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Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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How-to: Basic Screenprinting

October 31, 2011 Leave a Comment

When I was in high school, a friend of mine taught me the basics of DIY screenprinting. It takes a little bit of time, but has come in handy a bunch of times over the years. I made shirts for friends, my band, my brother’s tennis team, and a bunch for fun. The method  I use is called the screen filler method. You can read about other screen printing methods here.

This Halloween, I wanted to make some easy costumes for my dogs to go along with my family’s Parks and Recreation themed costumes (Pawnee Goddess costume, Pawnee Ranger costume). The part of the Pawnee Rangers episode I have yet to explore this Halloween is the treat yo’self subplot. I decided to make my pups a couple of trick or treat yo’self t-shirts. In the past, I’ve tried to make them costumes they’ll actually be comfortable in, but it turns out they’re basically intolerant of clothing of any kind, other than t-shirts.

Supplies

t-shirt in the appropriate size

screenprinting ink (Speedball is the brand that’s most available at stores like Michaels)

screen printing frame (again, Speedball is the brand I use)

screen filler (yep, Speedball)

screen printing squeegee

pencil

rags that you’re ok with staining

something to protect your work surface

bright desk lamp

hair dryer

one large and one small paint brush

cardboard large enough to fill most of the inside of your shirt

Directions

Draw your design directly on the screen printing frame. If the direction of the design on the shirt matters (like if you’re including words), write it on the side shown below.

Flip the screen over and trace the design on to the other side of the screen. This is the side you’ll be applying screen filler to, so you’ll need the design to be discernible on it.

Apply screen filler to everywhere on the screen you don’t want ink to seep through on to your t-shirt. You’re basically creating a stencil. Screen filler fills all of the holes in the screen to keep the ink from going through.

I find it works best to apply screen filler to the big areas of the screen using a large paint brush first. Then, take a smaller paint brush to paint up to the edges of your design.

Let your ink dry naturally, or use a hair dryer to speed up the process.

Hold your dried screen up to the light. If you can see little dots of light, ink can get through. I also find that getting straight or solid edges on my design takes a couple rounds of screen filling to get right.

Once you’re confident the screen is all set, you’re ready to print. You can even use an old rag or scrap of fabric to test the accuracy of your stencil before attempting to ink your official shirt.

Lay your shirt out on your work surface, which is protected with a rag or newspaper. Grab a piece of cardboard and put it inside your shirt to protect the far side of it from ink bleed. Straighten your shirt fabric over the cardboard.

Place one end of your screen at the top of your shirt, as shown. Use your desk lamp to cast a shadow down on the shirt, giving you an idea of how the design will look once it’s printed on the shirt. Try to make it as straight as possible.

Grab your screen printing ink and squeegee. Paint ink (not too much!) over the openings in your stencil. Brace the frame in place by pressing down with your forearm on the wood part of it. Using the squeegee, wipe back and forth, up and down across the screen while pressing down.

A couple tips:

  • If you apply too much ink to the screen, it can more easily bleed past the stencil when you squeegee it through.
  • Be careful to hold the screen in ONE place. If your stencil shifts, your shirt will get all effed up.
  • If you do eff up your shirt, quickly running over to the sink and rinsing it incredibly thoroughly in cold water cleans it. You’ll have to run your shirt through the dryer before trying to print a second time, but your shirt won’t be ruined.

How do you know when you’ve successfully printed the design? As the ink passes through the stencil, you’re able to make out the design by looking closely at the frame. Here’s what it looks like when the ink has gone through (see the “Y”):

Once you’re confident you’ve squeegeed enough, carefully lift the frame off the shirt. It will stick a little, so make sure to hold the shirt down as you lift the frame. Don’t let the shirt fold. While the ink is still wet, it can stain other parts of the garment.

Despite your best efforts, the stencil won’t always perfectly come through. The easy solution is to use a paint brush (and only the tiniest amount of ink) to fill in gaps in your design.

When you’re all set, carefully hang your shirt on a hanger and let it dry overnight. Rinse all of the ink off of your screens using tepid water before the ink dries on them. In my experience, this helps them last longer. Set your screen aside to dry.

When they’re dry, they’re ready to wear! Check out my cute pooches in their getups. They’re not very good models, but now associate wearing these shirts with getting yummy treats.

Screen printing supplies aren’t the cheapest things in the world, so remember to clean them after each use. 

Filed Under: Halloween, How-to Tagged With: diy, dogs, How-to, screen printing, speedball

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is an artist, author and crafts designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame. In addition to running the Hands Occupied Blog and Pattern Shop, you can find her making videos & co-hosting the Very Serious Crafts podcast.

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

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There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s ab There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s about how I’m going to take the next 2 weeks off to rest & recharge. ☺️🧶 No new content for y’all means I can also take a moment to zoom out & plan what’s next. Link is in bio. 
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A note on Very Serious Crafts: In the post I discuss stepping away from the @seriouscrafts podcast to give myself more time to devote to some minor medical issues. Don’t you worry - my health will be fine, & @molliejohanson @redhandledscissors and I are still pals, and after a short break of their own, the podcast will be back! Just sans moi. 💁🏼‍♀️😆 
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Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it shoul Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it should be. ☺️🎄The past few days have been filled with a lot of catching up on festive zoom calls & raising toasts to the camera. 🥂 Connecting with people has been a welcome change of pace! Now I’m feeling ready to meet my inevitable end-of-year deadlines. 😆
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Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker beh Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker behind Hands Occupied! 👋🏻 I’ve been enjoying making Reels a lot lately, but I wanted to bop in to share a regular photo & say hello. 🤓 
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rather than giving you my bio right now, I have a question. I just got this new sweater & I can’t stop imaging how funny it would be to wear this to a knitting class ... is that bad? 🤣🤣🤣
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Pictured: a blond woman with glasses wearing a sweater that reads “all your sweaters are ugly” standing in front of a Christmas tree.
Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is o Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is one of the most common methods for finishing a knitting project and helping ensure its final size and shape. Learn basic blocking for absolute beginners in an easy-to-follow (non-Reel!) video tutorial! Catch the tutorial on YouTube or the Hands Occupied Blog, link is in bio. 🧶 #handsoccupied #stopswatchandblockit #KPAmbassadorsDec20 #sponsored
Had to share this perfect capture of one of my fav Had to share this perfect capture of one of my favorite weird homemade Christmas ornaments: a simple macramé Santa face with beads for the eyes and nose! My Great-Grandma made it too. 🎄
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Might have to try making a quickie Reel tutorial for this guy - I think it’s the perfect project for it, don’t you? 🎅🏼 #handsoccupied #macrame
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