How to Wash Graphic Tees

August 27, 2019

Are you worried that most of your graphic tees are fading or cracking after wearing and washing them a few times? It can be quite frustrating. Although the durability of the design depends on factors such as the printing process and the type of shirt it’s being printed on, it’s also highly dependent on how you handle your tees, especially when it comes to washing. Here are a few pointers on how to wash graphic tees.

How to Wash Graphic Tees

This article points out some of the tips on how to wash your graphic tees so they remain as good as new for longer. It emphasizes the need to avoid using harsh detergents and washing with cold instead of hot water among other things.

Always Use Cold Water

Unless you need to disinfect hospital sheets or towels, there’s really no reason why you should wash your clothes in hot water. Hot water is not gentle on fabric and will destroy it over time. Cold water, on the other hand, is gentle on fabric and also gets your clothes clean.

Don’t Use Strong Detergents or Bleach

Like hot water, strong detergents and bleach are harsh on fabric. If you need to get rid of spots on your tee, consider a light stain remover as it should get the job done. It’s also crucial that you use mild detergents on your graphic tees.

Wash Them Inside Out

A general rule of thumb, especially when it comes to graphic tees is to turn them inside out before placing them in the washing machine. That helps to keep the design intact and lessen the fading. If you want the design to last even longer, make sure it doesn’t get into contact with the washing machine often to prevent the ink from getting strained.

Also, avoid washing your graphic tees after every use. That may seem extreme but think of it this way – each time you wash and dry your tees, you’re speeding up their aging process. It goes without saying that if your tee is really dirty you should go ahead and wash it. But if you’ve only worn it for an hour or two and it’s not dirty, consider folding it and putting it back in the closet.

Don’t Put Your Tee in a Hot Dryer

When drying your graphic tee, don’t set the dryer to the highest heat level. Another useful trick is to remove the tee before it’s totally dry and letting it dry naturally either in a clothing line outside or anywhere else. High heat is possibly your graphic tee’s worst enemy.

Wash Similar Clothes Together

If you’ve had a white design on your red shirt turn yellow after a few washes, the chances are you washed it together with some yellow attire, and the yellow color found its way into your white design. That’s why it’s crucial that you wash only shirts with similar colors together.

Bottom Line

Don’t forget the basics on how to wash graphic Tees – wash them in cold water, don’t wash them together, don’t use bleaching agents, let them dry naturally and use mild detergents. That’s how your graphic tees will maintain their printed designs.

How to Care For Graphic Tees – Easy Tips

June 24, 2019

Do you want to know how to care for graphic tees? Are you looking for effective ways to make the process simpler and hassle-free? Owning an epic graphic design is not easy. It demands a lot of efforts and caution. If you want to make your wardrobe more useful and inspiring, you can go through the following awesome tricks and tips to handle your wardrobe and maintain the new look and freshness of your graphic tees.

How to Care For Graphic Tees

Stack Tees Vertically

Stacks graphic tees vertically in the drawer that will double the capacity and will also ensure easy access. You will love this arrangement as it will look like a graphic art display. Your wardrobe will look inspiring for sure.

Hang Shirts on Shirts

Just collect soda tabs and use these tabs for saving space in the closet. Loop those tabs onto the hangers and then hang the second hanger using the same tab’s second hole. By doing so, you can hang shirts on shirts and ensure easy accessibility.

Fold Your Tees

Folding your tees will not take more than a couple of seconds. If you fold your tees, you can maintain the freshness and will not make a mess by throwing all your clothes. It is always suggested to either hang or fold your clothes to avoid wrinkles.

Get Rid of Wrinkles

If your cloth ends up on the floor, then you can spray water on your tees. It will help you to minimize wrinkles. You can also hang your tees on the door while taking a shower. Hanging will offer the same benefit.

Use Right Product to Remove Stains

It is natural to get armpit stains on your T-shirt. Many of us face this problem. You can use a proper armpit stain solution to remove those stains from your T-shirt. Make sure that you are not using antiperspirants with aluminum for the same purpose. Also regularly wash your T-shirts.

Un-Shrink Your Tees

If you accidentally shrink your T-shirt in the laundry, you can easily unshrink it. Take hot water and add some hair conditioner and soak your tee in that water for around five minutes. After five minutes, you just need to stretch it back.

Final Words

Now you know how to care for graphic tees. Also, it is always important to maintain the quality of your T-shirt to wear it for a long time. Take extra caution and wash it inside out to preserve the creative art. Consider gentle cycle in machine to prevent shrinkage. Make sure that you are using cold water to wash your graphic t-shirts. But if you want to shrink your t-shirt, you can consider using warm water. Avoid machine drying.

How to Wash Screen Printed Shirts – The Correct Way

June 3, 2019

Screen printed t-shirts are quite in fashion these days. This type of t-shirt is a great way to show love for certain team or person or to advertise any event or business. The screen printed t-shirts are also used as a souvenir item. Though the popularity has increased now, the use of these t-shirts can be dated back to the early 1960s. If you love to wear these t-shirts, you have to know something about taking care of it too. So, if you are thinking how to wash screen printed shirts, then we are here to help you. Taking good care of these screen printed t-shirts is essential to keep it intact and new forever.

How to Wash Screen Printed Shirts

If you have a screen printed t-shirt, then you have to be very careful about how you handle it. You cannot treat the garment just like any other shirt or t-shirt. You need to keep some of the care tips in mind when washing or drying it. Here are these tips:

You have to wash screen-printed garments inside out for protecting the screen print from any kind of abrasion.
You must wash the screen printed shirts with the garments that are made of similar fabrics to decrease the lint transfer and pilling.
You have to use a very mild detergent while washing the screen printed t-shirts.
You must wash the screen printed t-shirts in cool water and the temperature of the water must be below 90 degree Fahrenheit to keep it safe and intact.
You must lay the cloth flat or hang it to dry.
You have to use the cool iron to release the creases and you must keep the garment inside out while using iron on it.
You must iron the screen printed garments keeping them in between two pieces of cloth for protecting the design.

Things to avoid

There are certain things that you must avoid when you are washing screen printed shirts. As much as it is important to know the dos, it is also important to know the don’ts to take care of the How to Wash Screen Printed Shirts garments properly. Here are some of the things that you must avoid:

Never ever choose dry cleaning service for the screen printed t-shirts as the chemical used in this process can be harmful.
Avoid using bleach, especially the chlorine bleach as this will cause discoloration of the fabric threads.
Never ever use the fabric softener on the screen printed tees and shirts as these can degrade the ink used on these garments.
Do not use the steam function when you are ironing the screen printed garments.

Final words

So, these are some of the important dos and don’ts that you have to follow when it comes to screen printed t-shirts. One of the most common and frequently asked questions is about how to wash screen printed shirts. Now, you know the details about it and how you can take care of it while washing it and after washing it. Make sure to follow these to ensure that your screen-printed t-shirt will last for a long time.

Can You Solder Sterling Silver

June 3, 2019

Sterling silver rings and necklaces can last practically forever if properly cared for. However, silver jewelry can become so much more if the owner knows how to adjust and improve the piece. Can you solder sterling silver? If you have the knowledge of doing so, you can solder sterling silver to improve, fix or adjust it to your needs and desires.

Can You Solder Sterling Silver

Soldering is essentially using heat (a torch) to fuse together two metal objects with a piece of solder in between the two. This can actually be done with many other metals that is typically used for accessories other than sterling silver such as copper and gold. Soldering silver or other metals at home can be quite dangerous as well as difficult. Before starting this task, the area should be properly prepared and the correct attire needs to be worn.

The Right Materials

Charcoal Soldering Block or Kiln Brick

The right surface to doing anything that include metal and heat is either a charcoal soldering block or kiln block, However, the kiln block is second recommendation in the case that a charcoal block in not available. Charcoal deflects heat and creates a high temperature environment that silver needs to melt. Some people have recommended other materials for home DIY projects that include magnesia block, ceramic or solderite board.

Torch

A butane torch or small oxy-acetylene is necessary when soldering sterling silver. A small butane torch is the best option as it heats at a lower heat and is meant for a smaller job that requires more precision.

Flux

A cleaning agent is needed for the two pieces being conjoined before applying heat, and that cleaning agent is called flux. Flux removes any oxidation before soldering to prevent beads or bubbles from forming. Most people apply this with a small brush or a cloth. Flux is also available in spray form as well.

Steel Wool and Cloth

While flux cleans right before the heat is applied, cleaning the sterling silver with steel wool and cloth will take off any contaminants from heavily handled pieces.

Tweezers

It goes without saying that touching hot metal is not safe and can cause horrible burns. Soldering tweezers or small copper tongs will be a great assistant in this task to avoid burning your fingers and hands. Copper tongs are best when handling anything anything that may conduct high heat.

Proper Clothing

Protection is key. Keep yourself safe with fitted clothing, closed toed shoes, a canvas apron or denim apron and goggles to protect your eyes. Goggles are essential in protecting your eyes from hot metal splatter, especially since you will need to be looking very close to see what you’re doing. If you have long hair, be sure that it is pulled back into a ponytail or bun. Long loose sleeves need to rolled up or pulled back.

Soldering Wire or Sheets

Solder is the material that is added between the joints to conjoin them. It is an alloy made up of silver and other metals, which melts at a lower temperature than sterling silver. Therefore, when heat is applied to it, soldering silver acts as a metal glue. When beginning, always start with soft solder as it is easiest to work with.

Finishing Touches

At the end of your soldering task, you will need to clean and cool your new creation. Have beside you a cup, bowl or bucket of tap water and a cooling surface area. The cooling area can be on the same heat resistant block that is on your work area or a pumice stone.

How to Solder Sterling Silver

Open windows to create ventilation and cool the room.
Conduct initial cleaning of the sterling silver with steel wool and a cleaning cloth. Do this away from your soldering area and clean away metal dust when finished.
Apply flux with brush or cloth on joint area where heat will be applied.
Set up silver pieces on the block as you want them to be soldered together as close together as possible.
With your tweezers, take a piece of solder on the crack where the pieces will be joined. Do not put too many, as the solder metal will spread and fill up the gaps.
Hold the torch away from the jewelry and adjust the flame, then start by holding the torch about 4 inches away from the silver pieces. Don’t apply the heat directly to solder and focus more on the sterling silver. When the silver gets hot enough it will melt the solder fast and the soldering piece will melt into the spaces it needs to fill.
Let the new jewelry cool off for about a minute and then dip it into your cup or bowl of water.
Let dry and pat dry with a cleaning cloth.

In Conclusion

Can you solder sterling silver? Similar to the process of removing super glue, you need to ensure you have what you need to solder silver. As long as you have the right materials and set up your work area properly, you can solder any of your sterling silver accessories and possessions from your own home.

Best Fabric For T Shirt Printing – What to Consider

May 20, 2019

When you are printing or planning to print a t-shirt, you should consider the fact the fact that not every fabric is created equal. You can believe that finding the best fabric for t shirt printing is as important as a canvas is to an artist. Just like a bad canvas can spoil a marvelous painting, a below-standard or bad material can ruin a t-shirt.

Best Fabric For T Shirt Printing

It is important to pay attention to the textiles used for printing. In this article, we will talk about fabrics for a t-shirt and what are the best choices you can get for printing techniques. So, let’s see the best kind of fabrics that you can use for t-shirt printing.

Cotton

Cotton is an ideal fabric for both screen printing as well as direct to garment or in short, DTG.

The screen printing consists of the process of applying the ink through silk screens onto the t-shirts’ fabric. The ink enters through the fabric permeable areas only. In most cases, screen printers will use inks that are water-based and these inks work fantastic on cotton.

Direct to garment or DTG is perfect when you want to print a high level of color and detail variation. DTG works with the water-based inks only and it works beautifully on cotton.

Polyester

Polyester is the best fabric for transfer printing and sublimation.

Transfer printing is one of the most versatile printing techniques today and they are an ideal choice for almost all material. However, it depends largely on the material or fabric how the transfer Best Fabric For T Shirt Printing printing will finally look like an end product. Mostly, transfer printings are plastic and they attach very well to synthetic fabrics like polyester.

Sublimation does more than just printing; it melts the pigment onto the fabric. Sublimation is only used on synthetic fabrics. Simply put, sublimation works only on polyester as the color would not adapt to any other kind except polyester.

Linen

Linen can be a good choice for t-shirt printing.

It’s a fact that linen is not a very common material for t-shirts. They are used commonly in light outer layers and jackets, but it can also be a good fabric for linen. Linen as a fabric is a lightweight material and can dry easily and quickly; therefore, it can be a good choice for summertime t-shirts.

Rayon

Rayon is a material that is made from the blend of woody plants, trees, and cotton. Rayon was introduced as the silk’s cheaper version and is known for its smooth feel. Rayon can be a very good choice for t-shirt printing because it is much similar to polyester. In addition to that, rayon is a perfect choice for outdoor and athletic wear as it is lightweight.

Tri-blends

Tri-blends is the blend of rayon, polyester, and cotton – the three fabric that is ideal for t-shirt printing. This is the main advantage of this hybrid blend, it has all the best qualities of the three fabrics and it can offer a perfect balance between durability, comfort, and style.

Conclusion

It’s summer and the best choice for clothing is t-shirts. Therefore, getting the best fabric for t shirt printing is going to make the t-shirt not only stylish but also comfortable. After all, people look for t-shirts that are not just stylish but also comfortable and perfect for the hot weather.

Types of T Shirt – Based on Sleeves, Necklines and Fit

April 30, 2019

What are the types of t shirt available? Starting with the basic t shirt, you have the Crew Neck, the V Neck and the Henley Y Neck. The basic differences between these shirts is the shape and style of their necklines. The Crew Neck has a circular aspect that wraps closely around one’s neck and is best for people who have sloping shoulders and narrow faces. The V-style sports a “V” around the neck area and is best for people who have broad shoulders and round faces.

Types of T Shirt

The are many t shirts to choose from. They can vary based on neckline, sleeve length, and/or the type of it. Here are some characteristics that differentiate t shirts.

Scoops, Polo Shirts and Raglan Sleeves.

The Scoop Neck is a kind of Crew Neck but with a wider area, usually falling just below the collarbone. This shirt is best for a casual look.

Polo t-shirts are timeless designs that have been popularized by golfers. The addition of buttons down front can make the look more formal. Polo shirts are great for guys who have a lean frame.

Raglan sleeves get their inspiration, cut and design from traditional baseball uniforms. The sleeves are affixed by diagonal stitching instead of the more common up-and-down, which adds to the shirt’s uniqueness. In terms of sleeve type, there’s Sleeveless, Full-Length, Quarter Length and Cap Sleeves.

Different Kinds of T-Shirt Fit

There are several options for wearing t-shirts, all of which depend on your frame, facial profile, occasion and style preference. More than that, each shirt may have several aspects of fit, which can make or break your overall appearance. No one will look good on an ill-fitting shirt, so it’s best to consider the fit as well as the type when shopping for clothes.

What constitutes a good fit for you? Simple. The shirt should wrap around your torso snugly, flatter the shape of your body and provide enough air circulation to make you comfortable. Body Fit, or Slim Fit tees hug the body and can be used as an undershirt. Baggy style exaggerates the proportions and come in wide and loose sizes. Muscle fit will accentuate your muscles in the arm and chest area and is great for gym-goers or bodybuilders.

Different T-Shirt Styles

Plain colored ones don’t have any designs and are staples in any men’s wardrobe. You can opt for Printed or Graphic ones and choose which slogan or design works for you. Pocket tees usually have a small pocket stitched in the breast area. Hood-style shirts are sophisticated pieces that look great in the gym or when playing sports.

In Conclusion

There are quite a number of types of t shirt you can choose to wear everyday for comfort, style and activity. The best ones are the ones you are most comfortable wearing. The neckline, sleeves, and fit style all make a difference in t shirt types.