Saturday evening of a may long weekend this year meant going up to Calgary and trying out some silk screening with my cousin Sylvie. I was very excited to start this and had a gut feeling I was really going to enjoy myself doing it. I had bought some new and exciting cotton silk blend fabrics for my summer line of scarves and could not wait to get started!
Sunday morning we start getting creative and Sylvie starts doing some images and patterns that we will burn onto the screen and print on the scarves.
Try session 1) It took FOREVER for the emulsion to dry. 5 hours to be precise.
what we should of done: put the fan in the bathroom way sooner then when we actually did.
Try session 2) The image took FOREVER to burn into the screen.
what we should of done: not put the emulsion on so thick (instructions did read a small layer), put more weight onto the screen, and have more powerful light bulbs.
The photo emulsion session was over for that evening. We tried decided to try with the Yellow Sticky Tape instead. Its called a special name that escapes my brain at this second.
So it was on to try and print the leaf through that. Well we tried with the new paints that Paul had went to go pick up for me....and... fail.
Try session 3) The paint would not show up on the fabric.
what we should of done: The paint was wayyy to thick and would not go through the screen as the screen was too small of holes for the thick paint to make itself through the print!
So we went back with the original paints that came with my silk screening kit. and HURRAY that worked! we got a few feather prints on scarves and a wife beater and a plain white tee for the boys.
What we found out Monday afternoon; we should of kept working through the evening at that!
Try session 4)Do the emulsion one more time. Let dry over night. Make thiner this time. Put under the screen to burn. New image was on the acetate sheet in the inverse (negative).
what we should of done: Let the image burn into the screen for five hours! OR I should of bought a second screen!
Try session 5) Do the yellow tape again.
what we should of done: put the tape on the outside of the screen instead of where we flood it with paint. Lots of paint spots of flooding showed up on the fabric.
Try session 6) use the positive cut outs of the yellow and stick on the screen. Then use the drawing fluid to block out the screen. FINALLY SUCCESS!!! at 3:30 pm Monday afternoon!!!!!
Too bad I had to leave by 4 to head back home.
I learned a lot.
I learned that I completely 100% respect people that do silk screening for a living. Not that I didn't respect it before, I just mumbled to myself how easy screening was and how unchallenging to print on a shirt that you bought at American Apparel really was. Well now I know that you must ruin about 5 shirts in order to get ONE great one.
I also understand why they charge about $50 a shirt. Cause by the time you get the ONE great print on a shirt, your $41.99 pot of fresh new bright paint, is half empty! Your hands are stained, your pants are stained, you haven't had lunch yet, and you are about to throw your hands up in the air and give up!
So koodos to everyone that succeeds to doing silk screening!
I will not completely give up. I do plan on trying this again.
I hope this little trial and error write up helps you guys understand how a shirt, tote bag, any printed item is made. And how hard it is to get there. So appreciate your silk screened shirts! :)
