Linen Loving- Screen Printing Tutorial

Last weekend saw me enjoying some alone time in our studio while the kids slept. I was all enthused at the thought of customising some linen for Zephie and had just made this stencil. I decided that screen printing would be the prefect medium. If you don't have screen printing supplies, sponging or spray painting would work well.

I have used this sweet little deer from Stencil 101 for the tutorial. Images of the almost completed linen are below.

You will need:

•  stencil (use this tutorial to cut your own). 
•  screen (you can buy these from any art supplier, A4 should be big enough for most things) 
•  squeegee
•  plain sheet set
•  fabric paint

Step 1

use masking tape to attach your stencil to the screen. Attach paper to cover any exposed screen around the stencil, making sure that there are no gaps or holes.

Step 2

Place the screen onto your surface with the stencil making contact with your fabric. Apply fabric ink evenly along the top inside of your screen. 

step 3

Using a downward motion, apply pressure as you drag the squeegee towards yourself *. Repeat until paint  has covered the entire stencil. *You should be applying enough pressure so that all of the paint is dragged to the bottom of the screen, use a palette knife or spoon to scoop it back up and squeegee again if you need to.

Step 4

Carefully lift your screen and admire your handiwork. This Print was slightly flooded (see left hand side) due to the rough nature of the hessian and the thickness of the stencil used. The deer stencil below is straight from the Stencil 101 book, I find the cardboard on these ready made stencils too thick, a better result is achieved with acetate (as per my tutorial).

All Done!

Wash your supplies with warm soapy water and dry them with a soft towel before going printing crazy. 

...

Once I start screen printing I can't stop, printing everything in sight. The little deer will be turned into a Christmas stocking for Pippi (i'll post a tutorial for that later), being the perfect match for the one I made for Zeph last year.

More colour will be added to this linen and maybe a smaller balloon too - Its just not quite right yet? 

 When Zeph excitedly jumped into bed to sleep under his new sheets, I lifted them above his head and said 'look, they will float around you while you are sleeping'. He replied with a dumbfounded look on his innocent face - 'umm. no they won't mum- they're stuck'. Giving them them a little wipe over, he repeated 'see mum, they're stuck'.

Okay friends get your screen printing on. Don't go to the crowded shops and buy. Stay home, get messy and get creative.

TODAY IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO GET 50% OFF