Cheap Screen Printing Tutorial

Alright, I've finally had the time to "screen print" another shirt, and this time I've made a tutorial for all you out there....

Materials needed: a t-shirt, yucky/cheap paint brushes, an embroidery hoop, screen printing ink (I use Speedball brand), a glue that isn't water-soluble (I use Modge Podge), curtain sheer material/tulle/old nylons, and a computer with a printer (or a good hand for drawing things).

Find an image you like and that has good contrast. My cow needed to be "cut out," and I've only got Microsoft Paint on this computer and it worked fine.

Save the image as a Monochrome Bitmap file and it will turn it black and white. If this loses all the detail, fudge around on Paint or try a different picture, haha.

Print it out so the image is the size you want it on the t-shirt (and also so it's not bigger than the embroidery hoop you spent ¢67 on).

After pulling the sheer curtain material/tulle/old nylons tight across the embroidery hoop (and screwing it shut real good), trace the image onto the material with a pencil with the material close to the paper, not upside down so it's far away.

You should be able to see the pencil outline easily without squinting too hard. If it's too detailed, fudge some more.

Turn the thing over and with the glue, paint all the "negative space," (all the places you don't want ink to go, the white space). Make sure the material isn't touching whatever surface you're working on otherwise you'll end up gluing the whole thing down, obviously.

Some people say you can use tape to fill in the bigger area, but I think that painting the glue on all over the larger spaces is the best part, but do what you will.

After the glue dries, center the image on the shirt face down, and I sort of stipple the ink through the material making sure it's fully saturated, but also making sure not to glob it all over the place.

Carefully peel it back, wait for it to dry, and follow the "setting" directions on the ink (mine is to iron it on medium 3 - 5 minutes each side with a piece of cloth/paper between the iron and the ink).

Peter: 25th May 2005 - 14:26 GMT

cool! totally random, interesting and informative. i love these sorts of posts. thanks!

Natali: 25th May 2005 - 15:49 GMT

Awesome! I've been making my own t-shirts recently via stencil & paint, so this is something different for me to do. The cow is very cool.

Jamie: 25th May 2005 - 16:11 GMT

someone make some george dubya shirts

kobe: 25th May 2005 - 17:41 GMT

jamie: is that a pet bird sticker under bush?

also, why does the cow on the stencil in this post say "friend"? i dont get it. i do like knowing these tips though! cheers.

jeeff: 25th May 2005 - 23:51 GMT

thanks! i bought a screen-printing kit a couple years ago as a self-birthday present, but the instructions were so terrible that i ended up giving it away to a friend without ever properly using it. instead of glue, it came with all sorts of chemical screening agents which had to be applied in certain ways and then removed with other chemicals... way too confusing for me.

Lili: 13th Jun 2005 - 04:29 GMT

Kristy - nice post. Your post is very orderly and clear - reminds a dash
of an industrial manufacturing procdure. There are lots of things that
can be done with screen-printing. De cows are my pals as well. Thanks !

Lili

patricia: 16th Jan 2006 - 18:16 GMT

What a great tutorial. It's helping a lot. thanks!

Galaxy: 26th Jan 2006 - 23:35 GMT

Oh man! I'm so excited about this my heart is racing! I've been wanting to do this stuff for so damn long! Watch out everybody!

Joe: 12th Feb 2006 - 11:21 GMT

Thank you very much i am making t-shirts my self and was despratly wondering how to do screen printing now i can thankyou thankyou thankyou

anon (adsl-067-034-137-050.sip.mco.bellsouth.net): 1st Mar 2006 - 16:51 GMT

stolen from http://community.livejournal.com/craftgrrl/3674467.html

Jamie: 1st Mar 2006 - 16:59 GMT

Well, given that this article was posted by someone called Kristy from Illinois and that the post community.livejournal.com/craftgrrl/3674467.html was posted by someone called Kristy from Illinois girlx512.livejournal.com i'm guessing that the chances are that they were posted by the same person both here and on livejournal, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Paying a little bit of attention to detail before running your mouth makes all the difference anon.

shah: 5th Aug 2006 - 02:41 GMT

can i know what type of glue do you used to paint the negative space

Guy McLaren: 1st Jan 2007 - 18:50 GMT

Screenprinting pro is just way too complicated


What is Citynoise?..... Today's posts..... This month..... Recent Comments..... Contact..... RSS Feed.... Post your own Citynoise.....
http://www.citynoise.org
browse by city Brooklyn, NY (790) New York, NY (780) Toronto, ON (745) Montreal, QC (397) London, UK (297) complete city list popular articles Da Champ from: Peter Banksy Does Soho from: Peter Brooklyn Hospital Incinerator from: Peter Painting in Bushwick from: Peter Pretty Parking from: joey what's hot this month? recent articles Gods Eyes from: Tyfoid Kid Physics Building from: procyon Piraguas from: CartLegger Banksy Does Soho from: Peter Seal of Approval? from: CartLegger The Knifeman Is Here! from: CartLegger Irony Enshrined from: CartLegger 19th Century Garage from: CartLegger Painting in Bushwick from: Peter Why They've Got Us All Wrong from: Repine Online read all today's articles browse by author Peter (808) joey (281) EvilGentleman (269) hool (247) jack (235) complete author list hot topics graffiti Justo Gallego JA One sane smith graf trux wheat paste nyc sixy Top 10 largest cities in canada harlem banksy new york brooklyn nyc graffiti dr. sex	Cheap Screen Printing Tutorial Chicago, IL - Kristy - Wednesday, May 25th, 2005 : goo [previous] :: [next] Alright, I've finally had the time to "screen print" another shirt, and this time I've made a tutorial for all you out there.... Materials needed: a t-shirt, yucky/cheap paint brushes, an embroidery hoop, screen printing ink (I use Speedball brand), a glue that isn't water-soluble (I use Modge Podge), curtain sheer material/tulle/old nylons, and a computer with a printer (or a good hand for drawing things). Find an image you like and that has good contrast. My cow needed to be "cut out," and I've only got Microsoft Paint on this computer and it worked fine. Save the image as a Monochrome Bitmap file and it will turn it black and white. If this loses all the detail, fudge around on Paint or try a different picture, haha. Print it out so the image is the size you want it on the t-shirt (and also so it's not bigger than the embroidery hoop you spent ¢67 on). After pulling the sheer curtain material/tulle/old nylons tight across the embroidery hoop (and screwing it shut real good), trace the image onto the material with a pencil with the material close to the paper, not upside down so it's far away. You should be able to see the pencil outline easily without squinting too hard. If it's too detailed, fudge some more. Turn the thing over and with the glue, paint all the "negative space," (all the places you don't want ink to go, the white space). Make sure the material isn't touching whatever surface you're working on otherwise you'll end up gluing the whole thing down, obviously. Some people say you can use tape to fill in the bigger area, but I think that painting the glue on all over the larger spaces is the best part, but do what you will. After the glue dries, center the image on the shirt face down, and I sort of stipple the ink through the material making sure it's fully saturated, but also making sure not to glob it all over the place. Carefully peel it back, wait for it to dry, and follow the "setting" directions on the ink (mine is to iron it on medium 3 - 5 minutes each side with a piece of cloth/paper between the iron and the ink). I hope that helps some! This article has been viewed 14784 times in the last 3 years Peter: 25th May 2005 - 14:26 GMT cool! totally random, interesting and informative. i love these sorts of posts. thanks! Natali: 25th May 2005 - 15:49 GMT Awesome! I've been making my own t-shirts recently via stencil & paint, so this is something different for me to do. The cow is very cool. Jamie: 25th May 2005 - 16:11 GMT someone make some george dubya shirts kobe: 25th May 2005 - 17:41 GMT jamie: is that a pet bird sticker under bush? also, why does the cow on the stencil in this post say "friend"? i dont get it. i do like knowing these tips though! cheers. jeeff: 25th May 2005 - 23:51 GMT thanks! i bought a screen-printing kit a couple years ago as a self-birthday present, but the instructions were so terrible that i ended up giving it away to a friend without ever properly using it. instead of glue, it came with all sorts of chemical screening agents which had to be applied in certain ways and then removed with other chemicals... way too confusing for me. Lili: 13th Jun 2005 - 04:29 GMT Kristy - nice post. Your post is very orderly and clear - reminds a dash of an industrial manufacturing procdure. There are lots of things that can be done with screen-printing. De cows are my pals as well. Thanks ! Lili patricia: 16th Jan 2006 - 18:16 GMT What a great tutorial. It's helping a lot. thanks! Galaxy: 26th Jan 2006 - 23:35 GMT Oh man! I'm so excited about this my heart is racing! I've been wanting to do this stuff for so damn long! Watch out everybody! Joe: 12th Feb 2006 - 11:21 GMT Thank you very much i am making t-shirts my self and was despratly wondering how to do screen printing now i can thankyou thankyou thankyou anon (adsl-067-034-137-050.sip.mco.bellsouth.net): 1st Mar 2006 - 16:51 GMT stolen from http://community.livejournal.com/craftgrrl/3674467.html Jamie: 1st Mar 2006 - 16:59 GMT Well, given that this article was posted by someone called Kristy from Illinois and that the post community.livejournal.com/craftgrrl/3674467.html was posted by someone called Kristy from Illinois girlx512.livejournal.com i'm guessing that the chances are that they were posted by the same person both here and on livejournal, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Paying a little bit of attention to detail before running your mouth makes all the difference anon. Hobart: Lol. Detective Jamie at our service! elaine: see, now there's pernickety! shah: 5th Aug 2006 - 02:41 GMT can i know what type of glue do you used to paint the negative space Guy McLaren: 1st Jan 2007 - 18:50 GMT Screenprinting pro is just way too complicated Comment on this article.. Name: Type your comment here: Upload photos (opens in popup window) [previous] :: [next]	search citynoise.org garden, shankill road, yuck 66, noise, general store, recent discussions Banksy Does Soho from: Peter School for the Deaf from: Peter Side-by-Side Tandem Bicycle: from: Peter Feeling Sixy? from: Peter Norgate Shopping Centre from: CE Metro Manila from: Laura Kite String All over Milliken Park from: Michelle Raccoons, Cute or Dangerous? from: Elicar Eastern Parkway Memories from: Unknown A Rare Ruin in Bushwick from: upfromflames from the archives West Side Warehouse The giant warehouse on the West Side Highway in Chelsea... West Side Warehouse recently viewed Cheap Screen Printing Tutorial from: Kristy Nation of Sleepers from: Andy Smoggy Day from: Peter Upper West Side from: Peter Cuban Solidarity Mural from: Jamie Downtown Berkeley from: joey "Defective" from: vz Toronto Pride Color Addendum from: hool Winterlude Ice Sculpture from: Metoo July 26 2007 Halifax from: hool
concept and content © citynoise.org 2002 - 2008 : designed and maintained by Jamie Thompson and peter (rhodamine.org) caveat: entries and comments on citynoise.org represent the views of their respective authors; this is an open forum, open to all relevant ideas, and as such, sees minimal editorial interference. as such, all content on this site remains property of its creator/author, and is therefore protected by all applicable copyright laws.

browse by city

popular articles

recent articles

browse by author

hot topics

[previous] :: [next]