How to Make Mylar Wall Stencils
If you’re getting slightly bored of looking at the walls in your house after months of working from home, why not jazz them up a bit? Making your own mylar wall stencils is much cheaper than forking out for expensive wallpaper, plus it’s actually much easier than you might think.
Why mylar?
Mylar is a type of stretched polyester film that is commonly used in industrial applications and is also a great material for making stencils out of. It’s transparent, which makes it easier to use for stencils because you can lay it directly on top of the pattern you’re using, and easily cut out the shapes that you need. It’s also an incredibly strong material, which means that once you’ve cut out your shapes you are unlikely to accidentally rip it and ruin your design. This also means that your design will keep its shape as you move the stencil around, unlike with other materials that can stretch and warp.
Plus mylar sheets are flexible, which means you can use your stencils on curved surfaces, and they are easily cleaned, so your paint won’t get stuck to them.
What you need
To make your own stencils you will need:
- Mylar sheets or rolls to make your stencil out of.
- A stencil design that you love. You can find patterns in photoshop, on Pinterest, in books or on design blogs. These stencil wall art ideas may give you some inspiration!
- An Exacto knife. If you don’t own one, it’s worth investing in one because the blade is sharp enough and precise enough for intricate crafting.
- A cutting mat – you don’t want to ruin your surfaces.
- Ruler.
- Tape.
- Marker pen.
What to do
To make your own stencil the first thing you will need to do is find a pattern that you love. If you’re arty you could have a go at drawing a pattern yourself, and if not you can print one out. Just make sure that it’s the right size and that it’s a pattern that has gaps in it to allow for the stencil edges.
Next lie your design on top of your cutting sheet and lay your mylar sheet over the top. Use tape to keep everything in place.
Use your marker pen and a ruler to trace your stencil design directly onto the mylar sheet. Feel free to play around with the repetition of the pattern to create something that you really love! Mylar is wipe clean so if you make a mistake then you can just clean off the marker pen and start again, making it a relatively low-stress project.
Once you have your design sketched onto the mylar and you’re happy with it, you can use your Exacto knife to begin cutting it out. Use your ruler again to help you with straight lines, and be aware that this part of the project can be a little time-consuming. Once you have cut along your pattern shapes they should ‘pop’ right out of the Mylar, and you will be left with a stencil that you can use to start painting your walls!
