printing T's

When I began daydreaming about the possibility of printing some items for the craft show and my Etsy shop, I was only thinking about the embroidery bags I wanted to create.  However, one afternoon as I was walking around a craft shop, I saw some adorable little baby onesie t's and thought to myself, "well, if I'll be printing bags, I might as well try this too!" 

Although I had a bunch of ideas for designs, I tried to narrow it down to just a few, to make things more simple.  Once we had drawn and traced our design onto freezer paper, we use an exacto knife and a wooden cutting board {to protect theour table} to cut out the image.  Prior to ironing the freezer paper onto the shirt, I placed cardboard underneath the prevent paint seepage, but then found that using freezer paper underneath {shiny side up} also worked very well. {When ironing, the paper on the inside adheres to the shirt, making the transfer to a drying spot easier than cardboard, which can slide and shift.}  Some say it is best to leave the freezer paper on the shirt until after the paint has dried, however, we chose to peel it off while the paint was wet, then set the t-shirt aside to dry.  By doing this, I was able to reuse the same piece of freezer paper a few times without having to cut out an new image!  This made me very happy!

After that, we just followed the directions on the paint we purchased.  We waited a day, then ironed, then waited 3 days, then washed, then ironed again...To me, this was both annoying and exciting {I'm not patient!}, but well worth it, as all of my images stayed on perfectly!  I am very partial to my sea horse design and am pleased to give credit for the gnome to Erin Ellen from http://applesforpoppyanne.typepad.com, who had printed a similar one for her baby girl.  That is really the coolest part about making these t's; you can redraw something that you see to make it your own, or design whatever you can dream up!  I wouldn't say that this is a kid project, although I'm sure my big boy would be capable of painting a bit, with some help.  I must admit that is was really nice to have John home when I was printing these to give me a hand with the peeling of the freezer paper after the paint had been applied.  I think that this would be a great little project to put on your "rainy day ~to try list"...next up for me is to get printing some of these boring, plain maternity t'shirts I have sitting in my drawer!  

Happy printing!

alison 

Comments

[apples for poppy anne]

This is so funny!
I have been screen printing for the past two days now. A little tedious for larger quantities though I must admit! How were you able to reuse a template with paint on it? Let it dry and re-use? Never thought of that! HA!
I decided it wastime to get ruthless with my closet and try to make some money (rather than the usual donation) back.
I have so many items now and if they don't sell at the craft show I will be opening an etsy store soon!
Awesome!
e.

[http://mysweetbabu.typepad.com]

This was really fun...only because I braved reusing the paper, other wise it would have been tough. Once I peeled the freezer paper off, I dabbed it with a cloth,and then replaced it to iron on the next item... You could smell the paint a bit when I hit it with the iron, but it did not effect the stenciling, so...?

I was bummed that none of the t's sold at the craft show...I hope you have good luck with your show comming up! I know I am looking foward to printing some items for myself and for some holiday gifts? : )
a.