T-shirt Printing at Home
Printing t-shirts at home helps save your time and money. Even though t-shirt printing sounds complicated, it is as easy as snapping your fingers. You can buy plain white or black t-shirts and create beautiful prints on all of them with different designs. Just follow the instructions mentioned below for screen printing and spray t-shirt printing right at home, and I guarantee you will be showered with compliments wherever you go.
Screen Printing
Before we begin to learn the basic steps of how to print t-shirts at home, let's start with the pre-screening process. Think of a simple design that projects your individuality and style. Keep the design between 9 x 15 inches in length. Ready the materials mentioned below and select an area (preferably away from everyone in the house) as your workstation.
Materials Needed
- T-Shirt
- Black or color ink
- Squeegee
- Cardboard
- Screen w/ frames
- 150 watt bulb
- Light bulb socket
- Photo-emulsion Kit
- Lukewarm water
- Duct tape
- Transparency paper
- Hanger
- Iron
- White paper
- Ironing board
- Watering can
Step 2: Buy a screen from any art store or you can make one by purchasing the frame and some silk screen according to the size of your design. The inexpensive choice would be to make one yourself. Spread the screen over the frame and fasten it with some staples.
Step 3: This step is a bit tricky because we will transfer the design on the screen, so pay close attention. Take your photo-emulsion kit and follow the directions that are on it. It will show you how to burn the image on top of the screen. Use the heat from the socket which is holding the 150 watts bulb, it will transfer the design from the transparency paper to your screen.
Step 4: Now wash the image away from the screen with the lukewarm water. Don't panic; you are only washing out the parts that aren't needed. The design which is needed has already been imprinted onto the screen with the chemicals.
Step 5: Place the t-shirt on top of a cardboard and put the screen on the t-shirt. Take out any creases so that you have a smooth surface to work on. Pour black or any other color of your choice on top of the screen only. Take the squeegee, extract the ink from top to bottom and then bottom to top over the screen. When you lift your screen, you will find your design transferred on the t-shirt.
Step 6: Take a hanger and hang the screen printed t-shirt to dry properly. Once the ink is dry, place a white paper on top of the print and iron it for 5 minutes. This will help set the ink on the t-shirt. Voila, your screen t-shirt printing is ready.
Spray Printing
To get a professional looking t-shirt print, always use a simple stencil. T-shirt printing for beginners is a great project that will help customize their clothing.
Materials Needed
- T-Shirt
- Scissors
- Sheet of paper
- Marker
- Newspaper
- Cardboard
- Stencils
- Spray paint color
Step 2: As you get your design, place the cut-out over the stencil. Keep the stencil flat on the t-shirt. Now it's time to spray the t-shirt. Think of what you want the end product to look like and imagine the color(s).
Step 3: Place the cardboard inside the shirt, as it will prevent the paint from spreading through the other side. Just as an extra precautionary method, work on top of a newspaper.
Step 4: Take the spray paint can and hold it about 6 inches away from the t-shirt. Apply light amount of paint around the stencil. Don't spray too much. Just a light smear over the stencil will give you the desired pattern. You can keep moving the stencil up or down the t-shirt and make more prints.
There are many other methods that can fit into anyone's budget. Same goes for the color, I chose black because it is much cheaper than other colors. If you are using cotton t-shirts, make sure you don't pour too much ink on the screen as it may bleed inside the fabric.
