This is a fun, low-tech way to make your own screens economically. With just a little time and effort, you’ll have a screen that will produce many prints.
Surface
mesh-type material (nylon, polyester, silk—something with tiny holes)
Brush
no. 6 round
Other Supplies
black permanent pen, scanner/printer, sink/sprayer or tub, soft brush (corncob or other), Speedball drawing fluid and screen filler, spoon, squeegee, wood screen frame or embroidery hoop
Scan and resize your sketch to the desired size, and print a black-and-white copy.
Assemble a frame or hoop with screen material, making sure it’s stretched tightly. Flip the frame over so the screen is facing up with the sketch underneath. Trace the design on the fabric with a black permanent pen.
Prop the screen up over the copied sketch. Using a no. 6 round brush and drawing fluid, paint the sketch onto the screen. The sketch is your guide; your creation doesn’t have to be an exact copy. The drawing fluid will be washed out later and these lines are what your printed image will look like. Let dry for about an hour.
Place newspapers or paper towels beneath the screen with the drawing fluid side up. Prop the screen frame up so it’s not resting directly on the paper. Spoon a couple tablespoons (30ml) of screen filler on top of the screen. Using a squeegee, drag the screen filler at a 45-degree angle from the top to the bottom of the screen until it’s covered. Note: The screen filler is what remains on the screen and masks off the areas you don’t want ink to print through. If the screen filler bleeds through to the other side, use the squeegee to scrape it off. Let dry thoroughly, preferably overnight.
Rinse the drawing fluid from the screen with a kitchen sink spray nozzle, or wash it off in a tub of water. You can use a corncob brush or other soft brush to remove the fluid, but be gentle so you don’t harm the screen filler. Let dry. Proceed with the printing process as in Step 2 of Part 1.