Design Your Own T-Shirt
Edited by Emmanuel M. Lardizabal, Eng, Lynn, Olivia and 3 others
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T-shirts were originally designed to provide some warmth and, by design, allow for wicking moisture away from the skin. Today they have evolved into something a great deal more than that. These days, tee shirts are wearable art - a means of self-expression, and a way to advertise. Designing your own tee shirt means letting your imagination go wild and saying exactly what you want to say to the world. Tee shirts are so popular there are even tee shirts available for your pets. Learn how to design your own tee shirt with our helpful How to wiki.
Contents
Make a Tie-Dye T-Shirt
Things Needed to Design a Tie-Dye T-Shirt
- 1Plain white T-shirts.The T-shirts need to be white to be able to see the effects of the dye. If you really want to use black or colored shirts, it's better to print on them in contrasting colours, rather than dye them.
- 2Dye.You can use different colors of dye when designing your T-shirt. Since it will be absorbed by the fabric, it will give color to them.
- 3Big pot of water.This is where you'll boil the water to clean the T-shirt, as well as mix the dye.
- 4Rubber band.These will be used to tie the shirt in order to create interesting designs.
Steps
- 1Get a big pot and put water on it.Put it on the stove on high and wait for it to boil.
- 2Tie all the shirts using the rubber band.You can do this while you're waiting for the water to boil. Make sure that the shirts are tied securely to avoid coming loose while soaking in the pot of boiling water and dye. Take a handful of the t-shirt, like a ponytail 2-4 inches in length, and secure the "ponytail" with an elastic. Do this however many times you want to over the entire shirt. Where you create the "ponytail" will be like the centre of a bulls eye - in your design.
- 3When the water is boiling, add the dye of your desired color.Organize the dyes.Do not mix all dye colours together. The mixture may end up producing the color black. You can try two colors to form a different color. You can refer to a color wheel for resultant color combinations. For instance, combining yellow and green will give you yellow green. Don't try to mix a primary color with secondary color for it may not produce satisfactory results. For instance, the combination of black and violet will also produce a black color. Take note that the ratio of the dye that you will mix in the pot is directly proportional to the number of shirts you are going to soak. Therefore, ten shirts are equivalent to ten dyes. You can equally divide the number of dyes, as long as you have the same number of shirts against dyes.
- 4Make sure to soak the shirts in the boiling water for 20-30 minutes stirring it every 2 minutes.Soak the t-shirt/s.Stirring equally distributes the dye so the every shirt soaked absorbs the dye.
- 5You can use a thong in putting the shirts in the pot to avoid getting burned or scalded. Make sure that the number of shirts put in the pot would be enough so as every shirt is submerged into the boiling water.Use caution when stirring as you may scald yourself from the hot water.
- 6Cool them before removing the rubber bands.After boiling the shirts for 20-30 minutes, remove the shirt from the pot.
- 7Finally, when you have removed the rubber bands, hang the shirts under the sun and wait until they dry.After drying the shirts, they should be washed in the regular wash. Wash them alone and add some salt to the water.
Screen Printing
Materials needed for Screen Printing
- 1Screen Printing using Stencil Method.The printing screen will facilitate the transfer of the design to the shirt. With the stencil method, you have to prepare the design ahead of time. The actual design will be carved into the paper. REMEMBER - if you are adding letters to your stencil, they need to be applied backward to the t-shirt.
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Printing using the Silk Screen Method
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Squeegee
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You should also make a box where a 20-watt bulb is placed inside
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The next day, the silk screen will then be ready
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Cloth or Textile Paints
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Work table and newspapers
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Steps
- 1Choose the design for the silkscreen printing.After you have decided on a design, you should print it on a transparency using a laser printer. You can start with your name and move on to a more complex design when you have mastered the process.
- 2Cover your work table with newspapers to prevent it from being painted.You can apply two to three newspapers to make sure the table won't get any paint.
- 3Get the shirt and put it on top of the table covered with newspaper.The part of the shirt to be printed should be the one which is seen. Get the printing or silkscreen, textile paint and squeegee. Place the printing or silkscreen on top of the shirt. Put enough amount of paint on the squeegee. Apply the squeegee with the paint on the silk screen swiping downwards. Repeat if necessary.
- 4Carefully lift the silk screen from the shirt and hang it to dry.It is advisable to wash the shirt before using because it will reek the scent of paint causing the wearer to get nauseous.
Things To Do and Not To Do
- 1Paint is highly volatile. It is dangerous for children.Keep the paint from the reach of children reach.
- 2Keep your materials in a safe place as you may need it when you choose to do another printing project.
- 3The process of tie-dye is dangerous to children, as is silkscreen printing using textile paint.Keep children away from your work area like you would keep children away from the stove when cooking.
- 4Always check the clothes soaked in the boiling water, and stir it so that the dye will be mixed properly.
- 5The shirt also will absorb the paint. As the shirt absorbs the paint, it will scatter and ruin your design.When printing using the silk screen or stencil screen printing, do not put large amounts of paint since it may overlap while you are printing.
- 6Refrain from moving the printing screen because if you keep on moving it, the result of the print would be different from what you are expecting.
- 7If you try it twice, it will become blurred.When silk-screening, you basically just get one pass with the squeegee.
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
