Freezer Paper — Who Knew!?
I keep reading bits and pieces here and there about cool things you can do with freezer paper so I decided to do some searching on Craftster to see what the heck everyone is talking about.
So first off, freezer paper has been around for a long time but I don’t think it’s used much any more. It’s this nice heavy paper that’s plain on one side and then waxy or plasticy on the other side. If you’re having trouble finding it at your local grocery store, have no fear because lots of places on the internet sell it. Just do a google search for it.
Be sure you use “freezer paper” and not “wax paper” because wax paper is waxy on both sides and you only want it to be waxy on one side.
OK. So from what I can tell here are the two things that a lot of people are using freezer paper for on Craftster:
Painless Stencils
Craftster member t0xicity was kind enough to write up a great tutorial for how stencil with it. I’ve heard lots of people say that this method is much easier than using contact paper.
The basic idea is that you have an image to begin with perhaps printed out from your computer on regular paper. Then you lay it on the freezer paper (waxy side down!) and onto a cutting mat and use and X-Acto to cut out your design (cutting it out of both the paper and the freezer paper). Toss the regular paper as it’s job is now done. Then take the freezer paper and iron it onto your t-shirt or fabric and then paint over it with washable fabric paint which is very easy to find in lots of colors. Then you just peel of the freezer paper and you’re done!
Read the tutorial for lots more details:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=15045.0
Print Right Onto Fabric with your Ink Jet
Lots of people also seem to be using freezer paper to help them print right onto fabric. It’s pretty amazing that you can do this and it looks really good. But I will say that I’d make sure to try this on a printer that’s perhaps on it’s last legs rather than a new expensive printer. Thrift stores often have mountains of old ink jet printers so it may be a good idea to buy a cheap one just to craft with. Oh and don’t use a laser printer for this.
So what you do is cut a piece of freezer paper to 8.5″ x 11″. Then cut a piece of nice quality cotton fabric to the same size. I’ve heard lots of people use 200 count muslin with good results. Iron the freezer paper to the fabric. This adds a stiffness to the fabric which allows you to send it through the printer.
Now your probably thinking “will the ink smear if the fabric gets wet or will it fade in the sun?” and the answer seems to be “yes.” So here are a couple products you can use to make sure this doesn’t happen:
You can buy waterproof ink jet ink cartridges like these:
http://www.ink4art.com/icon/index.asp?method=ps&pss=waterproof&SEARCH.x=0&SEARCH.y=0
http://www.rippedsheets.com/inkjet/sunsafe.html
Or there is this product that you use to treat the fabric beforehand called Bubble Jet Set and then in theory you can use regular inkjet ink:
http://www.cjenkinscompany.com/bjs2000.htm
Here’s a project Limegreenchicken posted where she used this method to print a picture of Madonna onto fabric and then used that fabric to make a purse:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=17607.40
Now go forth and be crafty!
freezer paper is amazing! i kept dismissing it for years, and then i tried it. print on fabric is so cool.
This looks like a great idea. In fact as soon as I get ink for printer I will print this artical and try it. I will then let you know what happens and send pic.
Thanks for this.
You can also print images directly onto the freezer paper in an inkjet printer, which is much faster than printing on a second piece and cutting through! Just cut it down to 8.5×11 size and make sure that when you run the paper through it is the right way up so that the image prints on the non-waxy side of the freezer paper. easy peasy!
Wonderful round-up! I’m reved up!
you can also use spray adhesive on regular paper to get (a) the paper to stick to the cutting mat, and also for when you’re actually stenciling. if you leave it on for too long it will permenantly adheire, but that’s yet to happen for me.
Thanks so much for the great information! I always wondered what freezer paper actually was… I’ve been making stencils out of duct tape and they turn out really gross!
I actually use freezer paper for what it was meant but I could have stared at it all day and not come up w/ any of these ideas.
Many thanks,
Samantha
Freezer paper is great used for applique in quilting. the other ideas sound interesting. I’ll have to try them!
Works great for meat too.
wow this was like so awsome and helpful. I was so wondering too about the whole freezer paper thing and dang, here it is
thanks so much. im so excited, i have so much to do now… 
Great tip i learnt a while ago,
paint wrinkles fabric, so when youre ironing, also iron a large piece of freezer paper on the reverse side of the shirt, cloth etc, keeps it nice and flat throughout your coats
have fun
is there such a thing as water soluble freezer paper
When the image is printed on the non waxy side of the paper can it be used like a iron on transfer ? Please email me back
When applique quilting with felted wool or wool felt freezer paper is wonderful. If you can print your applique pattern to the freezer paper you save yourself the step of transferring your design using a light box and pencil. Iron your pattern to the felt and cut out your design, carefully peel the paper from the felt and presto you have your applique ready to stitch to your project! Patterns available to download or e-patterns give you the opportunity to save your pattern on your computer and to print it directly to freezer paper.
thanks, there is more reason to comment than ever before!
Can I use the freezer paper for stenciling walls, too? if not, does anyone have another “paper” idea?
Is the stencil reusable?
So after reading this article, I couldn’t stand that we didn’t have any freezer paper on hand. I turned to my equally crafty husband and said, “Too bad we don’t have any spray adhesive. Maybe we could spray adhesive paper to fabric and run that through our computer printer.” He said, “Yeah we do! I’ll go try it out.” And being the computer tech person he is, he knew exactly how to do it so it would work. Amazing! Now I can print photos on fabric, make labels for my quilts quick and easy, and all sorts of applications that I haven’t even thought up yet! Thanks for the idea about the freezer paper. I may stick to spray adhesive for a while… Well, at least until I get to the store.
anyone know if you can reuse the freezer paper stencils or are they a one time use and then you cut another one? I have a project that needs about 30 copies of the same image over and over, so wondering if it’s worth trying this way or going with cardboard or plastic stencils….
Any help would be great.
Thanks
Is there a way to make the printing permanent so the ink doesn’t run without using a bought solution? Steam from the iron? Vinegar?
I am trying to get a project done for Shriners ASAP and don’t have time to wait to buy something to set the ink from my printer on these labels and need to make sure that the labels will stand up in the hospital laundry.
Freezer paper stencils aren’t really reusable; the wax in them will “stick” them onto the fabric, but when you peel them off, that’s pretty much it. However, for some multi-color designs I’ve come up with, I’ve taken to tacking a few sheets of freezer paper onto the cutting mat at a go; if these are handled carefully, you can cut once but make several identical copies at once. This way, you can paint multiple island sections that are touching each other by alternating which parts you pull up– as each section is dried, cover it with another copy of that section, iron it on (using some foil to protect the iron from paint), and then peel off the remaining sections so you can have sharp edges of different colors right up against each other. Doing thicker, lighter-color sections first and the thinner, darker borders later help ensure clean edges. Don’t forget to iron on another sheet on the opposite side to both prevent bleed-through and to help stiffen the fabric while you’re working on it!
Anyway, cutting multiple sheets at once will make a few copies at once. Five sheets is my practical limit for copies, but more might be possible with the right kind of clamps, x-actos, and other hardware.
dearest frank…i have reused freezer paper stencils for hand stencilling to print a dozen sets of seven towels. that’s a lot of reusing. don’t know about the inkjet wrinkle on this story. its actually some kind of plastic that coats the shiny side of the freezer paper. i always have parchment paper on hand if i am stencilling with freezer paper, so that I can iron the stencil dry. sandwich the stencil between parchment paper and run an iron over it. the stencil will not stick. i have also ironed multiple sheets of freezer paper together to make a stiffer stencil. btw, if you see old freezer paper at a garage sale or thrift, snap it up. the coating is heavier on the older stuff, and it works great!
I use freezer paper to cover the entire table when I’m oil painting. If I need more pallet space I just use the freezer paper taped to the table. Clean up is a snap!. Great when working with kids. Reusable if not too messy, easy clean up when it is messy. Only drawback is the expense, but that’s better with bigger rolls.
Doing thicker, lighter-color sections first and the thinner, darker borders later help ensure clean edges. Don’t forget to iron on another sheet on the opposite side to both prevent bleed-through and to help stiffen the fabric while you’re working on it!
These ideas are really cool. It was kind of confusing at first when everyone referred to the coated side of the freezer paper as being coated with wax. I think it’s coated with plastic. (At least that’s what it says on my box.) If it was with wax, then there is no reason why wax paper wouldn’t work if you cover one side with another sheet of paper, which I did. No matter how you iron it, wax won’t stick…
I haven’t tried this yet, but another solution to get past the “runny ink jet image” problem is to try and prime, or basically coat the fabric that you are with plastic by ironing a blank piece of freezer paper first. After the fabric is primed, then the image that is printed on another sheet of freezer paper can be ironed on on top of that. I hope that it will effectively seal the image between two coats of plastic. Unfortunately, I don’t have an ink jet printer to experiment with, but I’ll try as soon as I get a hold of one!
I have tried wax paper, normal paper and tracing paper to put images on my candles, but you can see that there is a paper on the candle, will freezer paper work for candles?
Have you tried tissue paper? seems like the wax would bleed into it blending into the candle and only showing the design? never tried it but might work?
[...] about freezer paper stencilling. I need some paper. And some [...]
You could try using a “blender marker” for your candles. Laser prints work better than inkjet prints.
thanks, there is more reason to comment than ever before!