DIY: Screenpint Your Own Tee's!

Ever wanted to have a custom tee shirt for the special occasion or event, but thought the process would be too labor intenssive or costly? I know the feeling! I always love having a custom shirt for all kinds of occasions: bachlorette parties, birthdays, reunions, football games, baby showers, movie releases, or even random shirts for everyday wear. It is possible to make your own shirt with a little time and a few $$. I will give you the few steps and materials you'll need to make pretty much any design you can think of. The options are limitless, so get out there and make some bad-a$$ tee's!

Materials:

Ok, so here are some of the things you will need:

-Tee shirt(s): I got mine at Michael's. They were having a 50% off sale and each shirt was $2!

-Blank stencil or transparaencies

-Exact-o Knife

-Screenprinting screen: also got at Michael's

-Putty Knife/Squeegee: found at any hardwear store, plastic is best not to mention cheaper!

-Ruler

-Small paint brush

-Screenprinting Ink: Michael's or Hobby Lobby (more color options)*Since the ink is a little expensive you can use acrylic paint. It may not last as long and clog the screen, but it will be fine for one time shirts

-The logo or image you want to put on your shirt

-Cardboard-Painter's tape: not pictured, but it will definitely help!

-Iron

Step 1:

Trace your image onto the stencil or tansperancy. If you are doing a lot of straight lines it might help to use a ruler. If you need to, tape down the papers so the don't shift on you.

Step 2:

Using an exact-o knife, cutout your sentcil. Take your time on this part. Pay special attention to any parts that may not be attached once you cut them out. Leave little tabs to make sure they stay connected. Think of it like craving a pumpkin. You have to make sure all the pieces are connected some how.

Step 3:

Get your shirt ready. Make sure you are working on a nice flat, hard surface. Place palastic, newspaper or cardboard under your shirt incase ink gets where you don't want it. Place a piece of cardboard between the layers of the shirt where you want the image to be. Make sure eveything is flat and wrinkle-free.

Step 4:

Place the stencil where you want the image to be on your shirt. You may want to measure with a ruler to make sure it is centered and straight. Use the painter's tape to fix the stencil onto the shirt. You can also you the tape to block out any parts of the image you dont want to be colored or you want a different color. You can use masking tape too, but I like the painter's tape because it's not as sticky and comes off easier.

Step 5:

Place your screen on top of the stencil so the screen is touching the stencil. Place a thick strip of ink/paint accross the top of the screen. Depending on how large your image is will determine the amount of ink/paint you will need. You will need a generous amount. More is better than less.

Step 6:

Using the putty knife, drag the ink all the way down the the end of your image. Make sure you don't go too far that you go past the edge of the stencil. Having someone hold the screen down for you will be a big help. Do this all the way accross till you have filled all the parts you want colored. You may want to make several passes just to ensure ink has filled every corner and crevasse. You also don't want to have too muck ink left on top. Remove as much of the excess as you can and place it in a container or back in the jar.

Step 7:

Carefully lift up the screen. Check to see if you have fully covered all the spaces. If not, place the screen back down and repeat step 6 till everything is evenlly covered.

Step 8:

Fill in any gaps you may have with a fine paint brush

Step 9:

Repeat step 1-8 for any additional shirts you want to make. Work quickly, don't let the ink on the screen dry. Once it's dry it won't come out, and then your screen is useless! Let your shirts dry completely before you move on to add more color. You can use a hair dryer to speed up the process.

Step 10:

Clean up! Thoroughly wash your screen, stencil, paint brush and putty knife.

Step 11:

If you want to do more than one color, block out any parts of the design you don't want colored with tape. The process will be the same for each color. Just make sure you let each color dry before you do other colors. Rinse and wash all you euipment after each color too!

Step 12:

You will need to heat set your shirt, but only if you used screenprinting ink. If you used fabric paint or acryllic paint you are good to go! To heat set, place a piece of paper over your design and iron for about 10 seconds. Use a fairly hot iron, I used the cotton setting.

Step 13:

Wash your shirt, and your'e ready to enjoy you're very own handmade tee! So cool all your friends will want you to show them how :)

There are a variety of ways to screen print. If your design is really complicated and too detailed to cut out, check out this video about using photo transfer paper! It's super cool and pretty easy to follow! Enjoy!