When I first saw those straight edged swatches, I wondered how they did that. At first, I guessed tape and I was partially right. Those straight edged swatches can be done with tape. The came the patterned versions and it took me a hot second to realize they must be using some kind of stencils. That’s when I discovered Popswatch from TwinkledT. As I did more research I also found Swatch Perfect in the UK. So let’s compare both of these suppliers
TwinkledT
TwinkledT is based in the USA, which means there is a longer delivery time as I’m in the UK. Postage is free on any vinyl order though and if you keep it under £15 value you won’t be charged customs.
I know it looks like I’m holding up a blank piece of paper but I promise there’s a stencil in there. TwinkledT has a great variety of shapes that includes designs such as unicorns and splat patterns. Each design is only available in one size.
Swatch Perfect
UK based so delivery time is much quicker, although it’s not free unless you spend over £15. Of course, the price you pay at checkout is the total, there’s no fear of getting caught at Customs.
These come in less shape variety but are much more size variety. They also come in multipacks which do have a great saving on them. The other difference you can see here is the middle is missing. It makes them easier to peal from the backing.
Cost wise TwinkledT is slightly cheaper. Each stencil is $2, roughly £1.50 each. Even the large multipacks they do, even with tax and customs are cheaper. You can pick up stencils on Swatch perfect for £1 but these are usually the single swatch stencils whereas the larger stencils are £2.50 each.
Which is best?
Personally, I’ll be using both. TwinkledT I’ll use more for the unusual shapes whereas Swatch Perfect I’ll go for my regular swatching stencil needs. Neither is really better than the other. I like that the middles are missing for the swatch perfect stencils but I do also like the fact I can do reverse stencils with the middles that are left on the TwinkledT stencils.
So which stencils do you prefer? Let me know in the comments section below.