From sketchbook to t-shirt: my hands on process for DIY screen printing

There’s something amazing about taking an idea in your head and seeing it come to life on fabric. In a world full of mass produced fast fashion, creating and printing a design fully by hand feels right. If you’ve ever wondered how our tees come to life, or you’re looking for some help to start your DIY screen printing journey, here’s a quick insight to behind the scenes of the Indie Ink studio.

Preparing the canvas

Before I start the screen printing process, the canvas has to be right. I spent a long time sourcing quality t-shirts but there’s an important first step I never miss - washing the tees. I like to make sure I've removed any manufacturing chemicals and get all the natural fabric shrinkage out of the way. I like to know they’ll hold their shape and not shrink after your first wash so I never miss this step.

Sketchbook to digital artwork

Every design begins as a written idea or a quick sketch. I love drawing and enjoy using this to explore my subjects and ideas. Once I have an idea or an initial sketch, I start drawing on Procreate and refine a final design. Screen printing requires pure black artwork so light can’t pass through it so Procreate is great for making print ready graphics, although not as good quality as Illustrator. 

Printing on acetate at Hull’s Makerspace

I really enjoy visiting the Makerspace in Hull’s library. It has such great facilities and there’s usually people working on some exciting projects. 

This is where I print my designs onto clear acetate sheets. This is really exciting to see my designs on a bigger scale and means I’m ready to start the screen printing process.

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Coating the screens and sunlight exposure

Back home, I prepare the emulsion. Under a dim light, I sweep the emulsion using a coating trough and evenly coat the screens. I then leave the screens horizontally to air dry overnight in a dark room. 

The next morning (hopefully a nice sunny day) I place my screen down, align the acetate design and lay an old piece of glass over the top to keep the acetate completely flat against the mesh. I place this next to a big window with plenty of light, I let it expose for around 20 minutes depending on the weather. The UV rays harden the emulsion everywhere except where the black ink was.

I then wash away the unexposed emulsion, the design gradually appears until it’s completely see through and clear. 

Printing and heat curing

Back in the studio, I use a spray adhesive to secure the t-shirt to the printing board. I flood the mesh with ink and pull the squeegee across with firm, even pressure. This is always amazing to see the design on apparel for the first time! I hang or lay the printed tees out until the ink is fully dry. To lock in the ink to the fabric fibres permanently so it never fades in the wash, I run every tee through my heat press at 185 degrees.

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Hand printed graphic t-shirts

When someone reaches for one of these tees in their wardrobe, they’re not just wearing a normal t-shirt, they’re wearing a whole story. They’re wearing a sunny afternoon in the garden, a trip to Hull’s local library, an evening of sketching, and the care of a hand pulled print. Doing things slowly takes extra patience but I think it’s worth it to have a tee that has been made with so much care and thought.