---
title: shirt making notes
image:
  src: 2023/shirt-wip.jpg
  alt: "A shirt laid out on my desk after being printed with my jay and flicker prints. There are ink pads and other tools scattered around."
---

## materials

- bella & canvas tee shirts (light tones, standard fabrics - no fleece, suede, ribbing, etc)
- cutproof mat (optional, can be subbed out for any firm surface to slide into the shirt)
- water-soluble pencil for fabric marking (optional)
- (edit 18 Sep 2023) ~~versaFine ink pads~~
- speedball fabric print ink
- inkwell
- brayer

## steps

1. iron front of shirt lightly to remove any wrinkles
1. lay shirt out on table. I put a cutproof mat inside the shirt to prevent any ink from going through and give myself a firm surface to work on
1. for a multi-layer design:
  1. line up an un-inked stamp, face up
  1. with water soluble pencil, outline 1 corner and mark out at least one other alignment spot. I found I could make marks about an inch long and get decent alignment just from that, rather than outlining the whole stamp (which ime gets similar alignment)
  1. alternately you can use a carpenters square or similar tool to line up the stamps - just make sure not to move it!!
1. ink stamp thoroughly (lay stamp faceup and daub with ink pads)
1. lay stamp into position (for multi-layer design, align with existing marks)
1. press across the stamp with the brayer, being careful not to move the stamp
1. lift up in a clean motion; I generally lift a corner and check that things are looking good before lifting fully off
1. hang or drape until ready to iron
  - do **not** stack the shirts, even if the ink seems dry! it will transfer to other shirts
  - do not let the shirts sit in any way that the design is in contact with other fabric
1. press with iron on the highest appropriate heat setting
  - avoid moving the iron a lot as this can smudge ink
  - my rule of thumb has been to press until the image is uniformly hot to the touch
  - I am going to try next time to use parchment paper to avoid any ink smudginess (Edit: meh, I don't really recommend it. Just hold the iron still at first.)
1. dab some water on the water-soluble pencil and rub gently to erase

## other notes

- *clean hands.* **clean hands.** very important.
