Halloween Ghost Jacket/Tote Bag/T-Shirt
With Halloween quickly creeping upon us (and still being inspired by Moschino’s Summer collection) I decided to create this Ghost Jacket. I found the jacket in the loft (among MANY other items of clothing LOL) and thought I could very easily make something out of this, as I had never worn it before. I must have purchased this PU jacket in 2016 for £15.99 in the sale from Zara. It was still in perfect condition if a little creased.
I thought this jacket would be perfect for this time of year. It is a more subtle way to show your festive Halloween spirit when out and about or at work. The face could be as big or as small as you’d like. I’m going to go for pretty much full coverage of the back, why not huh?
What I used to create this spooky piece:
a white PU biker jacket
Posca pens (I went for a black and two shades of grey in 5mm size)
a pencil
a biro
A3 sketch pad
scissors
The first thing I did was research the type of face I wanted on the jacket. I went for a cartoon-like ghost face with a nose and mouth like a carved pumpkin. When I was happy with the look I made a stencil. Once I had drawn up the rough idea I and was happy with it, I made a stencil in the size I wanted to put on to the jacket. I’m a sucker for using stencils for everything, I even used a compass to draw the circles. You could very easily freehand the design as it would add to the Halloween-like look, I much prefer to have a little more control in what I translate on to the fabric. I used the A3 sketch pad to draw up the stencil. The paper was a little thicker than printer paper, so it worked perfectly for a stencil. I folded the back of the jacket in half, to find the centre, which made it easier to place the eyes. For the nose and the mouth, I was happy for them to be more “off” than the eyes to help the overall look seem a little more homemade. I found using a biro was best to mark the stencil on to the jacket, as my pencils were a little too sharp and I was worried that it would rip the fabric. Once the design had been stenciled onto the jacket it was time for the Posca pens. I started at the top and worked my way down to avoid smudging the pens. The pens worked pretty well on the fabric first time, but I did go over the design as a final touch and to cover any small mistakes (such as the lighter colours going over the outline).
To go along with this spooky creation I decided to screen print some fun little Halloween themed items.
First was the pumpkin t-shirt. This t-shirt was only £2 from Primark. I got it in a size medium for a more fitted look. They only had it in two colours (which were both VERY suitable for Halloween) orange and an acid green. I found a screen print starter kit on eBay for £29.99 + delivery which included a silkscreen, squeegee, and black and white printing ink.
I looked into the simplest and best ways to create a stencil for screen printing and found that sheets of acetate would work best for what I was imagining. I drew the design I wanted on a sheet of printer paper and lay the acetate over the top and cut out the design with a VERY sharp scalpal. The silkscreen I purchased was just a little larger than A4 so I found using a sheet of A3 acetate just meant the ink wouldn’t spill over on to the fabric.
To do the screen printing I found ironing or steaming any creases out of the fabric/t-shirt to be printed on meant a more even finish. I placed a thick plastic carrier bag between the front and the back of the t-shirt to stop the ink from seeping through and staining. I then lay the acetate sheet on the fabric and positioned it exactly where I wanted the design to go and put the silkscreen directly on top ready to print. I applied a generous amount of printing ink to the top of the screen, making sure it was applied to a part where the fabric was covered by the acetate. Then I kneeled on the wooden frame of the screen, grabbed the squeegee, and slowly dragged the ink across the design making sure the ink had been applied to the whole of the stencil. I did need to apply a little more ink, but this was just to make sure everywhere had been covered. I slowly removed the screen and acetate stencil and AAARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHH……………………… DONE! I let the ink air dry and then ironed to cure the ink (I ironed over a sheet of greaseproof paper so I didn’t burn the ink or fabric).
For the tote bag, I wanted more of a creepy shadow/3D effect so I lifted the stencil up on moved it slightly to one side then repeated the printing process and it made a slight shadow effect. Now I know how to screenprint you will be sure to see many more designs featuring on this blog, I’m just warning you now!
I do have a very limited amount of the coffin screen-printed tote bag so if you would like to own one please contact me through the ‘contact’ link on my blog and I will post one out to you while stock allows, so act fast!
PU White Jacket - Zara
T-shirt - Primark
Necklaces - Shawn Leane and Topman
Belt - Urban Outfitters
Trousers - Zara
Socks - H&M
Shoes - Dr Martens
Watch - Marc By Marc Jacobs
Bracelets - Links of London and KTZ