My First Fabric!

Y'all have heard about Spoonflower, right? The web site of my (fabric) dreams, which lets you upload your own design for printing? (It's in beta right now, but you can sign up for an invite at that link.)

I just got my first swatch of my very first fabric, and here it is!



I think it turned out well. I need to work on my "scatter" fill -- this is still pretty stripey. I don't mind stripey, but I'd like to know how to do it right. (I've been looking at a book called Adobe Photoshop for Textile Design, but I haven't been looking at it very MUCH -- my own fault.)

Here's some more pics, the first for scale:



And this for a view of the selvage:



And Spoonflower's pretty logo:



The fabric has a slick hand, which I think will go away when I wash it (I haven't yet). I bought a swatch first, since 5 yards of 42" (which is of course what I would want) is about $90.

I asked Spoonflower if they were going to do some kind of split-commission sales model (like CafePress does) and they said they were looking into it. I am really only interested in making fabric for myself at this point, but if it becomes easy to sell it (that is, I don't have to doing anything more than click a little box that says "Make this available in the Spoonflower store") I probably would.

I found making the actual file for upload pretty easy and/or fun, but then I have a teeeeeny bit of experience with Photoshop already -- and enough google-fu to find help pages online for the stuff I didn't know how to do. (If you want your own speech balloons, check out this Ask Metafilter page.)

Quick update on the gray dress -- I loved getting so many suggestions! Lots of stuff I hadn't thought of ... I think, for immediate gratification, I'm going to narrow the sleeves a bit to make them more "cap" and less "kimono", and then add an orange obi-style belt (I kinda want to wear it Saturday -- yeah, I know). Then I'm going to order MORE of that fabric and make it again with a v-neck. (The fabric was only $1.99 at Fashion Fabrics Club, so I feel justified spending another $15 (including shipping).

Comments

[the_lazymilliner]

Erin, you've got to make this into a dress/skirt/sarong/whatever ASAP and wear it to your next conference where your friends can scribble their thoughts, etc. into the little balloons with a water-proof marker, of course! Brilliant. Gosh, it's like a wearable high-school yearbook. Instead of autographing pages, you do the same to an outfit and *so much more fun.* I may have to do this myself....

[Stephanie]

I read about Spoonflower over on http://www.trueup.net (a blog all about fabric). I just went and signed up on Spoonflower. I love your speech balloons.

[Vicki]

Oh, this could be dangerous! Thanks for the heads up! And have fun sewing your very own creation!

[Julia]

ohmigosh, this is fabulous - I always wanted to design my own fabric, but no design degree. Yours is soooo cute. I gotta look into this. Thanks for the tip and What will you make with it?

[Miz Shoes]

I signed up AND I signed up my husband, the Renowned Local Artist, since he is the freaking KING of repeat patterns, mandalas and kaleidoscopes. Be afraid. I can see a line of fabrics in my future.

[Amanda W.]

This is such a great idea! I have so much trouble finding fabric that I like 100%. The fabric you designed is cool. I love the colors!

[Dilly]

Oh my goodness, this fabric is adorable - your caption about using colourful language made me laugh!And lazy milliner's suggestion is surely a must, that's such a brilliant idea...Dilly.

[melissa]

ooh, that one was yours?? I saw it in the Spoonflower video and loved it (way better than the lazy "here's my crap photo" prints half the populace did!). I only got one swatch finished - it was mint green with a bunch of cat sketches my illustrator friend did. It was mostly to test my ability to tile in Photoshop but I eagerly await the swatch nonetheless...

[Fiona]

Oh, wow! What a brilliant idea. I love your design. Speech bubbles, eh? Isn't that just asking for trouble? I'm having a bit of a problem working out the scale. I want those bubbles to be huge, so unless you're using a really, really large coin I'll just have to wait and see what you make of it to get the whole picture!

[lucitebox]

That is a very cool print. I would love to have the time and talent to design fabrics. This sure looks like it's making it THAT much more accessible. Ouch--$90! I guess it's really not that bad, when you think about it. I love what you've done, Erin. I'm really tempted to do this and I have basically zero talent--just ideas! Next Erin design: thought balloons?

[marie-jo]

Having personal Spoonflower stores is a great idea! Not only will we be able to make the fabric of our dreams, but I'd love to be inspired by other people's stuff.

[JennR]

Isn't that nice fabric? I've got a piece of it in the workroom, waiting for me to get my act together. It's intended (right now, at least) for Vogue 1043, although that may change by the weekend, when I actually get to cutting it.

[Vegan]

Wow, can you imagine the stunt dresses you could create with that?!!!!For the amount of publicity you're giving them, they should have given you the 5 yards of fabric for free!

[Gwen]

Oh that is SO cool! Thank you so much for letting me know about spoonflower - I can't wait to try it!

[Deirdre]

What a great idea! I'm always looking for fabric that I can't find -- this really is a brilliant idea.Thanks Erin! I look forward to seeing the dress this becomes!ps how big is that swatch? It looks like a yard of fabric!

[Karen]

Thanks for the info about Spoonflower - I'd never heard of them and might have to give this a try. I love your fabric design - it's such a happy fabric and I can't wait to see what you do with it.

[salutor]

Stephen from Spoonflower here:Erin, please keep us posted on how the wash-testing comes out. Thanks very much for posting the photos and helping break in our web site!

[Cel Petro]

I'm with lazy milliner, or, maybe FAQ balloons for your next conference--you could just point; I'm going to waste a perfectly good evening on spoonflower now...

[Cherie]

Oh, Erin, you could make your gingko fabric! Love this one also.

[Calico]

OMG, Spoonflower is brilliant!Posts like this are why I have 50-odd feeds and save yours for last. I just know I will be struck with a fit of inspiration and have to go sew.For those of us who'd use this service, finding a "this is a beta" message is like the days when people were auctioning off Gmail invites. WANT. WANT. WANT.

[sarah]

How have I not picked up on this before now? waaah do I need an invite!!So you think the finish will wash out? I thought mercerization was supposed to be permanent? I'm looking forward to seeing what happens!!

[Sarah Doyle]

I LOVE this fabric design. Would like to see what you make out of it - and whatever it will be will be an eyecatcher.

[Cassie]

You know back when you wanted Tetris fabric? I was trying to figure out how to have it cascading down a skirt and lining up at the bottom, like in the game.

[scarabee]

I just wanted to let you know that the question "What 'D' does a lexicographer work with?" came up in our quiz night last night, which made me think of you (and know the answer!)We won, by the way. Any particular beverage I should drink on your behalf with our winning bar tab next week? :)

[propriatress]

Oh that is too cool by half !!Oh dear. I need to win the lottery now.....