As classes begin to wind down for the summer holidays it can be hard to keep students motivated to learn new things. Their minds are often off planning how to spend those 6 weeks of freedom, whilst their eyes are glued to the window just itching to get outside. This time of year is perfect for learning a new craft in school! Of course, we would suggest screen printing, its creative, hands on, sometimes messy (horrible for you, but great for the students), and they can take home whatever they printed.

Easy Screen Printing

This method is probably the most inexpensive method for screen printing and is good for explaining the principles of the art. To get started youll need plenty of chiffon (or similar) cut into pieces about 0.5 meters square. This will then be placed tightly inside an embroidery hoop; wed recommend around 10-12 inches.

Get the students to then draw out a design on some paper, preferably something that doesnt use many colours, and with as little detail as possible.

Lay the embroidery hoop with the fabric side flat over the top of the design and start to trace all the sections that are one colour. Take another embroidery hoop and repeat until all the design has been traced onto some fabric.

Flip over the hoop so that the fabric is facing up. Apply masking tape around the design all the way up to the borders of the hoop. You should now just see your design in the centre of the fabric. Begin to apply PVA glue to the fabric in the places where you do not want any paint to seep through, this is why we applied the masking tape (what a waste of glue otherwise!).

As it is drying, ensure that there are no holes on the fabric where it should be covered.

This is where the fun starts.

Ask the students to bring in a white t-shirt, tote bag, or pillow cover. With it ironed, place a piece of cardboard behind the t-shirt to stop any paint bleeding through, and lay it flat on the table. Dollop some paint at one edge of the design and using some plastic, or a piece of card, drag the paint over the design. Only do this once. You can always inspect the print afterwards and reapply the paint as needed afterwards.

If the students are using more colours, you must wait until the first layer of paint is dry before applying the second. Follow the same process.

Once all the colours are printed, ensure the t-shirt is dry and then place a sheet of paper or cloth over the design and press it with an iron. This will help stop the paint from running or fading quickly when washed.

And there you have it, a very basic version of professional screen printing, simplified for the classroom.

When you or your class is ready to move on to the more advanced screen printing techniques, take a look through our store for the appropriate replacements, and read our blog about how to get started with screen printing!

See it here: https://www.cadisch.co.uk/blog-details.asp?id=1743