I feel like this goes nicely with a pair of jeans and works well for a casual day out.  I am still learning and am having so much fun experimenting on my closet full of clothes.

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Does anyone else out there suffer from armpit stains?  Well, you are not alone.  I have always been a “sweaty, stinky girl” as my mother likes to say.  It is totally true.  But, hey, I wear deodorant, so the stink part stays in check pretty well.  The sweat part is where the armpit stains come in.  I am tired of losing my favorite shirts just when I have worn them in to the most comfortable stage because of some stupid stain.  No more!  Now, I take those old nostalgic and comfy tees and turn them into tank tops.  You can too!  If you have an old tshirt and want a new tank top, check out this tutorial.

1.  Pick a shirt with some pretty harsh stains.  This shirt is about 10 years old.  I bought it in Jerez, Spain when I was studying abroad in college.  As you can probably guess there are many memories attached to the shirt.  But, as you can also see there are some nasty stains attached to the armpits!  So, on with the tank top making!

2.  Cut out those armpit stains!

3.  Cut straight across the top of the tshirt just below the collar.

4.  Carefully remove the bottom hem from the shirt.  It is easier to see the hem if you turn your shirt inside out.  I say carefully remove because it will be used to tie your new tank top.

5.  Shape the arm holes into a curve.

6.  Turn your shirt inside out.  Place your new tie at the top.  Fold the top edge of the shirt so that it is just over the tie.  Sew across the edge of your shirt.  Be careful, don’t get your tie stuck and sewn to the shirt.  It has to be able to move like a drawstring.

7.  Turn your shirt inside out and try it on!

And there’s your new tank top; just in time for summer.  Happy Summer Solstice!

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Before we get started, I will tell you that I have tried the traditional means of creating a screen for screenprinting t-shirts. So, I bought a pre-fab screen, put UV sensitive emulsion on it, placed my photo transfer on it, stuck it in the sun forever and then rinsed it off. What I gained from this experience is that it is expensive, super time consuming, and, for me, not worth it. Bearing that in mind, I moved on to making my own screens from reused materials and using glue to make my designs. It is much cheaper, still time consuming, and does not come out the way a pre-fab screen would. It is much more organic, painterly and much less graphic-like. So, keep that in mind when you read this tutorial.

How to Reuse Materials to Screenprint a T-shirt:

Materials:
Old Photo Frame
Curtain Liner (the sheer stuff you put behind the heavy stuff when you hang curtains)
Staple Gun and staples
Mod Podge
Paint Brush
Permanent Marker
Screenprint ink
Ink Applicator (Cardboard)
Old Tshirt

1. Find an old photo frame. Place it on top of a piece of drawing paper. Trace along the inside of the photo frame. Remove the photo frame.

2. Draw some 1 inch arrows towards the center of the square/rectangle you just drew on the peice of paper. This will remind you to stay away from the edges of your screen. You don’t want your drawing close to the edge because it is really hard to slide you ink applicator evenly along the edges.

3. Draw your t-shirt design! Don’t worry if you goof (you can see that I could not decide where to put the work RUN!) you can make your final decisions when you draw on your screen.

4. Staple your curtain liner to your photo frame. Pull the liner snuggly against the frame, then staple it. Cut away any excess curtain liner.

5. Place your screen on top of your drawing, flat side down. Your screen should be touching the piece of paper. Trace your drawing. Make sure you use a permanent marker. I made the mistake of using a regular one and it bled a ton and got into my screenprinting ink while I printed. Just so you know, the permanent marker will bleed just a touch, so if you don’t want that, use a pencil. I find pencil very hard to see so I use permanent marker.

6. When your drawing is complete, flip your screen and begin applying Mod Podge. So, here’s the deal with the glue. Place glue in the places where you DO NOT want ink to flow through when you are printing. Where ever there is glue, there will be tshirt when you print. Where ever there is NO glue, there will be ink when you print. You will need to let your screen dry for about a day.

7. Time for a test print! Place your screen onto a test piece of paper. Place screenprinting ink along one of the sides of your screen. Use your cardboard applicator and slide it along your screen. Do this until your whole screen has ink. Lift your screen and see your creation! You might see some spaces that need more glue. Rinse off your screen, let it dry, then add more glue. Text seems to always need two or three layers of glue.

8. Now you are ready to print on a T-shirt! Place something in the middle of your shirt so that the ink does not get on the backside. Make sure it is as large as your screen so that your print comes out evenly. Slightly pull the sides of your shirt and tape them to the table. The shirt should not have any wrinkles; you want your screen to be placed on as flat a shirt as possible. Print the same way you did for your test print.

9. Check out your brand new tshirt! Remove the middle piece that was protecting the other side of the shirt and hang up your shirt and let it dry. When the ink dries, place a piece of fabric or a towel over the screenprint. Heat up an iron on low and iron over the towel/fabric. This will help seal the ink to the shirt.

10. Wear your shirt with pride!

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