How to Do Screen Printing on Fabric

Last Updated: May 26, 2021 References

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.

Steps

1
Lay out your wooden frame onto your choice of fabric.
2
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.

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3
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.^{[1]
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4
Let it dry in a completely dark place overnight.
5
Spread the black paper all over the floor and put your screen on top, wood side down (with staples on top).
6
Tape your transparencies with clear tape to the dry surface of the screen.^{[2]
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7
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.
8
Rinse your screen with very cold water. Let dry.^{[3]
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9
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.^{[4]
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10
Lift up the screen and you have an image on the fabric! Let dry.^{[5]
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11
Iron the back side of the fabric for however long it says to on the paint container.
12
Wash the fabric.^{[6]
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Community Q&A

Question

What type of ink should I use to screen print on fabric?

Community Answer

Direct permanent screen printing ink or fabric paint.
Question

What is the best type of squeegee?

Community Answer

It depends on what color ink you're using, but a 70 squeegee is good for most. They are generally green in color. It will bend under the pressure of your hand gripping it, but only a little.
Question

How environmentally-friendly is screen-printing ink?

Community Answer

Water-based inks aren’t too bad, but plastisol contains dangerous solvents that are “burned off” during the heat-curing process. This is what plastisol is generally not used on children’s garments, given that young children tend to explore with their mouths and there is always a risk of some solvent remaining on the garment. These days there are eco-friendly versions of most other products needed for screen-printing.

Warnings

It's easy to apply too much emulsion to the screen because you will probably have a great deal of extra. If you do this and drips form as it is drying, these will form holes and accidental open spaces in the screen. You will need to patch these later.

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Things You'll Need

organdy silkscreen fabric
wooden artist frame
staple gun with staples
squeegee
set of silkscreen photo sensitizer and emulsion
heat-set fabric paint
your chosen image printed out in all black (no grayscale) on a transparency
a big cleared space to set up your light station
lamp with a 200 watt bulb.
a safe light room (not a dark room), a few sheets of yellow cellophane over fluorescent tubes does the trick
black non-glossy paper
place to wash your screen (shower or tub)
whatever fabric you want to print on
household iron
cleaning Powder (for frame washing)