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Screen Printing has allowed me to add more skills to my ever expanding set. I decided to learn how to screen print back in February 2019. I had wanted to put my own designs onto fabric for quite some time, and having drawn since a young age I really enjoyed this process.
I sketched several design ideas that would fit onto A3 paper. I chose to go with strawberries and llamas. I separated the berry from the leaves with the strawberry design so that I could later print them in separate colours. With the llama design I added two sizes. The smaller llamas for a repeat print onto fabric, and the larger ones for me to print onto T-Shirts and bags etc.
My designs were then printed out onto acetate. I then degreased and dried my screens to prepare them for coating with emulsion. The screens are placed into a drying cupboard until they are ready to have my designs exposed onto them. Below is the end result.
The inks I would be using are designed to print onto natural fibers. With this in mind I chose linen and denim fabrics to screen print my designs onto. The fabric was pre-washed to remove any finish that might have been applied so that it wouldn't affect the end result of the print. I also ironed my fabric on the print table then taped it down to hold it in place for printing.
I used white opaque ink for this darker denim fabric and mixed it with pigments to get the desired colours. I chose a squeegee wider than my design and positioned my screen in place. Denim being a thicker fabric I needed more pulls with the squeegee than with the linen. After each print I used a hair drier approx 10 cm above the print until it was dry to the touch. I would clean my screen in the washout booth every 3-4 prints to prevent the ink from drying onto the screen. I repeat printed the berries followed by the leaves. Once complete I heat set the fabric so that the ink does not run when the fabric is washed.
I chose French Navy coloured ink to print my llama design onto linen. I used transparent ink with the fabric being lighter and no colour mixing was needed this time. This was printed as a repeat print for the 2 metres of linen just like with my strawberry design onto denim.
The 18th Century Pocket - To make this I used several printing and dying techniques. I started off with a white cotton fabric that I dyed cream. I sketched and cut out my stem and leaf design to create my stencil. Then I used screen printing to get my design onto the pocket fabric. I cut out each individual glitter petal and carefully ironed them into place. I hand painted details onto the leaves and the stems using metallic paint. I cut out and then dyed the trim ready to be hand sewn onto the pocket once sewn together on the industrial machine.
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