YEAJON 3 Inch Letter Stencils Symbol Numbers Craft Stencils, 42 Pcs Reusable Alphabet Templates Interlocking Stencil Kit for Painting on Wood, Wall, Fabric, Rock, Chalkboard, Sign, DIY Art Projects

Overview

I reach for stencils whenever I need clean, repeatable lettering without firing up a vinyl cutter or ordering custom decals. The YEAJON 3-inch interlocking stencils have lived in my shop for a few months now, and they’ve handled everything from yard signs to fabric totes to quick labels in the garage. They’re a simple idea done fairly well: individual PET tiles for each uppercase letter, number, and a handful of symbols that connect together to keep spacing straight. At roughly 3 inches tall per character, they hit a sweet spot for visibility on small to medium projects.

This set won’t replace brass stencils or adhesive mask for high-end, typographically perfect jobs, but for everyday DIY lettering, it’s easy to use, cleans up quickly, and holds up to repeated use.

Build and Design

Each character sits on a 4 x 3.15-inch clear PET tile. The plastic is smooth, flexible, and laser cut, so edges are clean and safe to the touch. The interlocking tabs slip together positively; they don’t feel loose or fiddly, and I can pick up a short word as a single strip without pieces falling apart. The PET has enough spring to conform to slightly uneven surfaces (rough wood, textured walls) yet it’s not so floppy that it buckles in normal use.

Important to note: you get one of each character. That’s standard for budget stencil sets, but it does affect workflow on words with repeated letters. More on that in a bit.

Using the Stencils

The interlocking feature is the headline here. Aligning a word along a baseline is fast—click, click, click—and because all tiles share the same height, the bottoms line up automatically. I like to tape one end of the assembled word to my work surface, square the strip with a carpenter’s square, and then tape along the top edge to keep everything steady.

For paint application, I’ve had the best results with:

• A dry-brushed stencil brush or foam pouncer for acrylics and latex.
• Short, light passes with a rattle can, paired with repositionable spray adhesive on the underside for crisp edges.
• Paint markers or chalk markers for chalkboards and porous paper.

With a brush or pouncer, edges are predictably crisp as long as I unload excess paint before touching the stencil. With spray paint, I recommend a light coat of temporary adhesive and a couple of mist coats from 10–12 inches away to avoid blow-under.

Results on Different Surfaces

• Wood (sanded pine and pallet board): Excellent with acrylic craft paint. The PET conforms to minor grain, and a pouncer minimizes bleed. I sealed porous wood with a quick clear coat first when I wanted razor-sharp edges.
• Fabric (cotton tote, canvas drop cloth): Good with fabric paint using a pouncing motion. I slipped a piece of cardboard under the fabric and used a very light coat of temporary adhesive to keep the stencils from lifting as the weave flexed.
• Chalkboard and primed drywall: Very good with chalk marker or latex, provided the surface is clean and dust-free. On textured walls, I got acceptable results with a roller and nearly dry paint, though kinks in the texture will show microscopically.
• Plastic and metal: Use spray adhesive to prevent lift and light coats of enamel. The tiles clean up fine with mineral spirits on enamel overspray, but I mostly stick to water-based paints and wipe them before they set.

I also tried the set on a rough, outdoor concrete paver using exterior latex. It’s doable, but texture is the enemy; a pouncing brush helped more than a roller.

Letter Spacing and Typography

This is where you feel the compromises of a monospaced, interlocking stencil system. Because each character sits on an identical tile width, the default spacing can look a touch airy between certain letter pairs. The uppercase “I,” in particular, leaves a lot of negative space, and wide letters like “M” and “W” can read slightly tight relative to their neighbors. There’s no true kerning adjustment built in.

That said, you can work around it:

• Overlap the tiles slightly to close gaps where it looks too open (e.g., around “I” or punctuation). The interlocks are shallow enough that a small overlap holds.
• For critical words, I sometimes break the interlock on a single letter—lay it in place by eye and tape it down. If you do this, keep a light hand so you don’t skew the baseline.
• For center alignment, assemble the word, mark the total length on tape, and align the midpoint to your layout marks.

If you’re producing long signs with lots of repeated letters and want precise spacing control, a second set saves time and keeps flow smoother.

Durability and Maintenance

The PET tiles have withstood repeated cleaning in soapy water and gentle scrubbing with a soft brush. Dried acrylic pops off if you flex the tile slightly, and they haven’t picked up burrs or rough edges from use. I avoid harsh solvents like acetone or lacquer thinner—which can cloud or craze plastics—and stick to water-based paints or mild mineral spirits for overspray cleanup.

Storage matters: keep them flat in a low-profile bin or organizer so the tabs don’t warp. The interlocking tabs are robust, but like any thin plastic, they can deform if bent sharply. After dozens of uses, mine still click together cleanly.

Workflow Tips

A few small habits improved my results and speed:

• Use a light coat of repositionable spray adhesive on the back when spraying or painting on textured surfaces.
• Offload paint onto a paper towel until the brush is almost dry before pouncing.
• Mask the outside edges of the stencil strip with painter’s tape to catch accidental over-roll.
• Mark a baseline with a removable chalk line or low-tack tape; align the bottom of the tiles to that reference.
• If you need tight spacing for a specific word, assemble, test on scrap, adjust overlaps, then move to your final surface.

Where This Set Shines

• Signage and labeling in the 2–6 foot viewing distance range—yard sales, mailbox numbers, shop bins, garage cabinets.
• Craft projects on wood and fabric—farmhouse-style signs, tote bags, holiday decor.
• Occasional outdoor marking—driveway numbers, temporary event signage—when paired with the right paint.

It’s portable, quick to set up, and easy to clean. The interlocking design genuinely speeds alignment, and the 3-inch letter height hits a versatile middle ground.

What Could Be Better

• Only one of each character slows you down on words with repeats. A second set is the easy fix, but it’s worth noting for longer phrases.
• Default spacing can feel wide, especially around narrow letters. Overlapping tiles or manually placing tricky characters solves it, but it’s hands-on.
• With spray paint, the flexible PET can lift slightly on uneven surfaces, leading to fuzzy edges unless you use adhesive and light passes. A stiffer material or included magnetic/weighting options (for metal surfaces) would help, though that’s beyond the price tier of sets like this.

None of these are deal-breakers for casual and intermediate use, but they do define the upper limit of how “professional” the output can look without extra care.

The Bottom Line

The YEAJON 3-inch interlocking stencils earn a spot in my kit. They’re straightforward, durable for repeated use, and produce clean lettering on a wide range of surfaces when used with the right technique. The interlocking alignment is genuinely helpful, and the PET tiles are easy to clean and safe to handle.

I recommend this set to crafters, DIYers, teachers, and anyone who needs practical, repeatable lettering without investing in specialty tools. If your work demands perfect kerning, razor-sharp edges with spray on textured surfaces, or long phrases with lots of repeated characters, plan on a second set and a little more setup—or consider rigid brass stencils or adhesive-cut masks. For most everyday projects, though, this set delivers consistent, tidy results at a friendly price and with minimal fuss.