Screen print your own designs using a homemade frame.
You can make a unique fashion statement by wearing a T-shirt screen printed with your own design. Instead of approaching a print shop to print this for you, you can easily build an inexpensive screen printing frame at home and decorate your T-shirts yourself. All it takes is some patience, an old picture frame, some sheer curtain fabric and a few basic tools.
Instructions
1. Remove the glass, backing and any hardware from the picture frame, leaving just the wooden frame. Turn the frame so that the flat back side is uppermost.
2. Lay the sheer curtain over the frame covering it completely. Use the staple gun to place a staple in the top center of the frame, through the sheer fabric. Pull the fabric taut and place staples in the top left and right top corners of the frame.
3. Pull the fabric taut again and staple the bottom center of the frame and at the bottom left and right sides. Keep the grain of the fabric straight and square to the frame.
4. Still pulling on the fabric, staple it to the sides of the picture frame, placing staples opposite each other down the left and right sides. The finished screen should be firm to the touch. If it's too loose, remove some of the staples and redo them.
5. Trim any of the sheer curtain that extends beyond the picture frame. Hammer any staples that stand above the surface of the frame.
6. Cut a piece of paper to the size of the screen and place it on the screen to mask it. Seal both sides of the frame with acrylic varnish. Allow this to dry and apply a second coat. Be careful not to get any varnish on the screen.
7. Turn the frame so that the screen is on the bottom. Apply masking tape around the edges, firmly pressing the center of the width of the tape into the join between the frame and the screen.
