Stenciling 101

Lesson 4: Stenciling Situations

Walls II - Framing Doors and Windows

This can be a bit trickier than a single element, depending on the stencil you choose. Some have design elements specifically created to go around corners. If so, begin with the corner elements. Then, should you want to extend the design downward or across the top, use the straight stencil design that is usually included. Since the stencil was designed specifically to frame or partially surround some architectural element in a room – be it a doorframe, window frame or picture frame, the work has been done for you.

But what if you only have a straight border? Or a curly vine with no corner element? Then you will need to select a portion of the design small enough to angle across the corner of the frame and stencil only that portion. Then remove the stencil. Reposition it so that it joins the angled portion, and then begin the side and finally the top stenciling. With this morning glory vine - which is a freeform stencil, I had a double problem - not only a corner but almost no wall because I was at the head of a staircase. So I chose to eliminate the leaves and flowers and use only the vine to turn the corner with.

Vines are meant to be curly and somewhat wayward and so how straight the distance between that and whatever you are framing is up to you. But a stylized border, such as a Greek key or Celtic knot design needs to be an equal distance from what you are framing on all sides. You can ensure this by drawing a light guideline that will be visible through your registration holes.

It may be that the distance between the cut out portion of the stencil and the bottom of the stencil gives you a distance you can live with, in which case simply making sure the bottom edge of the stencil is lined up against the edge of the frame will work. Or you can mark your line with low tack masking tape.

To make sure your vertical lines are both straight and level use a plumb bob (see lesson 1) or chalk line. This will give you a straight vertical line, which you can trace onto the wall with a yardstick to guide you- or, with a chalk box, with the line left by the chalked string.

Should you choose to frame the entire window, you will have some measuring to do. Few stencils will be exactly the right size to go right across the top of your frame. You may have to space elements out to fit (which will leave gaps in the design) or find a place in the design where you can stop short in time to meet the next corner element. Gaps are often easy enough to fill if you are doing something like a vine. Often a large leaf or flower can be stenciled over the gap with no one the wiser. Or leave a large gap and stencil in something entirely different to fill that gap – a bird, for instance, or a small squirrel.

Stylized designs are often made with deliberate breaks or gaps in the design. In that case, you need to figure out how many repeats you can use, and how wide the spaces between them will be in order to keep your design evenly spaced.This border is a Craftsman style very stylized rose and vine that demanded precise spacing. Given the dimensions of this doorway, I chose to leave spaces instead of trying to cram in a corner element.

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