Craft Ideas: How to do screen printing at home
by Vicky Dean
Practice screen printing at home and you can print your own bold stencil designs onto anything from bags to tea towels (the latter making an ideal crafty Christmas gift). With this tutorial, make your own screen (or buy a screen printing starter kit) and beat crafty Warhol at his own game...
I don’t know about you, but I constantly get crafty ideas about what designs will look great on textiles. Sometimes I catch sight of a poster, symbol or saying on my travels that I would love to print a t-shirt or bag for me to wear loud and proud. I imagine that many of you have your own art work and dream of seeing it in print. For those of you who are arty and want to make this dream a reality, why not have a go at screen printing at home? Screen printing is a hugely versatile technique and lends itself to pieces of art as bright and bold as Warhol’s picture of Marilyn Monroe (probably the most famous screen print ever). Home screen printing can be incredibly fun and will give you an idea of what images work when committed to ink before you have them professionally printed.
Equipment you'll need to attempt screen printing at home:
- Screen printing ink
(around £5.00 per tube)
- A squeegee which you can pick up for about £8.00
- A stencil which you can make yourself
- Masking Tape
- Craft Knife
- A screen printing kit (there are plenty to choose from
Screen printing tutorial
Firstly you need your design. Draw or print it on to thick card and then cut it out using a craft knife. Make sure that your stencil is whole and that no parts of it are loose or disconnected.
Next, tape your stencil to the centre of your screen. Make sure that there is plenty of room around the edges, as you need a “well” area for your ink. Tape a good two or three inches around the stencil so the excess ink won't seep through onto your fabric.
Get your fabric (be that a t-shirt, bag, tea towel or skirt) and lay it flat. When you have smoothed out all the creases you want to place your screen on to your fabric, making sure that the stencil is exactly where you want the design to appear.
Pour your printing ink in a line across the bottom of your stencil (this is what’s known as the well area I previously mentioned) and place your squeegee into the well. In one swift motion push the squeegee away from you, dragging the ink across the stencil. This is known as a pass. Pull the squeegee back towards you and repeat these two steps so that in total you make four passes.
Finally you need to lift off your screen. Gently pick up one side and then the other being careful not to smudge your design. Voila! You should now see your very own beautifully printed design. If you want to use your screen again, make sure that you wash it before the ink dries - otherwise it will stain and ruin.
You can literally have a go at printing your own designs on to anything. I prefer to print onto tea towels as they are a good size and shape to work with, especially if this is your first go. They're also perfect to give away as make-your-own Christmas gifts. Home screen printing works well for one-off designs and is sometimes considered to be more about the experience that the result. It would take many years and a lot of practise to achieve the standard expected of professional screen printers - but it's fun and definitely worth a go!
More: Arts & Crafts, How-Tos and Odd Hobbies on Mookychick
Vicky has been an avid crafter since her early teens. She loves all types of arts and crafts but especially those relating to textiles. She enjoys writing about homemade textiles such as cushions, aprons and tea towels and sharing her knowledge in tutorials. Her two favourite pieces of craft equipment are her sewing machine (of course!) and scissors (every crafter needs a pair of good quality sharp scissors!).
