Shirt Kong T-Shirt Printing Party

I can now add "screen-printed a tee" to my garment construction repertoire, thanks to an awesome party hosted by Shirt Kong and Yelp St. Louis. My husband and I got a behind-the-seams look at how graphic tees are made. (Of course, he reminded me several times that it was merely a refresher for him, as he did screen printing in high school. ;) The event was part of Missouri Made, a series of free events to celebrate local businesses. (There's a chocolate-tasting coming up. . .) While trying (unsuccessfully) not to overindulge in insanely delicious cupcakes, guests saw the screens and ink used to create the designs, the manual and electric presses, and conveyor belt used to dry the ink on the shirts. The printing method depends on the amount of colors in the design as well as how many shirts are being made. Shirt Kong will make just one custom shirt for you, or you can get a bunch for a reunion or bachelorette party. I love that they have modern shirt silhouettes to choose from, including adorable onesies. After our lesson, we got to press our own shirts with a pre-made design. Basically, you spread ink across a stencil screen onto a shirt. How cool is that?

Here's my handsome date and screen-printing expert, Brian
Photo c/o Shirt Kong

Here's my hot-off-the-press tee!

In honor of the festivities, I wore one of my fave graphic tees, a thrifted Guitar Hero top. One of the artists informed me that my shirt was probably made with a DTG (direct-to-garment) printer since it's so colorful.

 Tee: Goodwill; Belt: Hot Topic; Jeans: Red Racks; Shoes: Ziezo; Purse: Betsey Johnson from Avalon Exchange

Now, back to the cupcakes. Honestly, some of the best I've tasted. They were sweet and moist without being too rich. Brian gave me a look as I reached for my 2nd (or 4th) mini-cupcake, but quickly clammed up when he tried one. We took as many as we could discreetly eat without looking greedy!

The cupcakes were baked by one of SK's artists, Cassie (cupcakesbycassiestl@gmail.com).

I love JoAnn Houle's t-shirt clad unicorn!

Each guest got a Shirt Kong mug and coozie to take home. 

I first met the talented crew from Shirt Kong during ALIVE Magazine's VIP Blogger Lounge. They provided custom T-shirts for Saint Louis Fashion Week, and even hooked your girl up with a tank that completed my ballerina finale outfit.

Get step-by-step instructions on how to make this skirt right here.

P. S. If you are interested in learning more about heat transfers and printing on shirts, I found this great reference right here on the Joy of Android.

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