Screenprint Side Project

Here's a quick look at a screen printing project I tried last weekend at Barnard's Design Center. After the first part of a sewing workshop, I had some leftover muslin and a mini zipper. With the help of the incredible staff, I was able to customize the finish with a clever reference to one of my favorite corgi characters, Ein from Cowboy Bebop. Pictures and instructions below!

1 // Using the Cricut to make a vinyl sticker stencil (designed and exported from Adobe Illustrator)

2 // Removing the parts of the stencil that will be painted onto canvas

3 // The fully cut vinyl stencil, ready for transfer paper, which keeps all the pieces in place when moving to the screen

4 // Fitting the stencil into the screen. You can see the red lines of the transfer paper attached to the vinyl.

5 // After removing the transfer paper, the next step is adding painter's tape around the edges to stop any leaking. Then... 🖌️🖌️

6 // The worst mistake for screenprinting is pulling too lightly, and having to re-screen the same paint multiple times. This can cause sneaky paint to bleed underneath the vinyl. One strong pull is more likely to give you a clean result!

After printing, we're ready to decorate and construct with thread! The fabric edges were surged before printing, so that the pouch is ready to sew. Here are key steps for fabrication:

Super Easy Embroidery: The Design Center's Brother embroidery machine has all kinds of pre-loaded designs from a rooster to a bear playing a violin. I opted for some stars around my corgi and a simple monogram on the back.

Zipper Backstop: After adding the zipper, this helps keep the pull from running overboard on itself. Here's also a peek at the embroidered stars, designed with the palest purple thread for a spacey feel.

Inner Stitching: The right pic below is a look at the side stitching and the surging at work on the edge of the pouch. Make sure to surge the edges of the fabric before printing and embroidery to secure the edges. Altogether, the sewing took less than thirty minutes!

Voila! Our finished product, a customized, embroidered, hand-sewn and printed pouch - perfect for storing chargers and anything else I need to tote for school.