What are silkscreen stencils?
Silkscreen stencils were originally made from silk fabric hence the name. These days a silkscreen stencil is basically a piece of polyester fabric (screen or mesh) that has been tightly stretched over a wooden or aluminum frame. Paint will pass right through the porous surface of the fabric so a variety of materials are used to block out areas on the fabric to prevent paint from passing though thus forming a pattern. This can be something as simple as pieces of paper glued to the fabric or special block-out paint allowed to dry on the fabric. Most modern silkscreen houses coat the surface of the fabric with a photosensitive emulsion. Next, a photographic process is used to open up areas on the coating to allow paint to pass through the fabric. A pattern is printed on the desired surface by applying a bead of paint on one end of the stencil and then scraping the paint to the other side by using a special squeegee. Silkscreening is a popular method for creating custom t-shirts and markin
