you have to get the cloth, stretch it evenly and attach it to a frame, so it's very tight, but same tightness all over. It is easiest to just pre-stretched screens to begin with, especially if you need a bigger screen. You fill in the negative space (every part you DO NOT want ink to be on) with screen filler. I have used mod-podge (glue-ish substance you can buy at craft stores i.e. Leisure World) to do this before and found it worked better than screen filler that came with a kit. You have to make sure there isn't any little spots left unfilled, so you should always do a test print on paper to make sure it will turn out the way you want. It's also really important if you're doing a t-shirt to make sure you have fabric ink that won't wash out. When you finish you're design and it is dry it's a good idea to iron it to help the ink bond with the fabric better. I've only silk screened a few times, so I am by no means an expert, but I hope this info is useful. Especially when starting off, it's a very time consuming process, so patience is important as well.