Screen
printing on fabric is a wonderful way to improve the look of fabric and to make
any sort of pattern that suits your needs. You will need a reasonable amount of
space and to set aside some time to dip in and get messy but the end results
are well worth the effort. This article explains how to screen print fabric.
Lay out your wooden frame onto your choice of fabric.
Staple your fabric very tightly to the frame -so
tight, you think it is going to rip. Staple one of the corners first, stretch it, then
staple the opposite corner. Go back to the first corner, stretch the fabric,
and staple about one inch clockwise from the 1st staple you made. Go back to
the opposite corner, stretch the fabric, and staple one inch clockwise next the
other staple. Keep doing this, going back and forth, and stretching every time,
until you get all the way around the screen. What should happen is that you
have to re-staple the first couple that you made because they are looser than
the rest.
Spread your mixed-up emulsion onto the fabric very
thinly in a completely dark room.(although some emulsions are safe to use in a low
light/sunlight environment). The package should have directions on how to
prepare the emulsion. Spread on both sides, make sure the whole thing is wet,
with no spots missed. To see what you are doing, use a red photo-darkroom
light.
Let it dry in a completely dark place overnight.
Spread the black paper all over the floor and put your
screen on top, wood side down (with staples on top).
Tape your transparencies with clear tape to the dry
surface of the screen.
Set up your lamp directly over the screen (distance
according to directions), and turn the light on for however long it says in the
directions.
Rinse your screen with very cold water. Let dry.
Lay your screen staple-side down on your fabric, put a
line of paint on the screen, along one side, and with your squeegee, lay down a
flood stroke using light pressure, the next pass should be firm with a smooth
motion to press the ink through the screen onto the fabric.
Lift up the screen and you have an image on the
fabric! let dry.
Iron the back side of the fabric for however long it
says to on the paint container.
Wash the fabric.
