Seven years ago, Stephanie Kleinman, was challenged to make her own fabric designs. She was already a successful book editor and the producer of the television show, Simply Quilts. Working with a team of programmers, Stephanie created a software program, Fabric Studio Software, to help others design their own fabric too. As Stephanie explained, “Welcome to the new age of technology where you can sit in your PJ’s at your computer while you easily create your very own fabric design, then upload your design to an online digital fabric printer, and receive your fabric in the mail 10 days later!!”

In Stephanie’s lecture at Road 2015, “Discover the Fabric Designer Within You,” she answered frequently asked questions about what it takes to design your own fabric:

How do I get started? You first need to understand how fabric is designed. Most fabric falls in to one of four types of designs: free form, hand painted (which is very rare), single subject designs that are offset, and the most popular, seamless repeats where the design is repeated over and over again.

Do I need a computer? While some fabric studios hire a graphic designer to create designs by hand, that option is pretty cost prohibitive to a regular person. Using a computer, you can design fabric like the pros using free software like Paint of Monkey; drawing your design directly on your computer from a tablet or scanning it in; creating your design from scratch using Corel Draw or Illustrator; or use Stephanie’s Fabric Studio Software.

Where can I find inspiration for my designs?  Stephanie stressed that you want to choose a design where your eye will naturally travel to and around.  Ideas can be found in photos, your child’s artwork, clip art, hobbies, even words and phrases.

What should I consider when creating my design? First incorporate colorization (different shades and colors), movement (where the eye travels), and re-sizing (use the same picture and alternate the size of it from big to small). Once you have settled on these aspects, you can add depth and placement of the object(s). Your final design should be able to fit evenly in to an 8” square —a perfect size for fat quarters.

What are my options once my design is done? Depending how you want to use your fabric will determine how you get your design on the material. If you will be using your fabric in a wall hanging, you can print it out at home on your printer using inkjet printable fabric sheets. If the fabric is going to be used in a quilt, it is best to send your design to a fabric printer such as Spoonflower or Fabric on Demand.  There is a 5 yard minimum when you use these services.

Are there cautions I should be aware of? While designing your own fabric is a unique option to personalize a fabric project, Stephanie warned there are some pitfalls. For one, what you see isn’t always what you get. Color and brightness doesn’t always compute and depending on the background color of the fabric you choose, that might affect the overall outcome of the design. Also, often a design isn’t seamless once printed and might become distorted. Still, designing your own fabric is affordable, washable, and has a quick turnaround. 

Designing your own fabric is a unique way to personalize a fabric project. For more information and helpful tips, you can reach  Stephanie at admin@easymade.com. Her software is available in a CD format or on the cloud.