How to Design Fabric
Total Time: 9 hours 27 mins 6 secs

Taught by
Denyse, Heather & Lizzy
If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to design fabric, this series will walk you through the creative process step by step. Learn from fabric design experts Denyse Schmidt, Heather Ross and Lizzy House as they share their process from inspiration to finished collection. The series covers designing repeats by hand as well as in Photoshop and Illustrator. We'll also bring you inside Spoonflower’s headquarters and provide candid advice from industry experts on breaking into retail fabric design. Whether you aspire to see your name printed on bolts of fabric, or you simply want to soak up design tips that apply to other fields, this series will inform and inspire.
How to Design Fabric
Part 1:
How to Design Fabric: Inspiration and Introduction
What makes a fabric collection? How do repeats work? Where do you even start? This overview introduces you to the fundamentals of textile design, along with inspiration on how designers kick off a new collection. Hear the stories of each designer featured in the series, and follow along with an eye-opening paper exercise that helps you grasp the concept of a repeating design.
Part 2:
How to Design Fabric: Designing Repeats by Hand
Next we learn the fundamentals of building a repeating pattern. In Part 2, you will learn how to take a design and work it into a repeating pattern, and then let Lizzy show you how to block print the repeating design. All three designers also cover the sketching and drawing stages that ultimately translate into digital designs.
Part 3:
How to Design Fabric: Designing Repeats Digitally
Let's move on to digital designs. Heather shares her process, which originates within Photoshop, and Denyse and Lizzy show how they draw and then create repeats in Illustrator (both presume a basic level of knowledge with each program). This episode also shows how to manipulate scale and tile designs, as well as pointers for getting the hang of drawing digitally.
Part 4:
How to Design Fabric: Working with Color
Color is a whole other story unto itself. From sourcing inspiration to developing a palette, each designer talks about the importance of color in their work, and how to use color in effective and inspiring ways.
Part 5:
How to Design Fabric: Expert Advice
Whether you are a casual designer or looking to work professionally, this final episode offers straight talk from the pros. Learn from industry experts as well as each designer, all of whom share their advice on how to approach fabric manufacturers and their evaluation of the retail fabric market. This episode gives you clear insight on the practicalities of developing and producing printed fabric.
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