How-To: Hunger Games Mockingjay T-Shirt with Freezer Paper Stencil and Bleach Pen

 

I have to admit that I was late to The Hunger Games party. Friends had been reading the books for years, but I've had my head stuck in non-fiction space books for so long, fiction just passed right by me. My 11-year-old daughter started begging to read the trilogy, and I decided that - based on what I'd heard about the violence in the book - I needed to read them with her so I could make sure it was appropriate for her.

I read the first book in less than 24 hours.

That week, aside from the normal work and family tasks, I luxuriated in devouring the whole trilogy. Reading a good book is absolutely blissful, and I loved how this story sucked me right in and wouldn't let go until I turned the very last page of Mockingjay.

My daughter also devoured The Hunger Games (though she's going through Catching Fire more slowly) and we have had so much fun discussing the books. We fight over the whole Team Peeta/Team Gale thing, talk about how Katniss' awesomeness knows now bounds, and discuss if she thinks something like this could ever happen in real life. It's been a wonderful way to connect with each other, and if you are a parent to a pre-teen ... you know how much it means to find something to connect with.

We have our tickets to see the movie tonight, and have a whole date night planned. She mentioned wanting a shirt, but of course I thought, "Why buy when I can DIY?" I posted a Hunger Games craft roundup on CRAFT last week, and one of the projects included a template for the Mockingjay pin. I decided a simple bleach pen/freezer paper stencil on black t-shirts would be easy and would give us that gritty Hunger Games feel.

We may look like total nerds wearing mother/daughter Hunger Games t-shirts, but if she's game for it, I will not pass up the opportunity. Who knows when she'll be willing to do this ever again!

Bleach pen/freezer paper stencils are insanely easy, quick and inexpensive. Here's all you need to make your own Mockingjay t-shirt to wear to the movie this weekend. Once you have the supplies on hand, you can easily be done with your shirt in 30-40 minutes.

Materials:

• Black T-shirt 
• Bleach Pen 
• Small Sponge Brush 
• Freezer Paper 
• Mockingjay Template (available here from Forever Young Adult)
• X-acto knife 
• Iron
• Scrap piece of cardboard 
• Pencil 
• Tape
• Small container or dish you don't care about 
• self-healing cutting mat 

Step One: Print the Mockingjay template available at Forever Young Adult (if you are interested in screen printing instead of freezer paper stenciling, they have a great tutorial!) Tape the printout on to a sunny window (or a lightbox, if you're lucky enough to have one!) Then tape a large piece of freezer paper, shiny side down, on top of the printout.*

Step Two: Use a pencil to trace the Mockingjay design on to the rough side of the freezer paper. 

Step Three: Remove the freezer paper from the window and place it on a self-healing cutting mat (a piece of cardboard will work in a pinch. You just want to protect the surface on which you are cutting) Carefully cut out all the inside pieces of the Mockingjay design that you will want to keep black in your design. Then cut out on the outside line of the circle/arrow. Be sure to keep the outer large piece of the freezer paper in tact. SAVE all the small inside pieces. You'll need them for the stenciling. 

Step Four: Iron the large outer pice of freezer paper on to your shirt where you want the design to go. Use a hot, dry iron and press well. the paper gets a little wobbly-looking. That's ok. 

Step Five: Place the Mockingjay portion of the cutout carefully in place inside the circle and press down. 

Step Six: Take all the small inside pieces and iron them in to place. Things can get a bit fiddly at this point, but keep in mind: it doesn't have to be perfect. 

Step Seven: Once all the pieces of the freezer paper are down, it's time to remove the pieces you want to bleach (thank you to my pal, Kathie, for this easy tip on getting the reverse of the design to work!) Carefully peel back the pieces of the Mockingjay pin portion of the design, leaving you with the large outer piece and all the small inside pieces. 

Step Eight: Slide a piece of scrap cardboard inside your shirt to prevent the bleach from bleeding through to the back. 

Step Nine: You can either use the bleach pen directly on your shirt, or with a sponge brush. I prefer the latter method. Squeeze some of the bleach gel out in to an old container. (I keep a stash of yogurt and applesauce containers around for this very use) 

Step Ten: Use a small foam sponge brush to paint the gel on to the t-shirt inside your design. 

Step Eleven: Make sure the design is fully coated and let it sit for a few minutes. You'll see it start to change colors. I'd say anywhere from 5-8 minutes is good enough to bleach it out, but not so long that it will severely damage the fabric. Be sure to keep an eye on it and judge based on your own shirt. 

Step Twelve: Very carefully peel back the pieces of the freezer paper, starting with the small inside pieces. Be sure to not allow the shirt to pull up and fold back on itself, causing the bleach gel to transfer to other parts of the shirt. 

this is in my big studio sink that has a corrugated liner :) 

Step Thirteen: Immediately rinse the t-shirt in the sink to stop the bleaching process. Squeeze it out and then wash it in the washing machine and you're ready to wear it to see the movie! 

This is such a quick, easy and accessible project, and the method can be applied to any design. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!