How to create your own fabric?

Helena Lachowiczová
2023-06-28T13:11:07+02:00

Our own fabric is a dream for all of us who love to sew and, of course, love to look at fabrics and choose motifs and patterns. There are many motifs on the market. But it may not always suit our taste, and if you can draw or know of motifs that would look nice on fabric and have print files, it's no problem today to have fabric printed, even from one meter.

A few years ago, I also longed to have my own fabric. To have an original design on it that I would design, and it would be my fabric alone, and no one else would have it. So I delved into searching for information.

First, I searched on Czech websites and blogs. Unfortunately, there wasn't much material about printing on fabric with custom designs. Options certainly existed then, but printing was mainly done abroad, and "on-demand" printing was only offered by a few companies. Printing abroad was very expensive, and often the shipping costs to the Czech Republic exceeded the cost of the fabric itself. So, at that time, I found a way to afford these prints and offer them to customers. I created a pre-order system for products made from fabrics I had previously selected. But more on that another time.

Today, however, it's important that you no longer have to order fabric printing from printers where shipping costs a fortune. And the fabric costs another fortune. Today, it's easy, just across the border.

I had these two patterns printed quite recently. They are patterns directly from my work, and the Slovak printer www.needles.sk printed them.

However, I am not a printing expert, so I will provide you with user information from my perspective as a customer of printers, which I have gathered over the time I have had several kilometers of fabric printed.

Glossary of Terms

Before I dive into the article, here's a glossary of terms that are good to review, especially if you're not in the industry or simply don't know what I'm talking about.

Printer - a factory that has large-format printers for fabric by the meter

Fabric by the meter - fabric in whole meters wound on rolls

License - permission to use a work from the author for a specific company size or territory

Element - a standalone illustration that you can combine with other elements to create interesting patterns

Rotary printing - a technology for printing fabric with colors that literally rotate around the fabric, which saturates the color more. It is used for printing less complex and often less colorful patterns.

You must have something to print

The first thing you need is a pattern. You can create your own pattern according to your ideas, or you can buy a license for a pattern from a creator of seamless patterns. Or you can compose it from elements for which you purchase a license. In any case, you must have it to print anything.

The pattern is usually a square or a rectangle. It is important that the motif repeats regularly. Then we are talking about a repeat pattern, i.e., a repeating pattern. This type of motif is also called a seamless pattern, literally a seamless pattern.

These two patterns, which I included as examples, are both repeating patterns. Once printed on fabric, there will be no gaps or "bitten lemons" anywhere. They are both my own patterns from the Jungle collection. Lemons and Monsteras.

You can create your own patterns using the following programs:

Procreate

Affinity Designer

Adobe Photoshop

These programs are the most commonly used and easiest to work with. I use the first two myself, and tutorials on how to create repeating patterns or how to work with them will be available soon on my Patreon.

You can purchase pattern licenses or elements here:

Creativemarket.com

Shutterstock.com

Etsy.com

Here you can see fabrics that serve as "Samples". These are usually small squares of fabric on a base you want to print on a large scale. These samples are prepared for designers or customers to see the color scheme of the pattern.

Fabric Selection

The next step is to choose the fabric you want to print the pattern on. You'll select the fabric based on the project you'll be sewing. So if you know you want to sew a baby bodysuit, sweatpants, and perhaps a hat, you'll most likely need classic cotton knit with elastane. You might want a light viscose dress, so you'll choose viscose.

Fabric selection is important because you'll choose the printer based on it. It's important to know that each printer has its own source of fabrics. Either local knitting mills or large foreign suppliers. Therefore, each fabric printer will have a completely different selection of fabrics to choose from.

Certification

Fabric selection also involves fabric certification. It is important to know that certifications for unprinted fabrics are subsequently completely useless for printed fabrics. You must have the printed fabric tested. This mainly concerns colorfastness, heavy metals, abrasion, etc., at a testing institute. However, this step mainly applies to those of you who sew children's clothing from birth and for commercial purposes. Certification can also be carried out by the printer itself, but that is subject to agreement.

Choosing a Printer

I'm getting to choosing a printer. You'll choose a printer based on the material they can print on. You also need to look at the price of printing per meter of fabric and the minimum number of meters you need to order for a given pattern. Printers that offer "Print on Demand" are usually more expensive. This is due to the work process such a printer has, and the costs of printing, operation, and the fabrics themselves.

You also look at the option to order samples, delivery speed, and print quality. Of course, you won't see that immediately upon first viewing the website. But from social signals, you can observe whether the printer has good references. For example, check the printer's Facebook, Instagram, and look for mentions of this printer among customers.

The delivery price is another indicator I follow. It is important to me that the price is low and delivery is fast. Most printers manage fabric delivery within 14 days. Some even faster.

Printers nearby: Czech Republic:

Needles.sk Slovakia

Cotton Bee Poland

Caspar Design Croatia

Family Fabrics Netherlands

Footage from the Needles.sk printing house. Here you can see printing machines in action and also large rolls of fabric on which the design is printed. The technology is called digital printing and is performed on several different machines.

Printing Technology

So, we've covered the main indicators for choosing a suitable printer. Important are the range of fabrics, the price per meter of printing, any discounts if we order more, delivery time, delivery price, fabric certification, and last but not least, we'll now look at technology.

Unfortunately, we cannot influence this in any way, as each printer prints differently and has different machines. If you want to order printing for common yardage such as cotton for children's bedding or knit with elastane or, for example, softshell, it is likely that you will not need to know what technology and what machine the printer uses.

However, if you want to print special materials, such as structured knit or very fine fabrics, it is good to find out if the printer has the necessary technology for beautiful and flawless printing.

For example, few printers have rotary printing. Or printing using screen printing can again be offered by a specialized printer.

Printing Pitfalls

I've titled this section exactly that. Even when printing on fabric, there are a few "pitfalls" you'll encounter if you delve deeper into printing and start ordering a few meters.

The first pitfall is color.

As a customer, I recommend first seeing print samples on the fabric you want to print on. You'll then decide based on the samples. In my opinion, this is especially important for dark and very variegated patterns. The color of the pattern will differ with each material used.

Bright and very solid colors are most difficult to transfer to organic materials. From experience, I know that for organic and organic cottons, it is more suitable to choose less vibrant colors and rather opt for a "poorer" color palette. The colors on these materials do not look like they do on the original. This is because after stabilization, the color seems to soak more into the fabric's structure itself and subsequently loses its "radiance."

On the other hand, softshell and other synthetic materials, such as fleece or minky, are ideal for printing. The color fidelity is very good, and this is precisely because the color remains more on the surface of the fabric, making the print more vibrant and lively.

Layer

By layer, we mean the feeling we get from the fabric when we hold it in our hand and between our fingers. Very delicate patterns and light backgrounds are "more pleasant and softer" to the touch than patterns with very dark, full backgrounds. Such a fabric will feel stiffer and not as pliable to the touch. The difference usually disappears with washing.

How to prepare the pattern for the printer?

So, I'm almost at the end of the adventurous journey to my print. How to prepare files for printing? You'll usually find a clear manual from the individual factories that will carry out your print. Everyone needs it a little differently. Therefore, it's good to follow the instructions.

However, there are several points you can prepare in advance and generally not make a mistake.

Prepare the file in JPG, TIFF, or PNG format.

The file should be named.

The pattern must be seamless.

The resolution should be at least 150 DPI (which is the minimum for a good print) but ideally around 300 DPI or higher.

Prepare the size you would like to print - for example, 20 x 20 cm.

How do I determine the pattern size?

Here's a simple trick. Upload the pattern file to any graphics program and choose an A4 document size. Upload the pattern file to the blank document and then enlarge or reduce it to the desired size for the final pattern on the fabric. Then print the A4 document.

Thanks to this simple trick, you'll quickly determine the size you need. Measure the result with a regular tape measure and you're done.

And that's all for today's article. Write me a comment about your experience with printing, whether you're planning to print, or what troubles you've had. I'd be happy to provide more information, just ask in the comments.

I would be grateful if you would share the article.

Photos from the printing environment were kindly provided by Denisa Koctůrová from Needles.sk

Thank you for reading, and I hope my article helped you.

Helena