Dishing Up Textile Design With Spoonflower
Friday, January 16, 2009 8:00
Even with aisles bursting with bolts and endless online offerings, it can still be difficult to find just the right fabric. Where’s that perfect pattern that you’ve been searching for? How can you find the print that will set your sewing apart from the rest? The folks at Spoonflower are aiming to answer those questions for you and cut out the middleman when it comes to textile design. Their website offers any aspiring designer or dabbler a platform to upload and arrange elements to compose a one-of-a-kind fiber creation.
WoodlandSillhouettes8 from Beyond Wonderland
Spoonflower sprung up in May of 2008 as a beta site, only open to selected designers. Since then they’ve grown from a kitchen table operation, to one that prints and processes 40 to 60 yards of fabric a day. Now their doors are open to anyone who cares to come by and set up a free account. One yard of your own custom cotton will run you $18, for an 8″ square swatch you’ll fork over $5 (currently they are printing on quilting quality cotton from Moda). For now, you are only able to purchase your own designs but they are working on a way to allow you to sell your stuff through them. In the meantime, they run a fabric-of-the-week contest, the winner gets free yardage and a feature in the Spoonflower Etsy store, where the selection is also on sale for a week.
They sky is the limit once you’ve designed your own dream fabric. Pillows, purses, clothing…whatever your little heart desires. Take a look at what some of the Spoonflower faithful have put together on their Flickr site. The creativity isn’t just limited to the cloth!
Sandwich by juliannemarie
To learn more, visit the Spoonflower website or blog. You can also tune in to their Twitter feed. And to keep up with the craft scene chatter, check out the Spoonflower Buzz. If you have a minute you can also view this short video to find out more about the design and print process. Phew!
Are you already a member of the Spoonflower crew? Care to share your creations? Just leave a link in the comments below!
About Becky Duex
Becky is that girl you see talking to herself in the yarn store. She also talks to bolts of fabric and mutters to herself about various makings while riding the metro. She's crazy about craft and if she's not actually in the process of making something, she's thinking about it, sketching it, sharing it or writing about it. She is super excited to be a contributer to this site and to further the craft cause around the world. You can keep tabs on her and the many things she makes at thischickadee.blogspot.com.
