Silk Screening is Fun!
I just recently learned how to silk-screen in a fun and easy DIY sort of way. Silk screening is an awesome way to decorate bags, clothes or to make patches, if you didn’t know. Here is one easy, low-tech way of doing it:
Materials:
1 wooden frame
a rectangle of silk-screen a little bigger than the frame
cardboard
paint
white glue (like elmer’s)
acrylic paint
an image to copy (something simple)
something to print on!
stapler or staple gun
water
paint brush
black marker
How: Take your silk screen and staple it on the frame, once on each side to start, (its easier to staple on the flat side of the frame). go around the whole frame pulling the silk and stapling until it is really taunt. Once it is really tight, draw your image using a marker. If you want to copy an image, you can put it under the silk screen and trace it. Remember you will be printing with the flat side of the frame up.
Once your drawing is done, take a bunch of white glue and mix it with a little water and a littler paint. It should be the consistency of paint, basically. The paint is so you can see where you have put the glue already. Using the paintbrush, paint all around your image — Paint everything EXCEPT where the marker is. Hold your screen up to the light so you can see if you have filled in all the holes. Then let it dry.
When your screen is dry, put it flat down on some fabric or paper or whatever you want to print on. Take some cardboard and fold it in half to make a little squeegee. Plop some paint down on one end of your screen using a paint brush and then use your squeegee to pull the paint over the whole screen. Only squeegee in one direction. Carefully lift your screen and see your image. Yeah! Now let it dry and use the screen to print on a whole bunch of stuff.
Your screen can be reused. Clean it by soaking it in water
January 29th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Any good markers you know that work good on silk screened shirts? Want to do a shirt that is like a coloring book the owner adds the colors they want. Perm. and or washable makers.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:25 am
YOUU SUKK