How to Make Your Own Weird and Unique T-Shirts

There’s nothing like a selection of unique t shirts and weird clothing to really spice up your closet.

Unfortunately, most of us aren’t amateur clothing designers in our downtime.

Join us today as we unpack the steps to create your very own weird t shirt and take your fashion in an unexpected direction.

The Basics (Print Screening)

For thousands of years, humans have put ink to material in an attempt to make their drab, lifeless clothing just a little bit more attractive.

Today, of course, this involves far less ground-up beetles for black ink and significantly more iron on prints and transfers. But the idea is the same. Splash something unique on something boring and watch as the entire thing changes, in front of your eyes.

And, no matter how conceptual you get, the basics stay the same.

Supplies

As with all art, making your first shirt starts with gathering the appropriate supplies. Here’s what’s needed:

• A screen and frame (available at local art stores for as little as $15)
• Photo emulsion, sensitizer, and latex gloves
• A 250-watt bulb
• A completely black room
• Your t-shirt
• Silk Screen Fabric Ink (available for roughly $5)
• Squeegee
• A small section of cardboard, cut to fit inside your shirt.

Designs

The first step to creating a one-of-a-kind t shirt is deciding what design it is you actually want.

Many shirt designers get into their first creations and realize they don’t actually have a clear idea of what they wanted.

A simpler design may be more appropriate for your first shirt. Create a silhouette with clear, definable lines, and cut out as much of the finer detail as you can. You can use markers or a scanner.

For those looking for something a little more precise, design software can help to create images with a clear edge and a professional finish.

Look into CorelDraw Graphics Suite, Adobe Illustrator, or Flash T-shirts software for better design.

Whatever the image and however you create it, the end result needs to be solid and black, as it needs to block light. Print it out on clear transparency paper to ensure of this.

Get To Coating

At this point in the screening process, we coat our screen in the emulsion and start getting ready to print.

Emulsions come in two parts, namely the sensitizer and the emulsion itself.

Mix these together, making sure to follow the directions on the bottle exactly.

Stretch out your screen on a garbage bag, and pour out your mixed emulsion onto it. Spread this mixture out on the screen, using the squeegee to press the mixture down into it.

For reference, apply the emulsion across an area slightly larger than the image you’ll be printing. Repeat this until you’ve coated the screen completely. For best results, aim for a thin layer across the entire screen.

Finally, leave your treated screen in your dark room for two hours, until it dries out.

Exposing The Image

Head back into your darkroom and place the screen face down onto a piece of black cloth or board. Then place the transparency onto the transparency where the photo emulsion has transferred to.

Tape down your transparency, or use a piece of glass to weight it down.

Place your light within one or two feet of the screen, angled so that the 250-watt bulb is pointed at the transparency. Turn it on and leave the room for ten-to-fifteen minutes.

Lift your transparency. If the process has worked properly, you’ll see faint blue lines from the burning of the image into the screen. If these aren’t there, or the burn looks too vague, leave the image for a few more minutes. Just make sure not to overdo it, or your image may burn.

Clearing Your Screen

When your screen looks ready, spray or rinse it down with cold water.

Spray or rinse constantly until you can see through your image clearly. This should be easy to see, as the image begins to flake off.

Check to make sure your screen looks like your transparency, then let it dry. Once dry, cover your screen’s exposed surfaces with tape.

Aaaand Print!

Lay out the shirt you’ll be printing on across a flat surface, stuffing your square of cardboard inside, underneath where you’ll be printing.

Next, lay your prepared screen on the shirt, positioning the design in the area where you’ll be printing it. Pour out a little ink in a line across the top of the screen, then drag your squeegee down the screen’s length. Make one smooth movement, applying pressure as you move down.

Take the squeegee in a few directions, up and down, left, and right and back again a few times. Lift up your screen, remove the cardboard, and you’ve got hopefully one of many fantastic unique t shirts.

The Dreaded Cleanup

…isn’t really all that bad, thankfully.

The most important thing is to wash off your screen printing ink as soon as you’re done printing, as it tends to dry quite quickly. In general, you’ll want to work quickly, be careful, and make sure to clean up as you go.

Alterations

Another great way to create unique t shirts is to use scissors, thread, and creative folding to physically alter your shirts and tops.

Some great ideas for this include:

• Folding your shirt in the back and middle to create a tapered “butterfly tee”
• Using fabric scissors to cut geometric shapes out of the backs of old tops
• Cutting and folding an old tank top to create a criss-cross tank

Interested in unique t shirts you can buy off the rack, instead of making them yourself? Click here for a full selection from our good friends over at Weirdomatic!

Discover These Unique T Shirts And More!

Ultimately, creating a unique shirt or top always comes down to you, how much work you’re willing to do, and what exactly you’re trying to create.

You’ve just got to know where to start.

Hopefully these easy and unique t shirts have set you on a path towards creating something truly special.

Looking for more alternative lifestyle articles, covering all the tips for living your most off-center life? Check out some of our other great blog posts, and start getting weird with it, today!

Weirdomatic is the place where all weird things come to life through the amazing world of photographs – a corner of our wild imagination or the whimsical face of the reality?