Beginner's Guide to Screen Printing: 12 Beautiful Printing Projects with Templates

Description

Screen printing is a print process involving the forcing of ink through a screen of fine material to create a picture or pattern. It has been around for many years, and has long been perceived as a specialist subject accessible only to professional printers and textile artists due to the high cost of the screens and inks. Recently, however, screen printing has entered the mainstream and the equipment and tools have become more affordable and accessible. In this Beginner's Guide to Screen Printing, Erin Lacy shows you how to make your own screen using an embroidery hoop and silk fabric, and demonstrates how to create beautiful designs that are easy to achieve. Discover how to print onto different surfaces such as wood, cork and fabric, and create twelve stunning, coastal and botanical-themed projects through bright and colourful step-by-step photography. The book includes templates and inspiration on how to design your own screen printing motifs.

Erin Lacy traded in her urban roots for walking boots when she moved to open up a print studio in the creative Cornish seaside town of St. Ives, UK, where she currently lives. Erin trained at, and graduated from, the London College of Fashion, and went on to surround herself with the world of textiles through work and leisure. She set up a business to promote printing as a craft and went on to demonstrate print techniques at her studio as well as at shows and workshops. Erin has produced her own range of ready-to-go hand-mixed printing paints - Pick Pretty Paints - a medium for all printing methods, to be used either at a table or on the go. She has worked alongside Kirstie Allsopp's team at Handmade Shows and Fairs across the UK and has demonstrated Christmas printing gift-wrap ideas on Kirstie's Handmade Christmas TV programme. Erin's range of printing paints was shortlisted for Product of the Year 2019 by Mollie Makes magazine.

With well laid out content and index of projects, and a useful glossary, this book provides a friendly and reassuring introduction. The projects are varied and build in difficulty level as the book progresses. Several projects are practical, rather than just decorative. You will learn how to print with gradients, overlayed techniques, and repeat patterns. The text is thorough and informative, but also easy to understand. I felt anyone with an interest, from teenagers upwards, would find this book valuable. I was struck by the genius idea of repurposing embroidery hoops as printing frames. I also liked how the projects are all geared towards being able to wash your screens in a household sink and without any pricey specialist detergents. Perhaps some of the craft tools could have been labelled more specifically in the photographs, but the step-by-step photos used for the actual projects are clear and helpful. Similarly, the instructions are thorough. The list of tools and materials is not overwhelming, and they don't seem offputtingly expensive. I appreciated the advice on selecting inks. This is something I've investigated in the past, but I've just ended up confusing myself. There are good tips regarding assessing fabric and shrinkage, and the interesting suggestion of using a vegetable steamer to fix the inks. There is also useful advice about equipment, surfaces, the positioning of objects, and tips on cutting out stencils. I particularly liked the method for printing a repeat pattern on fabric. With projects covering printing on wood and cork as well as fabric - along with the use of "found" objects such as leaves - this book encourages the reader to venture further than just printing a tea towel. Several pages of templates are provided - my favourites being a dragonfly and a shell. -- Sophie Hudson * Customer review * What can l say about this little but not so little book? It's packed full of information and handy tip for screen printing to making stencils and how to use them. You probably have most of the materials needed at home with exception of screens and a squeegee. The templates at the back of the book are nice and are great for cutting and practice prints it also show how to print in 2 colours which is great as expected; great book and the pictures speak a thousand words - and can sometimes explain better than words. -- Anne Hill * Customer review * What Can I say? I got this book as I was super interested in screen printing! All the local courses to me were too expensive so I figured I would go for a book. The step by step guides are amazing. The templates are really useful! And I learnt so so much from all the tips and tutorials. -- Emma Brown * Customer review * I am really pleased with this book. It gives step by step guidance for the beginner and there are photos of each step which I find incredibly helpful as I can refer to them whilst working on my ideas. What I like most is that although it is a beginner's guide it is is not so basic as to be insulting and a short-lived read. I can see that I will be able to come back to it regularly as I learn more about screen printing. I had bought a kit and the instructions were neither clear nor detailed enough so this was just the book I was looking for. Would recommend to anyone and it is also not too expensive. -- Barbara Strange * Customer review * I thought the book was very informative for a complete beginner. It explains about everything you will need, how to make screens, what paint to buy and most useful, how to clean up. The stencils were a surprise in the back of the book. Overall this is a very good book and a nice addition to my craft book collection. -- Jan Hudson * Customer review * I have always thought of Screen Printing to be very difficult to do and very expensive to start doing. This book certainly takes you from the beginning and starting with easy things and not needing particularly expensive equipment. I like the personal way it is written with lots or tips and advice as you go along rather than straightforward do this and do that with no further explanations as to why. The author definitely is sharing her personal experience which is what makes the book so effective. There are lots of illustrations that clearly show you what and how to do things. I like the way that the book also includes templates for the project shown inside so that you can replicate those projects exactly as shown in the illustrations rather than have to make your own alternative patterns or templates. -- Zena Kate * Customer review * A great book with all the information needed to start your new hobby. There're some projects and patterns to use from basic to a little more intricate. Can't wait to try the dragonfly motif. -- Tammy Harris * Customer review * I got the opportunity to receive a free copy of this book in exchange for my review and I've got to say I am so happy I was able to! I had previously bought a screen printing kit from a craft fair but have been a bit stuck as to how to get started. I also wanted to make my own stencils but didn't know where to begin... This book by Erin Lacy is a fantastic guide for beginners! It's full of pictures and useful how to guides and each of the projects are well described and very cute. An added bonus was the wooden triangles and lilac printing paint that was included to try out the bunting project! In summary: I definitely recommend this book if you want to get started with screen printing it covers all the tools you need and some great projects to try out! -- Rebecca Ridyard * Customer review * Brilliant little book - well presented with loads of ideas for projects. Clear, easy to follow instructions, including photos of each step, with plenty of diagrams and designs to trace around. Perfect for anyone wanting to learn a new hobby. Would make a great gift. -- Sue Rowland * Customer review * Very clear instructions aimed for beginners, as the title states. I particularly like the fact that an embroidery hoop can be used to begin with whilst you are learning how to screen print. This book will provide you with invaluable skills whilst working your way through this book's activities and instructions, the addition of templates towards the back of the book is a huge help to start you on your way. I also love the section about creating your own designs, how wonderful to personalise your own work. -- Pamela Hainsworth * Customer Review * With over 300 illustrations in 112 pages, Erin Lacy's Beginner's Guide to Screen Printing takes you through 12 stunning projects of coastal and botanical themes in this perfect introduction guide. Erin shows you how to make your own screen using and embroidery hoops and silk fabric. This book also has templates and inspiration on how to go forth and create your own wonderful designs and motifs. * Simply Cards and Papercraft * Although primarily aimed at the craft market, this is such a good introduction to screen printing that it is worthy of inclusion in a journal aimed at fine art and work on paper. While it is true that this will mean a mental adjustment from working with textiles, the processes are much the same and little practice should be required to make this transition. What makes the book attractive is that it is based around 12 projects. This means that you are producing results while you work, rather than wading through a lot of technical information before you have anything to show. The danger, of course, is that it can be easy to skip over the necessary techniques, but the projects are simple and you should find that you pick the basics up fairly quickly. Simple projects and equipment keep investment to a minimum and make the whole thoroughly enjoyable. * The Artist * Erin Lacy demystifies the art of screen printing, with inspiring photography, beautiful projects and easy-to-follow techniques. You'll learn how to make a screen using an embroidery hoop and silk fabric, print onto different surfaces such as wood, cork and fabric, and create 12 coastal and botanical-themed projects with your printed designs. * Simply Sewing * Make your mark with this primer on screen printing. Even if you have never done any before you will soon be printing like a pro on not only fabric and paper but cork, wood and more. I've done some screen printing in the past, but not recently so was keen to see if the book was suitable for a beginner. Buying the kit is not cheap and one of the main concerns anybody has before taking up a new hobby is whether they will take to it or not, so laying out money on costly equipment is often the reason they don't bother. The author of this book wisely suggests having a try first with an embroidery hoop, a sponge dabber and a silk habutai scarf; this is also a very portable way of doing it. After introducing the materials and tools the book goes on to explain how the process works from drawing, to cutting the stencil, attaching it to the screen, printing and fixing. This is a lot to take in, but it is broken down into sections and there are plenty of staged photographs with reassuringly short captions which make it all seem doable. If the drawing part is rather a challenge, not to mention rendering your art to make it suitable for printing you can use found objects like leaves and of course the templates at the back. The projects cover not only fabric items but postcards, wooden bunting, cork coasters and a card print for the wall. Fabric projects include a skirt, a bag, tea towel, table mats and a runner. Each one teaches a different lesson so you can amass useful and gift quality items while learning. The theme is mostly nature with an emphasis on the seaside as the author lives in Cornwall, and she sells her own range of paints for printing. At the back is a short gallery of items plus a handy glossary. I found this to be a very user (and purse) friendly primer on the sometimes rather daunting process of screen printing and look forward to taking it up again. -- Rachel A Hyde * MyShelf.com * Screen printing has recently entered the mainstream, with the necessary equipment and tools becoming more affordable. It has never been easier for you to explore a new discipline, printing your designs on surfaces such as wood, cork, and every stitcher's favourite... fabric! The ultimate companion on your crafting journey, Beginner's Guide to Screen Printing by Erin Lacy will guide you through the basics and introduce you to 12 attractive yet accessible projects. * Sew Magazine *