I Think There's a Bug on You're Shirt

Since my last post I've spent a bit of time thinking about why I find printmaking so intriguing and I think I may have figured it out. It's because I can freely give away the things I make without feeling like I'm losing a part of me. There are multiple copies! I can keep one and still give it away to others with out feeling like I've lost anything. Sounds funny I know, but I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels this way. You see I put a lot of time and effort in to the things I create. And although I love to share them I worry about my creations. For the most part the things I make are wholly unique and one of a kind. And when I give it away it falls to the mercy of the person receiving it. And I wonder, will they understand the effort I put into it. Will they take care of it. Will it speak to them the same way it speaks to me? Or will it be just another thing to them. And then I wonder if this might not be just a glimpse of what my Father God feels like with His creation and suddenly I'm overwhelmed with feelings of love and worth! Sigh

But with printmaking I don't have to worry so much. I can always keep a copy for myself but more importantly I can make a new one if harm should come to the ones previously made. And so I introduce an exciting new project to you - Screen printing!

This is a first for me. I've always wanted to try screen printing but it's sooo expensive! I have often found myself standing in the isle of some art supply store cringing and drooling over the screen print starter kits. And even with the 40%-50% off coupon I'm mercilessly clutching in my hand, I still can't bring myself to drop one of my oh so meager and humble pennies on one! Thats why when I found this tutorial by Craftgrrl I could swear I herd the angels singing! A way to screen print with things I already have!! Wahoo! So exciting I had to share.

So what you'll need

A sheer fabric - I found this peach colored fabric on clearance for $2 a yard and purchased 1/2 a yard
An embroidery hoop - I already had one but you can get one for about $1.50
A couple of crappy old paint brushes that you don't mind trashing
A pencil
A couple of colors of acrylic paint - usually between $.50 to a $1
Textile medium so you can use the acrylic paints on fabric -about $1.45
A glue that isn't water soluble such as Mod Podge - I already had a jar (they last forever) usually $5
and some graphics.

Now to start with you'll want a graphic picture that will translate well and is not to detailed. I did an image search for cool photos and this is what I got...

I then used the Photo Daily app on my iPhone to turn it into this...

Next you'll need to stretch the fabric over the embroidery hoop. Make sure it's good and tight with no puckering.

After you got it nice and tight you'll want to trim all excess fabric away. Now turn the hoop up side down and center your graphic underneath. Now you need to start tracing your design with a pencil. Now is the time to simplify overly detailed or complicated designs.

Once you've got your design traced, turn the hoop over and you're ready to start painting on the glue. Now remember that you'll be covering everything that you DON'T want painted.

You don't want to let the glue get to gloppy but at the same time make sure everything has a nice coat. Once you've got everything painted in with the glue your ready to take a break while the glue dries.

It actually doesn't take that long to dry but needs to be thoroughly dry. Any spot where the glue is particularly thick with take a light longer. It should be nice and clear with very little tackiness left to it.

Now, you'll need to turn the hoop over again so that it's flat on the printing surface. And you will definitely want to do several test prints before you start printing on anything of value like t-shirts or tote bags. I will honestly say that at this point I really thought I had an epic fail on my hands but with a little diligence and some trial and error I was eventually successful.

Lets also take a moment to discuss paint and ink. Ideally I'd love to be able to use a screen printing ink. However it's just not in the budget so we will have to compromise. If you're not planning on printing on fabric it's perfectly fine to just use the acrylic paints straight out of the bottle. If you are printing on fabric then you will either need to use fabric paint which is more reasonable priced than the ink. I however already have hundreds of bottles of acrylic craft paint so I opted for that. To make it more permanent and washable I added a Textile Medium which is found with the paint at the store. You'll need to mix it according to the directions on the bottle. Mine specified 2 parts paint to 1 part medium.

Now lets discuss paint brushes. All are not equal! I originally used a foam brush as pictured below

And this was the result

Not to great  but also not to bad for a first try. I tried a couple more with the foam brush and still wasn't getting what I was looking for.  By brushing the paint I got a lot of bleeding around the glue. So I switched to a stipple brush (which is typically used for stencils) and things began to look up. I switched colors and really worked the paint in and finally got a decent print.

So now we are ready to take the plunge and actually attempt a shirt! Eeekk!

You'll want to but some scratch paper between the layers of the shirt to make sure it doesn't bleed through to the back. Make sure you've got you design good and centered on the shirt and Go For It!

Ta Da! Super Exciting!!

So now you've got a nice printed shirt! Once it's good and dry you will again need to follow the directions from the paint bottle for setting the ink. The textile medium calls for ironing both the inside and out for 30 secs with a medium heat. Each paint/ink is different so make sure you check! And your ready to start the assemble line!

Yay! My first screen printing project is a success! I will admit that it was a little intense and truly had me worried for a while there. But I was able to pull it out at the end! I had great fun AND -I've got plenty of supplies left for several more! I would encourage anyone attempting this to check out the tutorial I linked at the top. She had a bunch of tips and some great question and answers at the end. Again as with all projects I would LOVE to see photos of your version!

Hope you enjoy!