Extruded Ult-shirt

youmagine

This is a derivative of Charlotte's excellent Ult-shirt, with a bit more depth. I printed it directly onto a cotton t-shirt using PLA. To achieve this, get some double-sided tape to hold everything in place. After a failed attempt using binder clips and rubber bands, I switched to double-sided tape to secure the t-shirt to a 9x9 piece of plywood. Here are my steps: 1. Cover one side of the board with double-sided tape. 2. Slide the board inside the shirt with the tape side facing down where you want the design. 3. Press it firmly in place, starting from the top and smoothing out wrinkles as you go. 4. Next, grab a square metal baking pan slightly smaller than the plywood. 5. Drape the excess fabric over the pan, tucking it in to minimize bunching around the edges. 6. Tape the board tightly to the pan at the edges, making sure not to cover the design area. 7. Lower your print bed until there's enough space to slide the assembly underneath. 8. Apply more double-sided tape to the bottom of the pan and center it on your print bed. 9. Remember which side is the top of the shirt – you'll need that information later. 10. Carefully raise the bed until you pass the sliding paper test, using an index card for added thickness. 11. Check the min, mid, and max positions for x and y, adjusting the bed as needed with paper shims under the pan for fine tuning. 12. Slice your design with Cura. I used Layer Height .1, Shell thickness .8, Bottom/top .8, Fill 30%, Speed 60, Temp 220, Initial layer .3. 13. Edit the start code or generated gcode to replace G28 Z0 with G92 Z0 – this will ensure Marlin accepts the current z height as the zero point. 14. Start your print and adjust the settings if needed. I turned up the heat to 230 and extrusion to 125% for the first layer, then reduced it back down after completion. 15. Keep an eye on the printer – if it fails, it'll do so spectacularly. On my first try (with binder clips), the head caught on a blob and pulled the pan sideways, causing the print to fail miserably. 16. Once the print is complete, remove the board from the shirt carefully to avoid damaging the design or separating it from the shirt. 17. When you're done, proudly wear your new print. 18. Since the print won't withstand washing, gently peel it off the shirt before washing the shirt itself.