Silk screening an army blanket.

December 9, 2012 9:01 AM

What kind of ink do I need to silk-screen onto a wool army blanket?

I'm really familiar with silk-screening on paper, but I'm having difficulty finding any information on what kind of concoction to use to silk-screen on a dark-olive-green army surplus blanket made of wool.

FWIW, I'm hoping to silk screen a light brown onto the blanket, but I could just as easily go with black since it appears doing light ink on dark fabrics gets a bit hinkey.

posted by furnace.heart to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (2 answers total)

Jacquard acid dye might work, but you'd have to go darker. Instructions here.
posted by elsietheeel at 9:32 AM on December 9, 2012

Another option is a screen printing ink that's marketed for use on fabric. They do have an opaque white and an opaque brown that you could mix for a light brown on a darker blanket.

Acid dyes are better if it's important to you that you can't detect the design by touch and don't mind having to steam-set the dye (which is done like steaming vegetables). Screen printing inks are better if you want the option of an opaque color so you can go lighter, or if you want to avoid the bother of steam-setting or the trial-and-error of mixing your own dyes and thickener. In either case it's a good idea to do a little testing of the materials first to learn how to use them.
posted by Ery at 10:49 AM on December 9, 2012