This is sure to appear on every design blog known to mankind, and I hope it does because we have to spread the word! The second I read about Spoonflower on Whip Up I thought about the many designers who write in asking for help in bringing their patterns to fabric. I wish I had clear cut answers for everyone, but often I just don’t know what to say since I was not trained in textiles and have very little knowledge of that industry as a whole. Of course, I wouldn’t mind if someone who is in the business, including teachers, could give us some feedback because there are so many out there hoping to turn their designs into textiles. Do you know much about how one can get started?

Until we know for sure, if you aren’t looking to become the next Hable Construction and want to print your designs in smaller runs, Spoonflower in NC is certainly an option. I’m so excited about this company. They’ve launched a site where you can upload a pattern or image of your choice and they will print it onto 100% cotton fabric and have it delivered within a week from ordering. AWESOMENESS. During beta, you can only order up to 5 yards (this may increase in the future) and the best part is that you can request an 8×8″ sample swatch for $5 or a 21×18″ fat quarter for $11 before you commit. The fabric is $18 per yard.

Spoonflower also helps when it comes to figuring out how to create a repeat pattern in their FAQ section. BIG HELP. You can view a slideshow on the entire process here.

What do you think about this?

(image from spoonflower)

46 Responses to “Print Your Own Fabric at Spoonflower”

1 Meg commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 4:59 pm

I am super excited, I received my invite, I just don’t know what to print up! Any suggestions would be great.
2 juliette commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 5:16 pm

definitely cool. now if only i had the software to digitize my dreams!
3 Ashes and Milk commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 5:30 pm

Thanks Holly! I think a lot of people will have fun with this!
4 ellencrimitrent commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 5:45 pm

I think this could be interesting to see but not sure how cost effective even at 18.00 a yard which means you would have to at least double it to make any sort of profit and 36.00 a yard is allot. However it might be good if you were to make some items such as pillows, clothes, bags etc. So on that note I might have to do some myself!!! Thanks for the info Holly and you should get your inspiration package next week after I do my art show this weekend. Looks like it will be nice and not too hot.
5 Casey commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 5:48 pm

oh wow, this is great!!! thanks for this!
6 Sarah commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 5:57 pm

this is frickin’ awesome! i actually have done some screenprinting on my own and have a fabric styling degree from FIT, but even with all that background, I still think I might order a few yards from these guys of some prints I’ve had knocking around in my head for a while. I’ll certainly let you know how it works out!
7 Melissa de la Fuente commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 6:00 pm

wow! that is super cool! I can’t wait to see what folks come up with!
xo
Melissa
8 Molly commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 6:14 pm

How cool! I’ve been hand block printing fabric, but I’d love to have some printed here and see how it goes!
Thanks for sharing this great resource Holly!
9 Amelia commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 6:31 pm

Wow, that is fantastic! I shall have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing this fab news!
10 jess gonacha commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 6:43 pm

Thank you so much for posting this!! I, too, have always wondered about turning designs into textiles, and this will be oh-so-useful.
WHAT A GREAT POST!!!!
11 Stacy commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 6:49 pm

Holly,
If folks want info on larger runs (but still smallish) of say 100-200 yards. I can certainly give some info out on that. It is a bit lengthy so if anyone wants to review how we did it I’d be happy to chat via email. They can just go to http://www.pixiedustdecor.com and click on contact us.
Thanks!!
Stacy
12 Anonymous commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 6:59 pm

wow, thanks for this! I have always wanted to do my own textile designing since I wrote a term paper on it in one of my interior design classes. What a great way to learn.
13 Cindy Ann Ganaden commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 7:11 pm

I just signed up!! This is great. Hummm…now I just have to decide what I will print.
14 fatafelice commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 7:17 pm

This is wonderful! I always have the problem of knowing exactly what I want and not being able to find it. If I can make the desgin myself, I would be set. And I think that aside from the commercial possibilities, it is actually great for a DIY decorator. $18/yard isn’t bad at all compared to most decorator fabrics (for those of us who have to buy retail).
15 hina rana commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 7:21 pm

i don’t know what kind of digital printer they are using, but for designers who want to start something of their own and they don’t want to be in the flat bed printing mess, plotter printing is always the best option,the results you can get are more vibrant as compared to any other style of printing.
16 Yoli commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 7:27 pm

Holly they are lovely, I wish I could do that!
17 willo commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 7:41 pm

I’m so excited for this, Holly! I too received my invite & just need to put some files together for upload.
Super cool idea & they seem like really nice people. yay for technology!
xo
18 Anonymous commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 7:53 pm

Holly, as usual you’re a lifesaver! I’ve been searching high and low for a local(Brooklyn) screen printer who will print yardage. I’m in a pickle with digital prints b/c I use eco fabrics and inks and I don’t believe that’s available yet. Would love to know if anyone has any resources for the above!
-karen
19 Cathe commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 8:32 pm

WOW, this is great! I have been searching for something like this for years! YAY, YAY, YAY!
20 Shelli commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 8:34 pm

omg! i almost screamed when i saw this post! yay!!!! i have been scouring (and i mean scouring!) the net trying to find someone to print up fabric for me. it does seem a tad expensive…but it’s a fab (and much needed!) idea.
xo shells
21 bschwanke commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 8:50 pm

I love this idea, and I’ll definitely try it out if just for the novelty! Thanks so much for sharing!
22 Anonymous commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 9:02 pm

WOW!!! You have really made my day! I can NOT wait to do this!! Amazing and not even that expensive! Love it. Thank you thank you thank you …!!
23 A Print A Day commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 9:07 pm

spoonflower is an EXCELLENT resource for crafters, and it’s nice to know that a company that makes print on demand so easy exists.
in regards to the cost issue, 18 dollars is actually very very fair.
just to give you an idea, i used to design product and textile in souther california, and we’d often go to a textile printer in downtown la for small print runs to make samples. price-wise, it cost 200 dollars for color setup alone. per yard for twill, it was 75-80 dollars on TOP of the said 200. 70 dollars was our “discounted” price because we were a frequent customer. so when i asked spoonflower how much it was to print, i was very very pleasantly surprised with how good the price was.
but i’m still trying to figure out what design to upload…i think i might try out 3 designs to see :)
24 Andy Mathis commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 9:50 pm

whoa. kewl.
25 Anonymous commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 10:34 pm

does anyone know a resource for making custom rugs?
26 Cara commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 10:50 pm

I am in love with spoonflower. I am just finishing up my designs to place my first order!
27 Supa commented:
June 10th, 2008 at 11:29 pm

I am thrilled about this one! Thanks so much for sharing!
28 Patricia commented:
June 11th, 2008 at 12:07 am

I signed up a few days ago and still haven’t received my invite. I hope it won’t be long!
29 lizzyl commented:
June 11th, 2008 at 12:29 am

awesome and fun! can’t wait to try this!
30 Marisa and Creative Thursday commented:
June 11th, 2008 at 1:05 am

Oh this is soooooo exciting!! ~ thanks for spreading the word!!!
31 All Things Lovely commented:
June 11th, 2008 at 2:45 am

Brilliant idea! Now… what to have printed?
32 enna commented:
June 11th, 2008 at 9:09 am

GREAT!!! I’ve been craving to have my own fabrics printed for soooo long and now there’s an option. I wil check out the conditions to see if they deliver to Europe as well. THANKS HOLLY!!!
33 brand-eye commented:
June 11th, 2008 at 12:18 pm

this is such a great idea. thanks!
34 ambrosia porcelain commented:
June 11th, 2008 at 1:48 pm

This perfect! I’ve been wanting to have my designs printed on fabric! Thanks for the post!
Linda
35 layersofmeaning commented:
June 11th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

COOL!!! thanks telling us about it!
36 Uncle Beefy commented:
June 11th, 2008 at 2:58 pm

This is JOYOUS! How great! It’s a great start :) Thanks, Holly!
37 gadgetgirl commented:
June 11th, 2008 at 3:01 pm

I just got my fabric in the mail and it’s fantastic! Can’t wait to do more & more.
38 amy commented:
June 12th, 2008 at 1:37 am

this is AMAZING!!!! just opened up a whole new set of doors for me – thanks!
39 Jennae @ Green Your Decor commented:
June 12th, 2008 at 2:58 am

I am a graphic artist by trade, but I love messing around with patterns. The idea of being able to turn some of my ideas into short-run fabircs is very intriguing. Then I can REALLY customize my decorating! That alone is incentive enough.
40 Jen commented:
June 12th, 2008 at 7:11 pm

hello, anyone know a site for custom rug design? THANKS
41 Mike commented:
June 13th, 2008 at 4:02 pm

Hello Holly,
Thank you so much for posting this item. This is going to change my life!
Mike
42 M. Patrizio commented:
June 16th, 2008 at 4:17 am

FINALLY! YAY! Everyone on the internet has been begging for this for years! I can’t wait to try it out myself!
43 Rabecca commented:
June 22nd, 2008 at 5:49 am

you have to get an invite how does one get one? thanks
44 L&coolj commented:
July 9th, 2008 at 5:36 am

I was just musing about how I would love to have an easy way of testing my own design on a fabric – this is just perfect! Thank you so much for posting it.
Rebecca: To get an invite, just sign up at Spoonflower website. They will send you one out in a little while.
45 meighan commented:
August 28th, 2008 at 12:22 pm

I’m a textile designer who was just layed off :( …. but I’m thrilled :) by the possibility of trying to print some of my own designs through Spoonflower.
PLEASE HELP!!! I only know the very specific Ned Graphics textile software (about $9,000!!!).
I need to buy my own software (cheaper, obviously, than Ned)… what is best and reasonably easy/quick to learn?
Is it Photoshop, is it Illustrator?
Thanks!!! Meighan
46 Lynne commented:
November 13th, 2008 at 7:01 pm

I’ve just discovered this – but better late than never! I was even going to email you with my cool new discovery, but I am obviously SO behind the times – I only started reading these design blogs a few months ago. Still, it’s a great idea, am trying to think up a foolproof idea myself.
Lynnes last blog post: Great ornament exchange

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