How to screen-print T-shirts at home

Screen printing is an easy way to make a unique T-shirt. Grab your squeegee and follow Spinning Hat's simple instructions...



For this tutorial, I wanted to show how screen-printing short runs of a simple design on T-shirts can be done very easily at home with just a screen, a squeegee, some ink, a piece of paper and a craft knife. It's how I started, and if you like it you have the basics to start experimenting with more technical ways of making screen stencils.

What you need

Screen printing fabric ink. Try a ready-mixed ink to begin with, such as the Speedball range. Follow the instructions on the ink to make sure your design is washable.

A screen. You can buy these ready-made (which can be a little pricey), or buy the mesh and a cheap canvas stretcher frame and make your own by stretching the mesh over the frame and stapling evenly at the edges so it is taut, like a drum. 43T mesh is best for general printing.

A squeegee. This can be bought from most craft supply stores that sell screen print supplies. For printing on fabric I have always used a D-Cut blade, but a square-edged one is also good. (If you just want to have bash at printing, a hard piece of plastic or very stiff, thick card will do to, so long as the edge is very straight and firm.)

Plain paper

Craft knife

Roll of masking tape

Basic cotton jersey T-shirt or fabric

How much will it cost?

An A4 screen made from scratch (mesh, staples, frame) plus ink and a squeegee will set you back around £25. It sounds a lot, but if you decide to do more printing, a well looked-after screen and squeegee will last a long time.

What to do



A basic design for screen printing novices. Photograph: Lee May Foster
1. Come up with a design that you can easily cut out of the paper with a craft knife. A simple design of shapes such as triangles or diamonds in a circle or scattered randomly can be very effective. Cut your design out.

2. Take your screen and mask off around the edges of the underside (the side that will be in contact with the fabric), so that when you lay your stencil paper on top there is no mesh showing around the edges - you don't want paint creeping over the edges of your stencil. Don't tape your stencil to the mesh though!

3. Lay your T-shirt or fabric flat and lay the paper stencil on it where you want your design to be. Place the screen on top, taking care not to move the paper and making sure the screen is centred over it.

4. Blob a tablespoon of ink in a line at the top edge of your screen.

5. Holding the screen firmly down with one hand, place the squeegee above the ink and, applying some pressure, pull it down the screen, taking the ink with it (pull at a 45º angle for a square blade and upright for D-Cut). Repeat, and then put the squeegee to one side, being careful not to drip excess ink.

Build up to more ambitious designs, like this one from Bonbi Forest.


6. Holding the fabric down with one hand, lift the screen up from the bottom edge and then away. Voila! Admire your design.

7. You will notice that the paper stencil sticks to the screen with the ink. It is important at this stage that you make your next prints quickly and if you notice the ink starting to seem drier you must wash the screen immediately - once water-based ink is dry in the screen it is impossible to get out.

8. When you have finished your print run, discard the paper stencil and wash the screen with cold water. Scrub it lightly with a sponge or nylon washing-up brush to make sure you get all the ink out. Leave the screen to air-dry before printing again.

Tips

Always do a test print before printing on your 'finished' surface.

Paper stencils will have to be discarded when the screen is washed, so if you want to do lots of the same print, make several stencils at once for further printing sessions.