Screen printing may sound complicated, but you can actually use it to DIY some interesting things at home. What I will introduce below is the use of screen printing to DIY various interesting patterns on T-shirts.
T-shirt DIY materials:
1) An embroidery stretcher, the size is similar to your design drawing, which can be bought in handicraft stores.
2) Thin and transparent curtains or tulle, or a discarded stocking.
3) Fabric coating or ink.
4) Latex paint.
5) Watercolor paint.
6) Small piece of sponge.
7) T-shirts with printed patterns are required.
8) Water-soluble pen.
T-shirt DIY steps1.
Select the pattern you want to print. Choose a pattern that is relatively simple and easy to draw. You can also choose your own sketch, or find a picture you like online, and then use a picture editor on your computer to adjust it to the appropriate size. The pattern needs to be printed out in the same size as the embroidery fabric you are using.
T-shirt DIY Step 2,
Prepare the printing plate. Lay your tulle over the fabric, then pull the tulle tight and secure it to the other side of the fabric. Trim excess tulle as needed.
T-shirt DIY step 3,
Draw the outline of the pattern. Tape the pattern to the table so that the pattern is in the center of the embroidery fabric. Then start tracing the outline on the tulle with a water-soluble pencil. Be sure to trace gently. The time required for this step depends on the complexity of your pattern. If To draw letters, be sure to useYour handwriting is nice and straight. If you find it difficult to draw, you can print the pattern on self-adhesive paper in advance and then cut it out. Self-adhesive paper can be purchased in department stores and office supply stores. Just paste the cut pattern in the middle of the embroidery fabric.
T-shirt DIY Step 4,
Cover with latex paint. Use latex paint on the tulle to cover the areas you don't want to print (i.e. the negative of the pattern). After covering, to ensure success, you can shine a beam of light on the tulle to check if there are any missed areas.
T-shirt DIY step 5,
Wait for the latex paint to dry. This process can take anywhere from 1 to 5 hours, depending on the type and amount of paint used.
T-shirt DIY Step 6,
Test the silk screen template. When the paint is dry, spread the tulle on a blank piece of paper as a test, and coat the tulle printing plate with watercolor paint. The image on the blank paper will be the image you will print on the garment. If the image is not ideal, you can also use latex paint to repair it.
T-shirt DIY Step 7,
Print on T-shirts. Lay the T-shirt flat and insert a piece of cardboard in the middle of the T-shirt to prevent the dye from soaking into another layer of the T-shirt. Use a sponge brush dipped in fabric dye and spread evenly over the tulle.
T-shirt DIY Step 8,
Leave the printed garment overnight to allow the dye to dry completely, and then you can wear it. Silk screen stencils can be reused multiple times.
