Finally, after months of looking for the right excuse, we created our first custom fabric design using Spoonflower.
Spoonflower is a custom fabric manufacturer that will print fabric in full color with no minimum order.
Custom Fabric Example From Spoonflower
We loved the possibilities from the start. We immediately thought of clothing labels, printed patches that can be sewn on hats and clothing, panels for computer bags and more.
We were concerned about the quality of large-scale digital fabric printing.
An opportunity presented itself to give it a try. We were interested in printing the full text of Emerson’s “Self Reliance” on an object for an office. At first we focused on laser engraving a table or desktop, then we explored silk screening or large-scale “water-slide” decals that could be varnished onto a surface. All of these were either too expensive ($800 to engrave a conference table) or to technically challenging (sliding a 4′ decal without creases).
Finally it occurred to us; why not print the essay on a few yards of fabric and have the fabric made into custom cushions?
We found a copy of the essay online and prepared the content for printing by cutting and pasting into Adobe Illustrator. After fussing with the letter size and spacing, we saved the text as outline and uploaded it to Spoonflower.
The cushions are to be used outside so we selected their heaviest fabric option, an upholstery weight cotton.
Here is Spoonflower’s online proof:
"Self Reliance" Proof.
Less than two weeks later, the fabric arrived by mail.
With some trepidation, we opened the package, expecting to see inconsistent and faint gray lettering, or poor quality fabric.
We were happily surprised. The Fabric is sturdy and the print is consistent and dark:
Finished Fabric
The next step is to send the fabric to a seamstress and see how it looks finished. With luck we will move on to printing the remaining 5 chapters in a week or so.
The print looks nearly perfect in black against the light cream fabric. It will be interesting to see how the process looks with full color art.
More images of the finished cushions to follow.
Check out Spoonflower here.
