How to Make Your Own T Shirt Print

If you want to learn how to make your own t shirt print there are many places on the internet where you can find information.  Some sites will help you with the design process, while others will help you with the construction process and, of course, some will help you with both.  Others might lead you to a special fabric retailer, or even a craft and design page that will help you channel your inner artist.   However, before we get too specific, the first thing to remember is that you must start with a design.

Once you have your design, simply draw it on a piece of paper, scan your sheet into your computer and, using the appropriate software make any subtle changes to the color or texture that you deem necessary.  At this point there is special equipment you will need in order to produce the silkscreen you will use to transfer the design to the garment.  If you have never used this equipment, now would be a good time to take your digital representation and find an expert who can teach you how to make your own t shirt print silkscreen.  Or you could have someone with the equipment do it for you.

There are a few things you should know about creating the silkscreen.  If you do not know how to make your own t shirt print or have not done it before, and do not have the necessary equipment you can make your own with simple carpentry tools.  You will need to make the screen (or perhaps purchase one from a craft store nearby or online), which is basically nylon mesh woven into a screen and secured with wooden frame.

First you must coat the screen with an emulsion—on the side that you will face the shit).  Next, print the design you saved in your computer onto a transparent sheet (like the ones used in overhead projectors) and place it on the coated screen.    Expose the template to light (any light works, but the more controlled the environment the better) for a few minutes.  Remove the screen, rinse off the emulsion, and add ink to your screen.  This is the final step to creating the screen.

Once you have made the screen, you have finished the majority of the important work.  When learning how to make your own t shirt print this will be a long process, but a worthwhile one as you only need to do it once for each pattern you would like to use.  If you are designing the pattern for yourself, you now get to enjoy the fruits of your labor and press the screen onto the desired garments.  This is the easy part.

Perhaps you already know how to make your own t shirt print and need an outlet to share it, or the equipment to screen it.  There are probably places near you with this equipment that you can hire, but for the most rewarding experience build it yourself.  It takes about a weekend to perform the entire process (even the actually screening to the shirt) and anyone can do it!