Beginner’s Guide to Screen Printing

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.

• IntroductionInspiration and ideasTools and materialsBefore you printAfter you print Making a hoop screen Exposing: Working with resists Print production Repeats and borders Tessellations Multilayered screen printing Placement motifs Printing gradients Creating your own designs Templates and motifs Glossary IndexThe projectsBotanical postcards Cork coasters Wood bunting Calico tote bags Swallow-print tea towel Feather-print fabric Feather-print skirt Printed cushion covers Dragonfly placemats Dragonfly table runner Shell motif beach blanket Pebble print

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.