subject: Doing Your Own Urban Shirt [print this page] The fashion sense of todays generation is very different from the fashion statement of the century before. If the fashion then was to show off ones status in life, todays fashion is all about self-expression, individualism and freedom from norms.
Such is the case of urban shirts. What sets these shirts apart is the fact that you can create one on your own. Before you can do this, however, you need to familiarize yourself first with the different materials that you can use in creating the designs, the most common of which is Plastisol. This material gives the design a more plasticized look.
You can also make use of water-based inks as well as discharge inks. Whats the difference? Water-based inks tend to penetrate the fabric more and are particularly suited for creating large designs. They are also perfectly suited for creating light-colored designs onto dark-colored materials.
Another material that you can use in designing your urban t shirt is foil. With this material, you have to apply glue into the fabric and then you place the foil to complete the design. Usually, gold and silver foils are used. Since they tend to be thin, you might have to make about a hundred applications. An alternative to foil would be to apply a mirrored silver. This material is a solvent-based ink that produces a surface which is so smooth you can actually use it as a mirror; hence the mirror adjective.
Urban tshirts also look good with shimmers in them. These are gold or silver flecks suspended in Plastisol that gives your design a shimmering effect. Metallics are also like shimmers but the flecks are smaller in size. For 3D effect, you can also apply puff or caviar beads to your urban t shirt. Puff, or more commonly known as expanding ink, gives the design a raised look while caviar beads are small plastic beads placed on shirts with the help of glue.
There you have it, the different ways by which you can apply the design to your urban t shirt. Now, all you need to do is get a shirt of your size and youre off to creating your own designs.
