Discharging With a Stencil

Start with a good stencil or a drawing/rendition that can be made into a stencil such as this ancient bird.  I printed it out on 8 1/2x11" freezer paper and cut it out with a small pair of very sharp craft scissors as shown below:

I saved the cut out head and body...from which other smaller detail had been cut, to use as a placement guide for the smaller pieces:

And when everything was in place, it was all ironed down:

You need to get your materials together because once you start...everything comes together fast.  I used Soft Scrub with Bleach as my discharge agent.  SHAKE IT WELL...and it will be the right consistency straight out of the bottle.  Use rubber gloves.  You will need something to scrape/squeegee (I used an old plastic store card), a tile or plastic lid for the Soft Scrub, and a large bowl of water that has been treated with a chlorine neutralizer. (This is used to treat water for fish tanks and can be purchased in any store that sells pet supplies...I found mine at the grocery store).  You will need to protect your work surface with a piece of plastic...I cut open a produce bag...and you will need to work close to a sink.  Lastly, have a black Sharpie with a regular point handy.

Now...squeeze an ample amount of the Soft Scrub (SS) onto your tile/lid.  Using your scraper...quickly apply the SS onto your design.   Go for a quick all over coverage right away...you can come back in and re-apply the SS to thin spots.  When done with this step, your project should look like this:

Now quickly turn it over so it faces down on the plastic.  This will keep the SS moist while it works...I also gently pat it all over while the back is facing up to make sure the cloth is making good contact with the SS...see the photo below:

This is the view on the back.  You can see I am patting it. The piece is discharging fast...about 3 minutes or a little less have passed and I have the results I want.  I quickly turn it right side up and with lightning speed, I remove all of the stencil and take the piece to the sink...and quickly rinse out all of the SS in cold running water.  It will take a little rubbing.  When all the visible SS has been rinsed out, neutralize the bleaching action by soaking it in the  treated water.  I left mine in about 20 minutes...just long enough to swill a cup of coffee!!! (Grin)

There, it's done soaking.  I used an old towel to absorb the excess water and gave it a couple quick swipes with a dry iron because I was too impatient to hang it out to dry!

I was really happy with the results...nice crisp lines...and no seepage under the stencil.  BUT...OH...WAIT...what's this:

See that little spot right above the third wing feather...WHOOPS...some SS flew out beyond the stencil!  That happens...remember that black Sharpie I mentioned above...that's the remedy for being over-zealous with the SS!!!

I made two.  The one on the left was Kona cotton, the one on the right cotton from Joann's.  Different brands of black cotton discharge differently.  Be Surprised!