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Screen Printing onto Furniture: How to Print a Table Top

One of the best things about screen printing is that it allows you to print onto almost any flat surface! This week, we have been using Speedball Acrylic Screen Printing Inks to print on this gorgeous 1960s coffee table. Here’s how to do it:

You will need:

Print out the design for your table top onto OHP film (make sure that the OHP you buy is compatible with your type of printer). For our two-layer screen
print, we printed out two separate layers of OHP. You want the design to be solid black so that no light can be seen through. Here is what our design
looks like when the two layers are laid on top of one another: 

Next, prepare your screen. Wash the screen to make sure there is no dirt or oil on the mesh. When it is dry, it is ready to coat. Fill the Sensitiser bottle
half full with water and shake until all the crystals have dissolved. Add this solution to the Photo Emulsion and mix well until it is one solid colour
throughout. Pour some of the mixture into your coating trough. Tilt the coating trough against the mesh at the bottom of the screen. 

When the Photo Emulsion has reached the mesh all the way along, drag the trough up the screen to coat the mesh. Use the trough to scrape off any excess
and use a rag to wipe off any thick lines around the edges. You can decant any excess emulsion from the trough back into the bottle for another
time.

Put your screen in a dark place, such as a cupboard, to dry horizontally. The air needs to circulate around the screen so prop up the edges with blocks.
This will take a few hours or overnight.

When your screen is dry, you are ready to expose your image. We have used our beloved new exposure unit in our studio, but you can find instructions
on how to do this at home here. We expose our screens for five minutes in our exposure unit or for fifteen minutes with a 250W lamp. 

When your screen is exposed your image should look paler than the space around it. Wet both sides of the screen, then use a powerful jet of water to
wash the unexposed emulsion out of the mesh.

When it is all washed out, you should be able to see light through it, like this: 

When the screen is dry, tape up the edges on the front and back, so that there is no open mesh anywhere other than your design.

To prepare our table for printing, we scrubbed it all over with wire wool, to give the surface a key, and to remove any flaky varnish. We then cleaned
and dried the surface.

For a repeating pattern like ours, start printing at one end. Raise the other end of the screen up to the same height as the table top with blocks
or sponges. Our table top can be unscrewed from the legs (hooray for clever 1960s designs), so we could place our table top on our print table.
If you cannot separate yours from the base, get a helpful person to hold the screen in the right position while you print.

Put a line of ink across the top of your design and use the squeegee at a 45 degree angle to pull the ink through the mesh. We used Speedball Acrylic
Screen Printing Ink in Peacock Blue.

Quickly dry the print a little with a hairdryer. You want it to be dry enough so that it will not be smudged when placing the screen back on top. Don’t
leave the screen for too long though, as the ink will dry in the mesh and be impossible to wash out!

When the ink is touch dry, place the screen back on top for the next print. You can see through the mesh to check you are putting it in the right place.

Repeat the same process until your first layer is complete!

Leave this layer to dry. Meanwhile, wash your screen thoroughly to remove all the ink. When both the screen and the first layer of print are dry, you
are ready to print the second layer. We are using black.

Repeat the same process as with the first layer, looking through the mesh to align the design and drying each print slightly before moving onto the
next.

To block off any areas that you don’t want to be printed, use some newsprint. We wanted one section of our print to be red, so we used newsprint to
block off the the rest of the design.

When your print is thoroughly dry, coat it in a layer of clear spray varnish. This will help the surface to be a little more hard wearing.

Here is our finished table!

How to Make a Tie Dye Top with Colour Magnet

We have been enjoying the sunshine here at Handprinted so we thought we would show you how to make a Summery top out of an old plain T-shirt using Colour Magnet and Procion Dyes!

You will need:

You can cut your T-Shirt into any shape and style you want – we chose to make a racer back top! Here’s how we made it:

Cut the sleeves and the collar out (we gave the back a V neck) and cut a strip off the bottom hem all the way around – don’t throw this away! Then shape
the bottom into a curve. 

Use half of the strip you cut off the bottom to tie the sleeve holes together at the back and use the other half to make two ties at the shoulders. This
will make a racer back shaped top with a slash neck – much better for summer than a boring T-shirt.

Next, you need to decide what image or text you want to go on your top. Colour Magnet is a dye attractant that creates a two toned effect when dyed – what
you print in Colour Magnet will appear in a darker shade to the rest of the fabric.

We were on a Summer high so decided on a summery quotation on ours!

Draw your image or text onto a piece of paper and trace it with a pencil on your screen (right side up).

When your drawing is done, elevate your screen above the table (we used pieces of packing foam but anything will do). You don’t want the mesh touching
the table top or it will mess up the next part.

Use Speedball Drawing Fluid to paint in the parts that you want to be printed with Colour Magnet (the bits you want to appear darker on the fabric).

Wait for it to dry…

When the Drawing Fluid is completely dry, tape up your screen around all the edges with parcel tape on both sides of the mesh. This will stop anything
getting through where you don’t want it and stop you from wasting the Screen Filler by filling the mesh where you don’t need it.

Spoon some Speedball Screen Filler onto the top of your screen (make sure that it’s still elevated or you will have a lot of cleaning up to do). Use the
squeegee to pull the Filler down the screen. You don’t want any gaps or they will show up when you print. The Drawing Fluid will resist the Screen
Filler and show through.

When this is completely dry (we left ours overnight but a couple of hours should be fine), wash the Drawing Fluid from the screen. It should wash out really
easily with a bit of water pressure but you can use a plastic brush to lightly scrub out any stubborn bits.

Leave your screen to dry (or dry it carefully with a towel) and your screen is ready to print!

Put some newspaper or card in between the layers of your top and make sure it is flat – we untied the knot at the back to get it even flatter. We also
taped it down to the table with masking tape so it didn’t shift about too much.

You can print with the Colour Magnet just as you would with screen printing inks. Blob some along the top of your screen (warning: it is extremely gloopy),
and use your squeegee to drag it down the screen onto the fabric.

Press hard. The Colour Magnet is really thick and so will take a bit of pressure getting through the screen. You may want someone to hold the screen still
for you whilst you print.

When you lift up your screen you should see a faint pale yellow print of your image.

It is very pale but it’s there!

When the Colour Magnet is dry you are ready to dye. Tie up your top in any way you want with elastic bands. We gathered up our printed section and tied
a band around it to create a circle. We also added a band around the bottom edge. Remember, the section printed with Colour Magnet needs to get to
the dye, so it’s not a good idea to put lots of rubber bands through that section – the dye just won’t reach.

We used the Rapid Dye method with Procion MX dyes in Blackcurrant. Dissolve 1/2 tsp of dye (we are using a strong colour so 1/2 tsp is plenty) into 100mls
of warm water. Separately, dissolve 1 tsp of soda ash in 50mls of hot water. The soda ash will fix your dye. Mix these two solutions together and use
straight away (the mixture will lose its ability to react with the dye over a period of 1-2 hours).

This method is very simple and quick! 

When the dye is mixed, immerse your fabric in the solution and make sure the dye penetrates throughout. This will require a bit of sloshing and turning
in the dye. Make sure all of your Colour Magnet printed part is covered or your image will not show! Place the fabric in a plastic bag or wrap
in cling film and leave for the chemical reaction to take place.

We left our top for an hour and a half, but it depends on the strength of the dye colour, it may take 2 hours to get the shade you want. You can keep
checking until you think it looks right. When the time is up, take our your fabric and rinse it in cold water until the water runs clear to remove
any excess dye. Machine or hand wash at 60 degrees with Metapex or non-bio detergent.

Here is our finished top!

How to Make a Tie Dye Top with Colour Magnet

We have been enjoying the sunshine here at Handprinted so we thought we would show you how to make a Summery top out of an old plain T-shirt using Colour Magnet and Procion Dyes!

You will need:

You can cut your T-Shirt into any shape and style you want – we chose to make a racer back top! Here’s how we made it:

Cut the sleeves and the collar out (we gave the back a V neck) and cut a strip off the bottom hem all the way around – don’t throw this away! Then shape
the bottom into a curve. 

Use half of the strip you cut off the bottom to tie the sleeve holes together at the back and use the other half to make two ties at the shoulders. This
will make a racer back shaped top with a slash neck – much better for summer than a boring T-shirt.

Next, you need to decide what image or text you want to go on your top. Colour Magnet is a dye attractant that creates a two toned effect when dyed – what
you print in Colour Magnet will appear in a darker shade to the rest of the fabric.

We were on a Summer high so decided on a summery quotation on ours!

Draw your image or text onto a piece of paper and trace it with a pencil on your screen (right side up).

When your drawing is done, elevate your screen above the table (we used pieces of packing foam but anything will do). You don’t want the mesh touching
the table top or it will mess up the next part.

Use Speedball Drawing Fluid to paint in the parts that you want to be printed with Colour Magnet (the bits you want to appear darker on the fabric).

Wait for it to dry…

When the Drawing Fluid is completely dry, tape up your screen around all the edges with parcel tape on both sides of the mesh. This will stop anything
getting through where you don’t want it and stop you from wasting the Screen Filler by filling the mesh where you don’t need it.

Spoon some Speedball Screen Filler onto the top of your screen (make sure that it’s still elevated or you will have a lot of cleaning up to do). Use the
squeegee to pull the Filler down the screen. You don’t want any gaps or they will show up when you print. The Drawing Fluid will resist the Screen
Filler and show through.

When this is completely dry (we left ours overnight but a couple of hours should be fine), wash the Drawing Fluid from the screen. It should wash out really
easily with a bit of water pressure but you can use a plastic brush to lightly scrub out any stubborn bits.

Leave your screen to dry (or dry it carefully with a towel) and your screen is ready to print!

Put some newspaper or card in between the layers of your top and make sure it is flat – we untied the knot at the back to get it even flatter. We also
taped it down to the table with masking tape so it didn’t shift about too much.

You can print with the Colour Magnet just as you would with screen printing inks. Blob some along the top of your screen (warning: it is extremely gloopy),
and use your squeegee to drag it down the screen onto the fabric.

Press hard. The Colour Magnet is really thick and so will take a bit of pressure getting through the screen. You may want someone to hold the screen still
for you whilst you print.

When you lift up your screen you should see a faint pale yellow print of your image.

It is very pale but it’s there!

When the Colour Magnet is dry you are ready to dye. Tie up your top in any way you want with elastic bands. We gathered up our printed section and tied
a band around it to create a circle. We also added a band around the bottom edge. Remember, the section printed with Colour Magnet needs to get to
the dye, so it’s not a good idea to put lots of rubber bands through that section – the dye just won’t reach.

We used the Rapid Dye method with Procion MX dyes in Blackcurrant. Dissolve 1/2 tsp of dye (we are using a strong colour so 1/2 tsp is plenty) into 100mls
of warm water. Separately, dissolve 1 tsp of soda ash in 50mls of hot water. The soda ash will fix your dye. Mix these two solutions together and use
straight away (the mixture will lose its ability to react with the dye over a period of 1-2 hours).

This method is very simple and quick! 

When the dye is mixed, immerse your fabric in the solution and make sure the dye penetrates throughout. This will require a bit of sloshing and turning
in the dye. Make sure all of your Colour Magnet printed part is covered or your image will not show! Place the fabric in a plastic bag or wrap
in cling film and leave for the chemical reaction to take place.

We left our top for an hour and a half, but it depends on the strength of the dye colour, it may take 2 hours to get the shade you want. You can keep
checking until you think it looks right. When the time is up, take our your fabric and rinse it in cold water until the water runs clear to remove
any excess dye. Machine or hand wash at 60 degrees with Metapex or non-bio detergent.

Here is our finished top!

‘The Handprinted Home’ by Jenny McCabe Book Review

Jenny McCabe’s new book ‘The Handprinted Home’ features 35 gorgeous printing projects to make our homes the envy of all our friends.

Jenny has been making her own hand printed and handmade textiles as Coo & Co since 2009 and we love her stuff on Folksy!

The projects in her new book, published earlier this year, capture the same handmade, nature-inspired style that can be found in her own work. Projects
range from fifteen minute Oops-I-forgot-to-buy-a-birthday-present ideas to more lengthy projects for a weekend fling! 

Techniques used include screen printing, stamping, stencilling, lino cutting and dip dyeing – all with a combination of simple equipment and the odd household
item.

Included are separate sections explaining lots of printing and sewing techniques and all the projects are in a step-by-step format with hand-drawn illustrations.
This should help both the complete beginners and experienced print-maker/sewers amongst us make (to name a few) bird-print tea towels, ombre bed linen,
giant floor cushions and fern print coasters. And if the idea of drawing out your own designs sends you into a state of panic, don’t worry, the back
of the book is loaded with drawings and templates for us to pinch. Thanks, Jenny!

You can get your hands on the book here

Want to get stuck in? Here are some of the things we think you might need to get going on a few of Jenny’s makes:

We think we’ll start with a bit of Honeycomb Bunting for our new workshop…

Printing Postcards onto Ply!

Our Japanese Ply is also perfect for posting – thin and light enough to be classed as a standard letter by Royal Mail. Who wouldn’t want to receive this
hardwearing postcard? This method of printing can also be used for paper and is a great low-cost press that will give you surprisingly good, consistent
results.

You will need:

  • Japanese Ply – two sheets one as a print block and one as the postcard
  • Newspaper
  • Piece of wood that is larger than your Ply – try to use a flat piece as you need the pressure to be consistent.
  • Your weight!

Place some newspaper onto the floor and place your inked up Ply facing upwards on top.

Place your Plywood Postcard on top. It is good to give this a light sand and a brush to remove any debris.

Place some more newspaper on top. This is especially important when printing on paper.

Place your piece of wood on top – we used an old floorboard.

Stand on to the floor board for a few seconds. Try not to move as you do not want the image smudging.

The finished postcard!

Printing Postcards onto Ply!

Our Japanese Ply is also perfect for posting – thin and light enough to be classed as a standard letter by Royal Mail. Who wouldn’t want to receive this
hardwearing postcard? This method of printing can also be used for paper and is a great low-cost press that will give you surprisingly good, consistent
results.

You will need:

  • Japanese Ply – two sheets one as a print block and one as the postcard
  • Newspaper
  • Piece of wood that is larger than your Ply – try to use a flat piece as you need the pressure to be consistent.
  • Your weight!

Place some newspaper onto the floor and place your inked up Ply facing upwards on top.

Place your Plywood Postcard on top. It is good to give this a light sand and a brush to remove any debris.

Place some more newspaper on top. This is especially important when printing on paper.

Place your piece of wood on top – we used an old floorboard.

Stand on to the floor board for a few seconds. Try not to move as you do not want the image smudging.

The finished postcard!

Ice Dyeing

You will need:

  • White prewashed T-shirt
  • Procion MX Dyes
  • Soda Ash (fixative)
  • Dust Mask
  • Calgon PT (if you are dyeing in a hard water area)
  • Rubber Gloves and an apron – these dyes will stain.
  • Ice
  • Cooling rack or similar
  • Plastic bowl
  • Bubble wrap or plastic bag

Mix three tablespoons of Soda Ash with warm water. If you are working in a hard water area add one tablespoon of Calgon.

Soak your T-shirt in the Soda Ash solution for 15 minutes.

Place a cooling rack over a plastic bowl – this is to ensure that the dyes and ice can drip through the fabric and the fabric does not sit in the excess
dye. Squeeze out as much of the Soda Ash as you can (squeeze it back into the jug as this solution can be used again). Scrunch your T-shirt into a
rectangular shape. These mounds of T-shirt will cause the dye to spread in mysterious ways!

Cover the T-shirt with Ice. 

Wearing a dust mask, sprinkle dry Procion MX dye onto the ice in a random pattern. A dry brush is good for this. We used Indigo, Scarlet and Olive for
the T-shirt on the left and Lemon Yellow, Magenta and Turquoise for the one on the right.

Cover with bubble wrap or a plastic bag and leave for 24 hours.

This is how the T-shirts will look after 24 hours. Remove bubble wrap and rinse with cold water until water runs clear.

Wash on a 40’c cycle to remove excess dye using a non-biological washing powder/liquid or Metapex.

Click here for printable PDF instructions. 

Ice Dyeing

You will need:

  • White prewashed T-shirt
  • Procion MX Dyes
  • Soda Ash (fixative)
  • Dust Mask
  • Calgon PT (if you are dyeing in a hard water area)
  • Rubber Gloves and an apron – these dyes will stain.
  • Ice
  • Cooling rack or similar
  • Plastic bowl
  • Bubble wrap or plastic bag

Mix three tablespoons of Soda Ash with warm water. If you are working in a hard water area, add one tablespoon of Calgon.

Soak your T-shirt in the Soda Ash solution for 15 minutes.

Place a cooling rack over a plastic bowl – this is to ensure that the dyes and ice can drip through the fabric and the fabric does not sit in the excess
dye. Squeeze out as much of the Soda Ash as you can (squeeze it back into the jug as this solution can be used again). Scrunch your T-shirt into a
rectangular shape. These mounds of T-shirt will cause the dye to spread in mysterious ways!

Cover the T-shirt with Ice.

Wearing a dust mask, sprinkle dry Procion MX dye onto the ice in a random pattern. A dry brush is good for this. We used Indigo, Scarlet and Olive for
the T-shirt on the left and Lemon Yellow, Magenta and Turquoise for the one on the right.

Cover with bubble wrap or a plastic bag and leave for 24 hours.

This is how the T-shirts will look after 24 hours. Remove bubble wrap and rinse with cold water until water runs clear.

Wash on a 40’c cycle to remove excess dye using a non-biological washing powder/liquid or Metapex.

Click here for printable PDF instructions.

Woodcut Postcards

A simple step by step to printing postcards using Japanese Ply and Caligo Safe Wash Relief Inks.

You will need:

Draw your design using the pencil onto thin paper (photocopy weight works well)

Place your image facing down onto the Japanese Ply and rub the back of the image with a pencil. Do not press too hard as you do not want to cause indentations
in the Ply.

Carefully lift the paper away and you should be able to see your image faintly printed onto the Ply. This method is great for lettering as it reverses
it.

Go over the faint image in pencil – again do not press too hard as you do not want your pencil marks to indent the Ply as this will make it difficult to
print.

Cut away the outside edge of the image using a small U gouge. Remember to always cut away from yourself, keep your hand that is not holding the cutting
tool behind the blade at all times. You could also use a hand guard or a bench hook.

Clear the remaining Ply that you do not wish to print using a larger U.

Sand down your Ply to remove any excess bits that will spoil your print.

Brush away any sawdust using a dry brush – a nail brush is perfect for this.

Roll out a thin layer of ink onto a glass slab or an inking tray.

Roll a thin layer of this ink onto your Ply.

Place your postcard on top of the inked Ply and holding the card firm use a Bamboo Baren in a circular motion to transfer the ink from the Ply to the postcard.

You can hold one corner down firmly to check how your ink transfer is progressing and if you need to concentrate on specific areas.

Remove the postcard and leave to dry.

The finished card!

Woodcut Postcards

A simple step by step to printing postcards using Japanese Ply and Caligo Safe Wash Relief Inks.

You will need:

Draw your design using the pencil onto thin paper (photocopy weight works well)

Place your image facing down onto the Japanese Ply and rub the back of the image with a pencil. Do not press too hard as you do not want to cause indentations
in the Ply.

Carefully lift the paper away and you should be able to see your image faintly printed onto the Ply. This method is great for lettering as it reverses
it.

Go over the faint image in pencil – again do not press too hard as you do not want your pencil marks to indent the Ply as this will make it difficult to
print.

Cut away the outside edge of the image using a small U gouge. Remember to always cut away from yourself, keep your hand that is not holding the cutting
tool behind the blade at all times. You could also use a hand guard or a bench hook.

Clear the remaining Ply that you do not wish to print using a larger U.

Sand down your Ply to remove any excess bits that will spoil your print.

Brush away any sawdust using a dry brush – a nail brush is perfect for this.

Roll out a thin layer of ink onto a glass slab or an inking tray.

Roll a thin layer of this ink onto your Ply.

Place your postcard on top of the inked Ply and holding the card firm use a Bamboo Baren in a circular motion to transfer the ink from the Ply to the postcard.

You can hold one corner down firmly to check how your ink transfer is progressing and if you need to concentrate on specific areas.

Remove the postcard and leave to dry.

The finished card!