Skip to main content

Using a silk screen stencil for the first time and having a difficult time. I used the thickness I used for ordinary acetate stencils but the image is grainy, shows lines and is just not very well-defined. Then I trying watering the icing down and just pouring it on but nothing turns out very well. Rather than waste cookies I have been trying it out on parchment paper. Is that why?!

Attachments

Images (1)
  • Silk stencil: Cannot get correct effect
Last edited by Julia M. Usher
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

@Sylvianne posted:

What I have seen on YouTube was for airbrushing. But thanks anyway. I think I may have to just let it go and only ever buy tthe usual Mylar or acetate sheet types of stencils. Problem is this had specific logo within a circle which had made especially.

Are you doing the holiday cookie a thon?  There is a presentation on silk screen.  Maybe you can ask your question there.

@Sylvianne, My experience with silkscreen stencils has been hit or miss. I find some work really well (Evil Cake Genius' are some of the better ones) and others work not at all - not even with airbrush coloring. A lot has to do with mesh size and how the screens are fabricated. If the mesh is too fine, it just doesn't allow enough icing, no matter the consistency, to pass through. Even the Evil Cake Genius ones block some of the airbrush coloring, so you'll get a softer, fainter look with them. I've also discovered that some mesh stencils aren't reinforced on the back side (or not enough), so sometimes icing can seep through areas of the stencil that are supposed to blocked off and then seep onto the cookie. I'd try to get recommendations for brands that work well, and then stick to those brands, as silkscreen stencils are DEFINITELY NOT created equal! (When they work, though, they can work really well, giving you finer details with no bridges/breaks that are needed to fabricate Mylar stencils.)

Agree wholeheartedly with Julia on this!! I have a love/ hate relationship with mesh stencils. I've had really good results with Evil Cake Genius' stencils using a thinned down recipe of royal icing. Per Evil Cake Genius, be sure to add 1 Tb of clear piping gel to 1 C of R.I.  It's also very important to add in white gel food color to get better opacity with the stencil. Hope this helps ❀

@Sylvianne posted:

6097C8D9-A132-4EA4-96AD-F487FC2D8F5A@Juliamusher @Econlady @Cookiesfantastique Ok thanks all for the straight dope on the silk mesh stencils. If I can request your recommendation on the above logo. Because of the mesh screen disaster and the details of the logo, I’m thinking of getting it done as a stamp? Sylvianne

Or maybe get it made as a regular Mylar stencil?? Best of luck!

@Sylvianne posted:

If that is possible I will look into it for sure. I thought the diagram did not lend itself to a regular Mylar stencil. So much the better if it does. Thanks very much. Do you have a recommendation of a stencil maker? I know there were some as sponsors on the 2 day cookie-a-thon.

It's pretty ornate for a Mylar stencil, and the design will need bridges. But you may have to suffer some loss of detail if the mesh stencils are not working for you. My stencil partner makes custom stencils, but they can get pricey for one-off things like this, especially during busy holiday season. Contact service@confectioncouturestencils.com for more info.

It's pretty ornate for a Mylar stencil, and the design will need bridges. But you may have to suffer some loss of detail if the mesh stencils are not working for you. My stencil partner makes custom stencils, but they can get pricey for one-off things like this, especially during busy holiday season. Contact service@confectioncouturestencils.com for more info.

May I suggest simplifying it only doing part of the logo.  Personally I would just do the goalie and maybe the words on the outside.  People will love it and it will be much easier.

Add Reply

Post