyl 
• Baking paper - same size as vinyl 
• Cardboard - same size as vinyl 
• Fabric paint 

Equipment needed

• Brother ScanNCut
• Standard tack adhesive mat for ScanNCut
• Weeding hook tool 
• Spatula 
• Scissors 
• Wooden spatula or card tool 
• Sponge 
• Paint palette 
• Iron 
• Ironing board 

Download the cutting file for the stencil here

How to

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

After cutting, carefully remove the vinyl and the backing from the cutting mat using the spatula. With the weeding hook tool weed the design elements out of the design - you don't need the elements themselves for the stencil, just the background.

Make sure the inner parts of letters such as ‘g’ and ‘f’ are kept intact.

Tip: before you start a new project, always run a test cut to check that the settings you selected on your ScanNCut are suitable for the material you plan to cut. Position the test cut pattern in a position not overlapping the design. Once the test cut has finished, remove the cutting mat from the machine and check that the blade has cut only through the vinyl and not the backing sheet, and that the vinyl peels neatly away from the backing material. If you’re happy with the results, load the mat back into the machine, check that your placement of the design on the material is still good and start cutting your project. If the cutting result is not satisfactory, change the settings and repeat the test cut in a different position. When using different types of vinyl together, you should do a test cut on each of the kinds. If the results differ, you might have to cut the elements from each type of vinyl separately. 

Step 4

Remove the paper backing from the transfer sheet and lay it on top of the vinyl with sticky side down. Rub over it with the Brother card tool. You can also use a wooden spatula or a credit card. Once adhered, the backing film of the vinyl can be removed carefully. The coloured vinyl will now be stuck to the transfer sheet.

Step 5

Your stencil is now ready to use! Fix it onto the shirt and smooth out once again with the card tool, a wooden spatula or credit card. Once adhered, carefully remove the transfer sheet.

Step 6

Slide a sheet of thick cardboard inside the shirt and place it behind the vinyl – this will prevent the paint from seeping to the back of the shirt. It will also keep the fabric laying completely flat as you work.

Step 7

Place a little fabric paint onto a palette. We mixed two colours together (blue and black) to create a darker shade, but you can choose to colour your design however you wish. You could stick to using just one colour, or even stamp several colours next to or below each other, to achieve an ombré effect. 

Step 8

Use the sponge to pat a little bit of paint over the exposed parts of the stencil. Continue until all exposed areas are covered with paint. For a vintage, uneven appearance, vary the amount of paint and the pressure you apply across the design. Make sure not to apply any paint outside the design area. 

Tip: using a larger piece of vinyl would avoid mishaps like that. 

Step 9

Let the paint dry a little, then carefully peel away the foil to reveal the stencilled design. If you remove the foil too early, any paint that is still wet might seep out onto the T-shirt and spoil the motif. Remove any tricky leftover vinyl (such as the inside portion of looped letters) with the hook tool.

Step 10

Finally, cure the paint so it will not run when the shirt is washed. This normally involves pressing the motif for around five minutes with a hot iron under a sheet of baking paper, but make sure to check the specific instructions that came with your fabric paint to get the best results.