The following steps describe how we print by hand. You will, of course, develop your own technique, one that suits you and that's great. But once you have started printing, don't stop! This is crucial - if you leave your screens for too long, the ink will set in the screen fabric, ruining your screen. So, no phone calls answered while printing! Prepare your space, table, fabric and inks for printing.

Trace your chosen motif onto the paper you will use for the stencil, positioning the motif as close to the middle of the paper as possible.

On a cutting mat, cut out the motif accurately, using a craft knife. Remember that where you want the colour to come through onto the fabric, there should be a 'hole' in the paper.

You now need to attach your motif to the screen. If you have cut parts of a design that are now 'floating', that is, they are not attached to any other part of the design, you need to attach small strips of double-sided tape to these floating pieces, so that they will adhere to the screen. To do this, attach the tape while they are lying in their cut position, then simply centre the flat side (the right side) of the screen over them and press it onto them as they lie. Rub over the screen gently to ensure good adhesion. You can then flip the screen over with the floating pieces attached and lay the paper from which you cut them on the right of the screen, making sure the motif is in the middle of the screen. (Keeping the motif in the middle means that it is surrounded by a border of paper. This allows for a 'well' for your ink when printing, that is, an impervious place for your ink to sit in that is not over your motif.) Now attach the outer edges of the paper to the screen, using the packing tape. Make sure there are no gaps between the paper and the edge of the screen: mask off right to the frame edge, so ink doesn't get on your fabric where you don't want it!

Place the screen, right side down, on your fabric where you want the first image to be printed. Apply some ink to the screen near the top of the screen in the 'well'.

Using the squeegee, drag the ink over the motif to the other end of the screen at about at 45-degree angle, using a firm, but not heavy, pressure. Now pull the ink back to the end you started at and gently tap the squeegee onto the screen to remove excess ink. Now do what is called an 'empty' pull over the motif, that is, a pull of the squeegee with no ink, to remove any excess ink that is lying over the design.

Gently lift the screen to reveal your printed image.

Leave fabric to air dry or use the hair dryer, if needed. (If printing another of the same motif close to the first, or printing other colours over the top, you will need to make sure every layer is just touch dry. A hair dryer will come in handy here.)

Heat set the printed motif, following the ink manufacturer's instructions. You've now made some printed fabric! Don't forget to wash your screen thoroughly and scrub it with the nailbrush when you have finished, before the ink has a chance to dry out in it. (If you allow the ink to dry in the screen, you will have to buy a new one!)