Baby Silhouette Canvas with a Tutorial

Peanut isn't exactly a baby any more *sniff, sniff*, but you get the idea. I wanted to capture this moment in time with a fabric silhouette. I got the idea from this blog http://blissfulliving-domesticbliss.blogspot.com/2008/05/fun-little-projects.html.





Hmmm...I'm thinking this might be a great gift idea for Father's Day or simply a personilized gift for a loved one. So, here's a write up of what I did:

Materials: 2 types of fabric, a canvas (bought mine at Walmart), Heat'n'Bond (a double-sided iron-on adhesive, I bought mine at Joann's), tacks

1. I took a side view photo of Peanut (I had him look out the window. He loves the outdoors, so this was an effective method for us :)).

2. I uploaded the photo onto my computer and just traced his profile right off the computer screen. Seriously! I put a piece of paper on the monitor and traced away. It worked great!

3. I cut out his traced profile carefully. I will use this later as a stencil.

4. I ironed my selected fabrics (I used two fabrics - a brown sateen and a green cotton gingham to match Peanut's room). I made sure the brown piece was large enough for the silhouette and the green gingham was a few inches larger than the canvas.

5. I cut out a piece of Heat'n'Bond large enough to fit Peanut's profile. Then, I ironed the piece of Heat'n'Bond onto the back of the brown fabric. Leave the paper backing on the adhesive - you will use this to trace the silhouette.

6. I traced the profile stencil from earlier onto the paper from the Heat'n'Bond. (Note: if you care about which way your silhouette is looking, make sure you trace the profile in the opposite direction)

7. I cut out the profile. You'll want to cut the silhouette out carefully with sharp scissors (preferably sewing scissors) because you'll see mistakes on the fabric if you cut too far.

8. I peeled off the paper backing from the silhouette and laid the silhouette, adhesive side down, on my gingham fabric. I spent a bit of time making sure the silhouette was centered on my fabric.

9. Then, I ironed the silhouette onto gingham fabric. I started ironing in the center and worked my way to the edges to avoid wrinkles in the fabric.

10. I let the silhouette set for a few minutes until it was cool. Then, I centered it on the canvas.

11. I used tape initially when I was stretching my fabric over the canvas. The gingham was tricky to work with because I wanted the checkers to line up correctly.

12. Then, I flipped the canvas over and tacked everything down. I started with a tack in the middle of each side and then I tacked each corner. You might have to fiddle with corners a bit to get them to look nice.



13. And voila! There you have a lovely canvas silhouette!

If you use this tutorial I'd love to hear from you - this is the first tutorial I've written. Please let me know if any of the directions are confusing or if you have any questions. I'd also love to see your silhouettes, so please share!

Enjoy!