How to Create Stencils (Using Stencil Plastic) with Your Brother Scan n Cut

creating stencils with the scanncutOne of the best things about the Brother Scan n Cut (at least in my opinion) is that you can cut out stencils with it. In the past, we had been using cardstock to cut out our stencils but as you can imagine, the cardboard doesn’t last very long after you’ve sprayed it a few times with ink sprays and painted it over with acrylics and various other mediums.

We have been wanting to test it using stencil plastic for ages but the only stencil plastic we had on hand was a thick stencil plastic that we knew the Brother ScanNCut would have trouble getting through. So when we found some thinner acetate at one of our local craft stores we couldn’t wait to get home and give it a try.

We were amazed to find that it worked perfectly but we also wanted to try some Mylar.

Now Mylar comes in a range of thicknesses. We already use a really thin Mylar which is like cellophane for our machine embroidery but the Mylar we ordered to try out on the Brother Scan n Cut is a lot thicker and sturdier than that.

Brother Scan n Cut Stencils

Note:
Since we didn’t know what thickness would actually work we ordered both a 4mils (100 Microns) and a 5mils (127 microns) version. The thickness of Mylar plastic is expressed in 1000th of an inch and although it is called ‘mils’ it does not equate to millimeters.

Well, we were pretty happy with the result as both thicknesses worked beautifully.

Watch the video tutorial below

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Note:
We used a cutting blade size of 4, blade pressure of 0 and cut speed of 3 for both the Acetate and the Mylar.

We also used a standard mat.

 Start with those settings and do a test cut to check that the mylar cuts cleanly for you.

We have created a number of free Brother Scan n Cut stencil files for you to download including a heart stencil, diamond stencil, and an abstract lines stencil. Simply sign up to our newsletter and you will have immediate access to these and all our other Brother Scan n Cut downloads. We will be adding more stencils over time and if you have a particular type of stencil you would like then leave a comment and we will certainly make every attempt to make it for you.

Where Can You Buy Stencil Plastic!

  • We purchased our Mylar stencil sheets in Australia from www.youstencil.com.au, you can also purchase Mylar sheets from the Sticker Stop.
  • For those in the US, Mylar stencil sheets are readily available from Amazon.com