Then I thought I found the answer. It was like the internet angels sung it out to me. AHHHHH OOOOH, it’s Spoonflower.
Ugh. Not that easy internet. Not that easy. Y U Got to Go and Trick Me Like That?
There are plenty of great tutorials on their site and a few Google searches pulled up some interesting tips, but after struggling with this thing for hours, I thought I’d share some of my observations with you. If for no other reason than you can hopefully save yourself an hour or two. (Once my swatches show up, I’ll share those too.)
Here’s five tips for avoiding disaster and designing wonderful textiles on Spoonflower:
1. It’s easier to create the single design and then let Spoonflower do the work of repeating the pattern. Take my “Where’s My Deerstalker?” graphic above. I had originally tried to create a brick pattern on my own, but after struggling with it for hours and uploading literally 11 different versions, I gave up on my own concept of the layout and let Spoonflower do the hard part for me. If you have never had to make a pattern before, it is a lot harder than you think. I learned that lesson the hard way.
2. If you upload a JPG, expect the colors to change. I had no trouble with PNGs, AI, PDF or EPS files. I am not sure if a compression would have helped, but since we’re printing high resolutions, I didn’t want to take that chance.
3. Let Spoonflower do the scaling for you too. A handy little trick within the interface is the ability to make the print larger or smaller with the rulers giving you a guide for scale. If you start with a relatively large design, you should be able to get it to the right proportions.
4. Don’t forget to adjust the image on your test swatch. This fabric isn’t cheap. Skip the fat quarter and get the test swatch for $5. You can adjust the crop of the swatch as well, so be sure you are getting a visual of what you really want.
5. Think about using the service for small projects too. I get some of my best ideas from trolling the awesome work of others. I loved this concept from blogger Armommy, who came up with a design that would make 8 hand warmers and then used Spoonflower to make the project available to her readers complete with printed instructions included on the fabric.
Have any of you used Spoonflower before? Have you been happy with the results?