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DIY T-Shirt Printing

You can personalize and print your own t-shirts at home with basic screen printing equipment, such as a silk screen printing frame, a squeegee and printing ink. To print on fabric, you will need to use a fabric ink. When selecting your design, remember you will have to cut it out, so avoid images that are too complicated for you. Simple images such as silhouettes work well when screen printed.

Things You'll Need

  • Pen
  • Acetate
  • Thick cardboard
  • Craft knife
  • Iron
  • Silk screen printing frame
  • Masking tape
  • Fabric ink
  • Squeegee
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Instructions

    • 1

      Choose or draw a design to print on the t-shirt. Print or draw this design onto an A4 size sheet of acetate.

    • 2

      Place thick cardboard under your work area. Using a craft knife, cut out the areas of your design that you want to print. This cut-out design is your stencil.

    • 3

      Press the t-shirt to remove any wrinkles or creases on the area you intend to print. Lay the t-shirt flat on your work surface. Insert cardboard between the two layers of the t-shirt, under the area on which you are going to print. This will stop the ink from bleeding through both layers of the material during the printing stage.

    • 4

      Place the stencil on top of the t-shirt. Lower the screen on top of the stencil. Apply masking tape to any areas on the underside of the screen that are not covered by the acetate stencil.

    • 5

      Put a small amount of ink along the top of the screen. Pull the ink down the screen with a squeegee held at a 45-degree angle.

    • 6

      Lift the screen off the t-shirt from left to right. The stencil will come away with the screen leaving the printed t-shirt. Allow the shirt to dry. Wash the stencil, squeegee and screen in water to remove the ink.

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