Sunday, August 2, 2015

Oh, baby! I've been silkscreening!

It's been a LONG time since I wrote a post. What have I been up to? Last year my artistic endeavors were focused on our DIY wedding. This year, my time is gearing up for a baby. I've been learning to sew and have broken out the silkscreens again. Onsies galore!




Lots of people have raved about these and want to learn how. While there's better internet tutorials out there, here's the basic process. 

1. Buy or make screens. I have traditionally made them using special silkscreen fabric and canvas stretchers. I only wanted to make two more blank screens so it was just made sense for me to buy two pre-assembled screens vs buying 5 yards of the fabric. If you plan on making several screens, definitely consider building your own. It's WAY more cost effective. 

2. Duct tape the heck out of the the screens so water won't ruin the wood. 


3. Cut out the stencils. I just hand sketch something on an envelope (see picture) and then cut it out with an exacto. The parts you cut out are the where the ink will show through. 





4. Using painter's tape, tape the stencil to the outer part of the screen. 




5. Setup other supplies. This includes laying down 2-3 tablecloths or sheets that you don't mind printing on. Sometimes ink bleeds through. I just used tablecloths I found at goodwill. You will also need:

  • Silkscreen ink: You can get some at art supply stores or online supply stores like Dick Blick. I have a small sampler set that works well. 
  • Squeegees: The ones with the round edge are best for fabric printing The ones with the square edge is better for paper printing. 
  • Spoons or spatulas for mixing or applying color to screen. 
  • Plastic containers (optional): I save cream cheese containers in case I want to to mix colors together. 
  • Scrap Fabric: It's important to have one to test the print. 
  • Painter's Tape: I use this in two ways. 1) It holds down fabric or paper so it won't come up when you lift the screen after printing 2) You can use it to mark the placement of screens on the clothing or paper before you start printing. 
  • Paper: Paper can be inserted under a piece of clothing to avoid bleeding into the fabric or surface. 


6. Layout the fabric or paper you will print on. Make sure they are spaced well. Lay the screen (not yet inked) down to center the print, and mark tape around the screen so you know where to line it up when you start printing. 




7. Apply paint to screen and test print on the scrap fabric. 



8. If you like what you see, keep going.

9. Almost done! Clean up. Let the paint dry. Before washing, you should heat set the print. Here's a video about heat setting. 




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