I love using my Cricut to make shirts with vinyl. But some projects call for a different kind of look. That’s why I tried out the screen printing method. And after a few tries, I’m hooked!
Here’s a simple how-to and a few things I learned along the way.
This post contains affiliate links, which allow me to receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you make a purchase. All opinions are authentic and my own.
What you’ll need to get started:
1- Screen printing frame
2- Screen printing ink
3- Squeegee
4- Painter’s tape (Optional, depending on the method you want to use.)
With the exception of the painter’s tape, the links above will take you to all the same products that I use. For a few of the projects you’ll see here, I didn’t have any painters tape so I improvised with duct tape. It worked fine.
3 Screen Printing Methods
There are three different screen printing methods you can use. I’ve used them all and they are all fine depending on your skill level and your design. I will show you how to do each one, starting with my favorite method, Reverse Vinyl.
*Starting TIP: You need to work on a completely flat surface. An uneven surface could cause ink to be applied too light in some places or not show up at all.
Screen Printing Method #1 – Reverse Vinyl
Start by loading the adhesive vinyl onto the cutting mat like you normally would, with the colored side facing up. Use the vinyl setting on your Cricut or applicable Silhouette setting.
*TIP: Try to place your design in the middle of the vinyl sheet before cutting. This will give you space around the design when screen printing, to avoid getting ink on your shirt outside the design.
Be sure to MIRROR YOUR DESIGN. This is key, and not the way you would usually cut adhesive vinyl. But you will be putting the vinyl on the underside of the screen (which you sill see in a bit) so you need the design reversed.
After you cut your design and unload it from the machine, you will weed it. This step is different from your normal vinyl projects as well. You need to weed out the actual design, not what’s around it.
Think of it this way… you need to weed out all the places where you want to see the ink on the shirt. That will leave you with the design seen in white like the picture above.
Now lay a piece of transfer paper over the whole sheet and remove the white backing from the vinyl.
Then place the vinyl design on the underside of the screen printing frame and remove the transfer paper.
*TIP: If you pull it off carefully, you can reuse the transfer paper. I’ve used the same one for several projects like this.
Turn the screen over so the design lays flat on the shirt. And now you will be able to see the true design face up.
Pour a line of screen printing ink along the bottom, top, or side of your design (wherever you have the most room), then use a squeegee to spread the ink across your design. Be careful not to go outside the vinyl to avoid getting ink on your shirt where you don’t want it.
*TIP: A little ink goes a long way. Start with a small amount and apply more if needed. And put the excess ink back in the jar, it will last you through several projects.
*TIP: You need to apply somewhat strong pressure when filling in your design with ink. If your touch is too light, you won’t get enough ink through the screen and onto your fabric.
*TIP: Make sure the ink is distributed across the whole design equally or you will see variations in the ink in the final design where it is thicker in some places and thinner in other places.
Carefully pull off the screen print frame and let it dry for a while. I let mine dry for several hours or a whole day.
*TIP: Make sure you have the design covered with ink the way you want it before you pull up your screen. If you try to put your screen back down for a second application of ink, it won’t match up exactly, making your final design look a little funky.
Don’t forget this last step:
Once it’s fully dry you need to heat the ink to set it into the fabric. I press my shirts on my heat press for about 20 seconds at 250-300 degrees.
*TIP: You may want to place an extra teflon sheet or a towel inside your shirt while pressing. The screen printing ink bled through the back of one of my shirts during heat pressing. This did not happen on another shirt, so it may depend on the type of material. But better safe than sorry!
Rinse your screen soon after finishing your project, unless you plan to use the same design on multiple shirts. (Which you can do, as seen a little later in this post.) You should be able to rinse it clear with just water, but sometimes soap is needed to get some stubborn ink off.
Using reverse vinyl is by far my favorite way to screen print. It avoids pulling up small pieces of the design, as you will see is a danger with one of the other methods below. And this method would be best for intricate designs with lots of small pieces.
But if you struggle with the reverse method or you’re doing a super simple design, you can do the top vinyl method.
Screen Printing Method #2 – Top Vinyl
This method also requires adhesive vinyl cut the way you usually cut adhesive vinyl, with the color side up. But for this method you WILL NOT MIRROR the design Because you will be laying it on top of the screen, it should look while cutting, the same way it will look on the shirt.
And again, for this method, and any screen printing method, you will weed the design unlike usual vinyl projects. Weed out all the areas where you want to see the ink in the final design.
Use the steps you would use for any vinyl project to apply the design to your screen printing frame:
Put transfer paper over the top of the design, remove the white backing from the vinyl, place the design onto the top of the screen printing frame (where you can see the Speedball logo), and pull off the transfer paper.
I would also suggest bordering the vinyl with something like painters tape. As I mentioned above, I didn’t have any painters tape so I used duct tape. Whatever you use, be sure to tape all around the image so that you don’t get any ink on the shirt outside the design.
Pour some ink at the top, bottom, or side of your design (wherever you have the most room), then pull the ink down with the squeegee to cover the entire design.
*TIP: Pull the ink across the screen with the squeegee slowly. If you go too fast you might scrape up small pieces of your design, which results in getting ink where you don’t want it.
A little bit of ink goes a long way. If you have some left over, scrape it off and put it back into the jar.
As I mentioned above, make sure you have the design covered with ink the way you want it before you pull up your screen. I learned that with this design. If you look closely, you can see the word ‘camp’ at the top looks a little sloppy because I put the screen down a second time.
Carefully pull off the screen print frame and let it dry for a while. I let mine dry for several hours or a whole day.
Don’t forget this last step:
Once it’s fully dry you need to heat the ink to set it into the fabric. I press my shirts on my heat press for about 20 seconds at 250-300 degrees.
*TIP: You may want to place an extra teflon sheet or a towel inside your shirt while pressing. The screen printing ink bled through the back of one of my shirts during heat pressing. This did not happen on another shirt, so it may depend on the type of material. But better safe than sorry!
This was my first screen printed shirt and you can see it was not perfect. But I liked the rustic, imperfect quality of it. I mean, it is from a vintage movie after all. 🙂
Screen Printing Method #3 – Loose scrap material
For this design, I used the backing from the vinyl that I had leftover from another vinyl design. (Some people also use parchment paper.)
I cut it without mirroring the design, on the cardstock setting.
Then I placed the design right onto the shirt and put the screen print frame on top of it.
I was also kinda lazy and didn’t border the design with tape so I had to be super-duper careful not to get any ink on the shirt outside the design. Thankfully, I didn’t.
It turns out, I actually liked this method too.
Like the top vinyl method, you don’t need to mirror the design while cutting.
And like the reverse vinyl method, it lays underneath the frame, so you don’t have to worry about pieces of the design coming up or getting scraped by the squeegee.
So this is a good option if you are out of adhesive vinyl, can’t/don’t want mirror the design, or you’re trying to complete a project quickly.
Reusing your design
Always wanting to stretch resources as much as possible, I learned you can definitely re-use the design before taking it off your frame. After rinsing the frame, I just reapplied ink to another shirt.
This is a great option if you want to do the same shirts for a group of people.
Recapping important tips:/Things I’ve learned while screen printing:
- You need to work on a completely flat surface. An uneven surface could cause ink to be applied too light in some places or not show up at all.
- Try to place your design in the middle of the vinyl sheet before cutting. This will give you space around the design when screen printing, to avoid getting ink on your shirt outside the design.
- A little ink goes a long way. Start with a small amount and apply more if needed. And put the excess ink back in the jar, it will last you through several projects.
- Pull the ink down with the squeegee slowly. If you go too fast you might scrape up small pieces of your design, which results in getting ink where you don’t want it.
- You need to apply somewhat strong pressure when filling in your design with ink. If your touch is too light, you won’t get enough ink through the screen and onto your fabric.
- Make sure the ink is distributed across the whole design equally or you will see variations in the ink in the final design where it is thicker in some places and thinner in other places.
- Make sure you have the design covered with ink the way you want it before you pull up your screen. If you try to put your screen back down for a second application of ink, it won’t match up exactly, making your final design look a little funky.
Experiment • Have Fun • Good Luck!
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I love this and your designs!! They look fantastic. Did you just use shirts from anywhere?
Thank you so much!
For these designs, I used a couple of t-shirts I got at Walmart. They often have solid color, comfy shirts for about $5. But yes, you can pretty much use any type of shirt.
Other sources I like for blank shirts are JiffyShirts.com and HappyCrafters.com.
This looks so fun! How did you get the boat sails and centers of letters to stay put on the non sticky version?
Thanks! And great question! Since the boat sails and the center of the ‘Os’ weren’t connected to the rest of the design I had to place them onto the shirt separately in the position they needed to be before placing the screen on top of the design. Luckily for this design, there weren’t a lot of small pieces like that. But for a project with lots of small, unconnected pieces, it’s probably best to go with the sticky version. I hope that answers your question. Thanks for your interest! -Tracy
Can you explain the heat press. Did you apply it directly to the screen? Did paint get all over your press?
After the screen printing process, you need to let your shirt fully dry. I let mine dry for several hours or sometimes a whole day. Then press the shirt in your heat press with a silicone sheet on top of the shirt. Therefore, your press doesn’t actually come in contact with any ink. I hope that answers your question. Thanks for your interest! -Tracy
Can you use an iron or does it have to be a heat press?
Love your design!
Thank you so much!! Yes, you can use an iron. Heat presses are best if you’re selling your shirts because they have more heat consistency. But I only used an iron for a while before I got my press and it does the job. 🙂
How do it iron it? From the backside? I assume you dont put the iron directly on the image….
You first need to let the ink fully dry for several hours or a whole day. Then when using a heat press or an iron, you need to put a teflon sheet between the heat and the image. Heat presses come with a sheet, or you can buy them here (affil link): https://amzn.to/2DbePvB -Tracy
Looks great would love to try this. Since you said you liked the one with the design between the screen and the shirt, could you mirror the design and put it on the front of the screen? That way you wouldn’t have to handplace the pieces not connected.
The screen is made in such a way that you can only put it on one side of it for it to lay flat. If you don’t want to deal with hand placing the small pieces, I would recommend doing the first option I show in this tutorial, using adhesive vinyl and transfer paper. Both options work. I hope this answers your question! -Tracy
I put my design on sticky removable cricut vinyl. Can I just stick it onto the screen? Or do I need to use transfer tape? I’m confused about this step. Thank you.
You would apply the vinyl to your screen the same way you would adhere it to any other surface. So, I would suggest using transfer tape, yes. Unless your design is very basic and there are not small sections that would come off. In that case, you could try it without transfer tape. But I would use transfer tape to be on the safe side.
great —can you use any fabric paints
I can’t be sure, because I’ve only used screen printing ink. But from what I’ve read online, apparently screen printing ink is used for more consistency and quality because it sets into the fabric instead of just drying on top of it like fabric paint. So screen printing ink is supposed to last on your shirt longer. Hope that helps!
thank you
Great tutorial! Cannot wait to try this!
Yay! Thanks so much! Good luck!!
Any tips on getting the vinyl to stick to the screen? I can’t ever get mine to transfer from the transfer paper onto the screen.
I didn’t have problems getting mine to stick. Perhaps it’s the transfer paper you’re using. I get very frustrated with Cricut brand transfer paper because it also prevents my vinyl from sticking on my project and pulls it up. I used this brand and it worked great with this project: (affil link) https://amzn.to/2q2vGrT I hope that helps! -Tracy
How do you get the vinyl to stick to the screen with the transfer paper? Mine will stick to the paper and not adhere to the screen. So frustrating!
Perhaps it’s the transfer paper you’re using. I get very frustrated with Cricut brand transfer paper because it also prevents my vinyl from sticking on my project and pulls it up. I used this brand and it worked great with this project: (affil link) https://amzn.to/2q2vGrT And here is the screen I used: (affil link) https://amzn.to/2Ex6hAE I hope that helps! -Tracy
Could you put the sticky vinyl on the shirt and then the screen on top (a combo of the methods)?
I would think so. It’s a lot like the second method I showed with the Amity Island shirt when I put a cut-out stencil on the shirt, then the screen on top of that. Although I have never put sticky vinyl on fabric, so I’m not sure if that would be difficult to pull up when you’re finished with the ink. Let me know if you try it and how it goes! -Tracy
I’m assuming that if you use the 2nd method, it would only be good for one application..? Is the paper really messy to pull up with wet paint on it? Thanks for the tutorial. I have been really looking into screen printing recently.
That’s a great question. When I did the second method, luckily the design stuck to the frame and not the shirt. So there were no concerns with the shirt. And I did not try to re-use that design, but I would imagine you could just rinse the frame along with the design and use it again. It would probably depend on how intricate your design is. I hope that helps. I’d love to hear how it goes if you try it! -Tracy
This may be a dumb question but which end of the squeegie do you use? the flat hard plastic side or the felt side? i’m reading different tutorials online and many think the felt is super helpful but i can’t see how that would help with screen printing? The pictures look like you use the hard plastic side…
what am i missing?
I always use the hard plastic side. I found that it’s better for applying the best pressure to push the ink into the shirt. When you don’t press firmly, the ink might not spread as evenly. That said, some people may want their ink to spread a little differently for a different look. Hope that helps! – Tracy
Thank you for the Inspiration! Did you have to put anything inside the shirt–or does it not bleed through?
Also–would it work to flip the design, use sticky vinyl, and stick it to the back side of the screen, so the design was between the screen and shirt?
I’m doing several shirts and want to re-use the stencil…thank you again!!
Hi! I did not put anything inside my shirts before applying the ink and it was fine. But I suppose if you are making a design with a lot of ink it would not be a bad idea to put some sort of cloth in between the layers of your shirt. As for using a reversed sticky vinyl on the backside of the screen, I think that makes a lot of sense. And you should be able to rinse it and reuse. Let me know how it works out! -Tracy
Are you using permanent or removable vinyl?
For screen printing projects, when I use vinyl for the design, I use adhesive vinyl (not htv). After use, you can peel it off the screen.
Oh my goodness! Such a good article, I learned soooooo much. And I love the way you listed the supplies with pictures, price and BUY NOW or site. Plus the way you bullet “WHAT I LEARNED” makes it easy for me to refer back. I’m looking forward to reading and learning from your other articles. Good job. BTW, do you sell your designs?
Thanks so much for the kind words! I’m so glad you found this post helpful. I do sell a few of my designs and hope to do more in the future. You can see my available SVGs here: https://frugalfloridamom.com/category/printables/ -Tracy
I’m attempting my first screen print soon and your tutorial is so helpful! I was wondering if you have ever done a front and back design on a shirt before…and if so, does pressing the 2nd design affect the design on the other side of the shirt?
I have not done a front and back design before. But my advice would be to do one side completely, including the screen-printing, drying and pressing, then do the other side. The whole process will take you a few days, but I think you’d have much less risk of mistakenly messing up the other side. Good luck! I’d love to hear how it turns out! -Tracy
Hello, I used to screen print. I did it for about 6 years. I loved it. Seeing this makes me wanna do it again. Just curious, what do you use to rinse your screen and squeegee? Thank you!!
I rinse everything in the sink with tap water between each project. I rinse it soon after to avoid drying. It seems to works well! -Tracy
Dumb question here- does that mean you can reuse the screen? I was wondering and assumed that you couldn’t
Yes! I reused the screen several times. I rinsed it really well between uses and had no problems. -Tracy
Thanks for this! Can you tell me why I would use the screen instead of just using a stencil and dabbing the ink/paint? Just wondering why using the extra steps and things to wash, lol
Thanks for your interest in my post! Interesting question! I think you could definitely do it that way and if you do, I would love to hear how it turns out. My only concern would be that the ink would not be distributed as deeply or evenly into the fabric. By using the squeegee, you’re able to push the ink into the fabric in a smooth and uniform way while applying pressure. Good luck! -Tracy
Hi! What did you use to clean your screen before doing the second print?
Just water! And everything came off clean. -Tracy
If you plan on using the screen over and over could you use iron on vinyl on the actual screen to ensure that nothing lifts off or moves while you are printing? I can’t wait to try this project they look great!!!
Thanks for your kind words and interest! I’m not sure about ironing a design onto the screen. I would worry that htv would not properly adhere to the screen or that heat might damage or melt it. Another option is to flip your design (to cut it reversed) on adhesive vinyl and adhere to the backside of the screen. That way, it’s secure to the frame and you don’t need to worry about the squeegee pulling up the small pieces. I hope that makes sense. Good luck! I’d love to hear about how your projects turn out. -Tracy
I just purchased these designs and when I download them into my design space are they the same size that you used or so I have to resize them?
You’ll want to adjust them to the size that’s best for your shirt. -Tracy
I do this method a lot. Here are a few other tips for you!!
-Use Oracle 651 permanent vinyl
– add a little heat to get the bubbles or wrinkles out of the vinyl and to get better adherence. I put an iron on the board and get it nice and warm and then put the frame with the vinyl on it on top of the heated surface, works like a charm
– Use a hair dryer on the wet paint to get it to dry faster.
– Let the vinyl cure on the frame for a couple of days before using paint on it
These are all great tips. Thanks so much!
Loved this idea so I tried it…now I never use HTV. Thanks! I do it on the cheap…I cut my design on freezer paper ($3.50 a roll) shiny side down, then iron it on to the fabric to avoid ink getting outside my design (shiny side down) and put the screen on top like your second method. I too use the hair dryer to initially dry then for good measure do the heat press.
Thanks again!
I Love It!! So glad you found a method that works great for you. And I love how you do it on the cheap! Nice! -Tracy
I followed your instructions and did my first screen printing and it worked so well!!!! I did it with vinyl which is a lot of work so my next time is to try the backing like you did. But I absolutely love this. Thank you so much!
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that your project went well and that this was helpful. -Tracy
Hello,
Really thanks you for this tutorial ! 🙂
I will start the screen printing with this method and i just have one question please
How many shirts can we make with one stencil?
And am i obliged to make all my series of shirt in one time? Or can i make only two prints, then wash my screen (without take off the stencil), store it, and re-use it couple of days later?
I think the number of shirts you can make at one time really depends on how well your stencil holds up and adheres to your screen. I would not advise leaving the stencil on and using it days later. I would be worried some ink might get trapped in the stencil and stain your screen. But this is just an educated guess, as I have not tried doing that myself. Good luck! -Tracy
Really thank you for the reply! 🙂
Do you need to do emulsification for the screen prior to the design? I am working on a design for shirts for a group of people.
No. I have never used emulsification for this type of process. -Tracy
Just AWESOME! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks so much! I’m glad it was useful. -Tracy
How would you use this method for multiple colors?
Great question. That is not something I have tried, but I think it could work. You’d just have to make sure the shirt fully dries and the screen is fully washed and rinsed before attempting a second color.
Could you do either of these on wood?
I have not personally tried screen printing ink on wood. I do not know how well it holds up. I have used other paint on wood with good results.
Ok could I use card stock instead of vinyl
I have not used it myself, but I don’t see why you couldn’t. There would just be a risk that the ink might smear if the paper shifts at all on the shirt. But as long as you press the screen over the cardstock template firmly throughout the process and pull it off carefully, it’s definitely worth a try! -Tracy
Just did my first screen print & I love it! So glad I found this article to go by.
Wondering if you could offer any advice on when it comes to taking the stencil/screen off. I used your third method. I taped down my stencil because it didn’t seem to lay right if I didn’t, so when I went to pull up the screen the stencil wanted to come with it. Which would have been fine if I didn’t tape it. Should I just skip taping it down?
I’m so glad you found this helpful! I am all for taping, anything that makes the stencil more stable and less likely to shift. But I would suggest taping the stencil to the screen printing frame instead. Because it’s going to stick to the frame either way because of the ink, so if you tape it to the screen it will all come up purposefully at one time and create less opportunity for slipping or shifting. Hope this helps! -Tracy
You are a genius! I feel so dumb for not thinking of that. lol Thank you so much!
Believe me, I have made every mistake in the book! 🙂 That’s how we learn and get better, all part of the process. Happy crafting!
Thank you for this awesome tutorial! I just printed my first shirt and it turned out great. The hardest part was getting the vinyl off the transfer paper. I was also surprised how few instructions the speedball paint comes with. I used my best guess on drying time and heat pressing. Hopefully the ink holds up.
After you are finished with a design, can you remove the vinyl from the screen and use the screen over? Or would you have to put new mesh in the frame for the next design?
I bought all my supplies and can’t wait to try this. Thanks so much!
You can reuse the screen printing frame over and over. I was able to just rinse it really well with water and had no problems. I’ve also used a little bit of dish soap. I find it’s better to rinse it as soon after use as possible so the ink doesn’t have time to dry. Good luck!