The Spoonflower Handbook: A DIY Guide to Designing Fabric, Wallpaper & Gift Wrap with 30+ Projects

by Stephen Fraser, Judi Ketteler, Becka Rahn

Overview

Designing fabric, wallpaper, and gift wrap used to be the stuff of dreams. Only a few select creatives got to do it, and it required formal training and significant financial investment. But times have changed, and today anyone with a computer, Internet connection, and idea can upload a file and order their own fabric or paper, printed affordably one yard or more at a time. At the forefront of this revolutionary DIY movement is Spoonflower, a North Carolina startup that produces designs for hundreds of thousands of users worldwide—24 hours a day/seven days a week to keep up with demand.

With step-by-step tutorials and projects that span a wide spectrum of skills, The Spoonflower Handbook is written for both new and experienced users of this print-on-demand technology. Covering everything from equipment to software to working with photos, scans, repeats, vector files, and more, it is an essential guide to a booming new creative outlet.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617690785
Publisher:	STC Craft/A Melanie Falick Book
Publication date:	09/01/2015
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	438,487
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Spoonflower is the premier creative outlet and technology company/venue for creating your own fabric and printed goods, and a spectacular design and fabric resource for hundreds of thousands of users worldwide. The Durham, North Carolina–based company has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, House Beautiful, and more.


Judi Ketteler’s first book, Sew Retro, was published in 2010, and her work has appeared in outlets including the New York Times, Better Homes and Gardens, ElleDecor.com, Woman’s Day, and SELF.


Becka Rahn is an award-winning artist, tech geek, and teacher who has worked with organizations including the Surface Design Association, American Craft Council, Textile Center, and several national art centers.

Table of Contents

Introduction 6

Part 1

1 How to Use This Book Ready, Set, Get Inspired! 16

2 It Starts with the Surface 28

3 Dig Into Digital 38

4 Learn About Color 46

5 Get to know Repeats 58

Part 2

6 Raid the Junk Drawer Design With Found Objects 66

7 Through the View finder Design With Photos 88

8 From Paint to Pixels Design With Drawings, Paintings & Prints 112

9 Read All About It Design With Words, Text & Layers 140

10 The World of Vectors All-Digital Designs 158

11 No Repeats Necessary Design Cut & Sew And Whole-Cloth 180

Appendix 202

Acknowledgments 208

Editorial Reviews

10/01/2015
Spoonflower is best known among quilters and sewists for its innovative print-on-demand fabric, which allows anyone to upload their design and have it printed on a variety of fabrics (or wallpaper, or gift wrap). In this two-part guide, Spoonflower cofounder Fraser is joined by sewist Judi Ketteler (Sew Retro) and professional surface designer Becka Rahn for an overview of fabric design basics, best practices for using Spoonflower, and craft projects employing custom-printed designs. The first section covers the basics of digital surface design, including Spoonflower's fabric specifications, equipment needed for design, and a brief overview of color and repeat. The second section delves into sources of inspiration ranging from everyday objects to photographs to drawing by hand and using the computer. Custom-printed fabric projects are included throughout the second section, and swatch samples and helpful tips from designers who use Spoonflower are abundant. VERDICT Sewists and crafters curious about printing their own fabric will find this book most useful; though the focus is on Spoonflower, the tutorials on surface design provide a solid overview of the basics.

Library Journal