TUTORIAL
|
ON THE CD
You ll find all the files ILLUSTRATOR
you need to get started
with this tutorial in
the folder marked
Tutorial\Screen on SCREEN-PRINTING TRICKS
this month s CD.
Ever wanted to make your own printed T-shirts but didn t fancy the expense? Jason Arber reveals a cheap and
TIME NEEDED
easy way to make a pseudo screen-printed T-shirt using Illustrator, an embroidery hoop and a pair of tights
2 hours
INFO There are several different ways to pair of tights, fabric paint, scissors and
get your designs on to a T-shirt. an embroidery hoop.
Jason Arber
is editor-in- One of the simplest is to use an inkjet As you ll be doing most of this by
chief of
printer and a special transfer process, but hand, it s best to keep the design simple
online art,
there s something a bit sexier about a and only try complex designs when
design and
screen-printed shirt. Because of the you re more confident. It s a perfect job
culture magazine
expense of producing the screens, it s not for the weekend because the glue and
Pixelsurgeon, as well as
economically viable to use screen- paint will take a couple of days to dry. But
creative director of
design agency Children printing to make one-off T-shirts, unless once you have a design, it ll only take an
of Finland. He s also a
your granny died leaving you a fortune or hour or two to complete the T-shirt. The
keen wicker-bottom Before you get started you ll need to
you have more money than sense. finished result will be a charming hand-
chair repairer. Visit www. 1gather your materials together. You ll
So for the rest of us, here s a cheap, drawn look, and using the screen makes it
pixelsurgeon.com to find need a plain T-shirt, a 20cm (8-inch)
simple method of producing single T- simple to run off a few more.
out more. embroidery hoop, a bottle of PVA glue, some
shirts (or even a small run) with nothing
cheap, fine curtain netting (or an old pair of
more than a plain T-shirt, PVA glue, Illustration and tutorial by Jason Arber tights), a small paintbrush and a jar of fabric
www.pixelsurgeon.com paint in a colour of your choice.
brushes, fine curtain netting or an old
56 April 2006
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TUTORIAL
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CHOOSE YOUR TOOLS
Painting with PVA glue
is not as difficult as it
might seem. The
secret is to choose a
chisel-edged brush
with a head between 5
and 10mm wide. The
width gives you
coverage when you
need it, but the narrow
edge will enable you to
push glue into small
areas. If you find glue
In Adobe Illustrator, or another graphics too difficult to work
2 package of your choice, create a circle Flip the embroidery hoop over and with, you could try
with a 20cm diameter on an A4 page. 5 carefully start painting glue over the When painting, it s important to try and acrylic paint, which
Ensure your design is simple and that it fits areas that you d like to remain free of fabric 8 paint through the material on to the T- dries waterproof. The
within the circle you ve just created. paint. This is undoubtedly the hardest and shirt and be as generous as you can with the bright colours make
most time-consuming part of the process. amount of fabric paint you use. Gentle strokes edges easier to define.
won t transfer well to the T-shirt underneath.
When you re finished, carefully remove the
HIGH-TECH PRINTING
hoop and allow the fabric paint to dry.
If dealing with hoops
and paint seems a bit
messy and you own an
inkjet printer, buying
T-shirt transfer paper
might be the answer.
You print out your
design in reverse, then
iron it on to a T-shirt.
The results may be
crisp and colourful, but
Print out the A4 sheet in black and the designs don t last
3white. Cut a square of fabric, larger than as long as fabric-
the embroidery hoop. Unscrew the hoop to When you re sure the paint is dry, follow painted shirts and they
take it apart, place the material over the Make sure you give yourself a healthy 9 the manufacturer s instructions to fix the can only be printed on
larger hoop, then push the smaller hoop 6border of glue  there s no need to fill image. In this case, the design was ironed on to pale material.
down to trap the fabric. Screw together, but the whole hoop because you ll be applying a high heat with a protective piece of material
not all the way, so you can make the fabric the paint by hand rather than squeegeeing between the paint and the iron s surface
more taut before screwing the hoop tight. screen-printing ink across it. When you re
finished, wash the brush in warm water and
leave the hoop to dry overnight.
Now place the embroidery hoop over
4the printout so that the material Put a piece of card inside the T-shirt,
touches the paper. Then, using either a 7 position the hoop on top and secure it in The finished result. The design has a grungy, distressed look thanks
pencil or a biro, sketch around the design. place with tape (although in practice, holding 10to the uneven application of paint and the hand-drawn and hand-
Where possible, avoid using a felt-tip pen, it down firmly with one hand might suffice). painted edges, but that s part of the charm of this process. It s possible to
because the ink will instantly start to spread Using the cleaned brush, paint liberally over use the hoop again, so churn out a few more T-shirts before the netting or
into the netting fabric. the design with the fabric paint. tights become clogged with paint.
April 2006
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