Baby You Can Drive My Dumptruck

DIY Screenprint. 

The possible uses of vinyl are seemingly endless! Here, I used a Speedball starter kit (small screen frame, squeegee, and black paint) to create a TShirt for a toddler. The TShirt brand is Children's Place - pre-washed in a size 2T.

I designed the vinyl stencil in Silhouette Studio. The image and font (Rockbiter) is from the Silhouette store. I reversed the image and cut the file, then weeded and used transfer paper to put the vinyl on the back of the framed screen. This was one of the most difficult parts. Vinyl doesn't stick well to stretched screen, and I had to put a large hardback book under the screen to burnish it without breaking the screen from the frame. After getting the design on the frame, I masked off the blank areas around it with leftover vinyl and painters tape.

To prep the shirt, I took a sturdy piece of cardboard and sprayed it with Krylon repositionable adhesive-tack. The cardboard went into the shirt and I stretched and smoothed it flat over the sticky side of the cardboard. Then I used lots of painters tape and a marker to create a grid and guide lines (on both the shirt and the frame) for where I wanted the screen so the image would be straight. 

I tested the screen on cardboard to get a feel for how much pressure to put on the squeegee. Then I carefully carefully positioned the screen on the shirt. This is the point where if you have a helper, it is much easier  - i.e., have your helper hold down the screen so it won't move as you work. Then I took a small spoon to scoop the ink over the image to 'flood' it (this means put dollops of ink on each area of the design and smear it about with the underside of the spoon). It works best to start from the top of the image when you flood because you will then squeegee by pulling toward the bottom. Then I put the squeegee at the top of the screened image and, holding the squeegee at an angle toward me, put even pressure and pulled the squeegee toward the bottom edge of the frame. 

I left the squeegee in place and gently pulled up the frame. Cleaning the screen was then the most important task because the ink dries fast. I recovered much of the ink by scraping it back into the jar. Then rinsed the screen in warm water, using pink soap to scrub away ink and removed the vinyl. 

I let the shirt dry overnight. I didn't take it off the cardboard until the next morning. The paint must be heat set in order to stay permanent, so I ironed it the next day on a cotton setting for a few minutes.  

Toddler loves the shirt!