screen printing your own t-shirts

[Kev1417]

i didn't know where else to place this thread, so why not with all the crafts?

i've picked up on screen printing my own t-shirts this year using the speedball system. has anyone attempting doing anything Disney related on t-shirts? i've done some basic designs non-disney, but i am thinking about my next shirt. I was thinking of maybe putting "kindly watch your step.....please" with a picture of footsteps in the center. or possibly the silhouette of the 3 hitch hiking ghosts from the haunted mansion.

just curious if anyone has attempted anything and please feel free to show a pic if you have. :wave:

 

[britdaw]

I am a graphic designer and use CafePress a lot to do custom shirts. However, you can't use anything that is a copyrighted image on their site, so you would have to be careful about what you put on it.
The hitchhiking ghosts idea sounds super cute! And you could definitely get away with that one.

 

[Kev1417]

yeah i know about the copy write stuff. That's why i'm trying to think of simple things to do that wouldn't involve copy write. plus i haven't screened using multiple colors/layers yet. figured i could use illustrator to create a decent silhouette and go from there. unless someone has a better idea for a shirt?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I've never screen printed anything before but that's an interesting idea. I used to do custom and/or matching shirts for all our trips. These days I'm more inclined to do a concert or tour type thing with all the dates of our past trips listed on the back just for fun. I hate hate hate the iron-on transfers you get for home use. Even the pricy ones add a stiffness to the material that feels like you're wearing cardboard. I've not been willing to swallow the investment on a shirt press to use the professional quality transfers. And shirt shops will not touch anything even mildly Disney-related. Zazzle is great but those shirts add up FAST!

So how hard is this screen printing? Tell me more about it.

I don't think you'll have a problem with copywright infringement as long as you are making your own shirts and not cashing in on the characters or doing anything that comes off questionable in taste or appropriate-ness. Shoot, search eBay or Etsy and you'll see all sorts of stuff people make and sell that's Disney-related. I'd see Disney going after those folks before they messed with someone wanting to make their family or travel group matching shirts for their trip.

I'd love to see what you come up with!:wave:

 

[Kev1417]

i hate the iron on things as well. That's why i wanted to learn how to screen print. for a family trip in '09 we all had t-shirts i designed and got them printed for $20 each for 2 colors. I wish i knew how to upload prints to show the design. On the front i had big mickey ears with each ear having the last name of the 2 families that went. around the ears i had a cirlce that had every year our family has been. And inbetween each year there was the little "hidden mickey" ears. Oh yeah the best part was on the back. it's kind of family tradition on each vacation that each member of the family had a word on the back of the shirt. This year it spelled out "We are paying homage to the mouse". So we would stand in line and rearrange ourselves to make difference sentences. We were a hit!

as far as doing it at home it's actually quit simple. the hardest part is the design. the second hardest part is cutting the design out. right now i am just cutting the design out of paper and using the "negative" to place on the screen and running the ink. The hardest part about running the ink is how much pressue to use, but you figure it out by your 2nd or 3rd shirt if not your first. Again i have only been working with 1 color/single layer images right now. However i LOVE doing it and it's a lot simplier than i thought it would be. I have done designes for my softball team and I even have friends asking me to design and print shirts for them now.

I haven't even tried to work with the emulsion fluid method. Seems a little more complicated for me right now. I also just got a cricut this christmas so that makes cutting designs out 10 times quicker and easier. I don't even scrapbook, i only use the cricut for t-shirts!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Sounds cool. I know a total of "zip" about screen printing, tho. To do more than one color do you layer them and allow them to dry between layers? I need to go do some research on this. It's a great idea. I've given thought to hand-painting shirts but that's a LOT of tedious work. LOL!

 

[Kev1417]

i didn't know anything about screen printing when i started. it's very easy to pick up and you can do a lot of cool things with just 1 color and basic ideas....especially if you have a cricut to cut everything out for you!

for the color questions your are absolutely correct. you print everything you want in one color, then you will have to line up the screen again after everything has dried and do the next color. The speedball screen printing had 2 screens in the kit along with some ink and instructional video. trust me you'll be able to do it, it's very simple.

 

[britdaw]

Wow, that's so cool!! I wish I had my own press at home. I'd love to be able to do my own designs right here in the house instead of having to use sites like CafePress or Custom Ink.

 

[aka_emilicious]

I just bought my own speedball kit! Before I was using an embroidery hoop, meshy material, and modpodge. I made a shirt for Star Tours (and then promptly forgot it at home) that says "Visit Alderaan. Voted Safest Planet in the Galaxy" with a planet and a deathstar. Light blue shirt with white ink/paint.

Let me know what you come up with! I'm excited to start making disney shirts!

:wave:

 

[Alvin]

Fantastic. Thank you for that information - I wanted to do some screen printing but thought it would be too expensive - I cant wait to give it a go now!Click here