DIY Screenprinting

If any of you are like me, you think there's a work-around for just about anything. Thus I present to you, easy at-home DIY screenprinting. 

Let me tell you, I have wanted to do this for quite some time now, and when I stumbled upon Calico Skies' Tutorial I decided it was time to give it a try. 

Materials:

- Plain t-shirt

- Knee-Highs (cheap and sheer)

- Modge-Podge

- Permanent Marker 

- Embroidery Hoop

- Paint Brush

- Paint (I used Martha Stewart Satin Multi-Purpose)

Step 1:

 Make a sketch of what you want to screenprint. Make sure you don't exceed the size of the hoop. Also make sure that your kitty approves.

Step 2:

Cut the knee-high (or pantyhose) so that you have the greatest possible amount to stretch over the hoop.

Stretch it around the hoop (make sure it's tight!). For me, it was a two- man job. 

Step 3:

Trace your design onto your hoop using the sharpie.

Step 4: 

Paint the negative space with modge podge. Wherever you DON'T want paint, there should be modge podge. This step is arguably THE most crucial part of the whole process. Hold it up to the light so that you can see and fill any holes. 

Let dry completely (it took 1 hour in front of a fan for me).

Step 5: 

Time to start the fun part! Put something inside the shirt so that the paint doesn't get on the back panel of the shirt. Place the screen on the shirt where you'd like the print to be. Squirt the paint all on the screenprint. If you did step 4 right, it will only touch the shirt at the right parts. Use anything that will scrape the paint evenly across. Let it sit for just long enough to get tacky (10-ish minutes), then lift!!! You can now see the print, but be careful not to touch it! 

Let sit overnight. 

Ta-da! If you can't tell, I'm fond of my home state. What design did you choose? Comment below! 

Good luck!