Spoonflower fabrics - they have some adorable prints that I would love to purchase. However, I have been told that they fade terribly, no matter how gingerly you launder them. I only have a couple if prints from them (both have a white background), so I haven't seen the fading yet. I also fixed them in a professional dye fixer, which may have helped.

Does anyone have some experience with these fabrics?

Here is the fabric I'm looking at, right now:
http://www.spoonflower.com/collections/6043

what charming fabric

I know! I have some heather Ross from spoonflower, which is how I found the website. It's so hard to find cute boys prints, so I'd be heartbroken if these prints dont wash well. :(

So how does that work?
Heather designs a fabric that's printed by Spoonflower?
Or it's one of her regular designs - which would make me think the fabric manufacturer (Free Spirit?) wouldn't be thrilled?

It must be an exclusive, right?

have never heard of "Professional dye fixer"....

Spoonflower prints fabrics for anyone. So, I could submit my designs, and spoonflower will print them and sell them on the site. Or I can print them and use them for my own personal projects.

I dye fabrics too, which is how I have fixer on hand. There are a couple different ones out there. :) it's what textile companies and tie dyers use to "set" the dye, so that it won't bleed or fade.

At the very bottom of the site's "fabric" page you can order a 4" x 4" swatch packet for $1. Might be worth a try; wash and determine your own.

Jan in VA

I use this:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/en...chemicals.html

Or synthrapol.

I checked out some of the prices. At $18 a yard, they had better last a looooong time!

They do have a big assortment of dragon fabric. But not sure I'm willing to pay that much. At least not enough for a whole quilt top. Maybe some accent fabric.

I understand that.

But I guarantee you if I showed up with an Alexander Henry design and asked them to print that, they would refuse. Or, at least, they should.

So, in this case, Heather is making unique designs exclusively for Spoonflower?

Oh, sorry. I misunderstood your question.

I would guess that heather Ross owns some of her designs... So she probably licenses out some designs, but is still able to use some for her own printings. Her IP contract might allow her to use the same prints, but only in different colors and fabric types. I'm sure there are designs that she cannot reprint and are the sole property of kokka or west hill or whomever. I think she also has made prints exclusively for spoonflower (from her drawings she does as a hobby), which she has not licensed or sold to other manufacturers.

The hr fabrics I have seen on spoonflower are a combination of previous print/designs and new prints.

I had heard of SF a few years ago, but it was in regards to someone having his own design printed.

I had this idea once, about printing out pictures of all my quilts, and making a little QAYG quilt, with each 6x6 block a quilt pic.

Then I thought about the hassle of that, plus the cost of the fabric sheets. I thought if I just made a collage or something in PhotoShop, I could then that SINGLE image printed out for $18/yd. It would be a much better deal - easier and less expensive. ;-)

Very interesting how SF has expanded the business. Thank again for the info.

I agree with this. For the prices they charge, I'd be very upset if this fabric faded. The fabric is unique and beautiful. It is out of budget range.

I feel the same. The problem with some lines is that they are impossible to match with other fabrics. Hr's spoonflower fabrics (girls playing with horses and the coordinating fabrics) are IMPOSSIBLE to match. The colors are almost fluorescent, and I've taken them around to a couple different quilt/fabric stores in my area, and it's very difficult to find enough fabrics to create a nice quilt with. :(

This line?
http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/473596
http://www.flickr.com/photos/plushka...l-52417134@N00

Now, keep in mind that I'm not part of the HR, AB, Denyse fan club, and I own none of that type of fabric.

But I would think you'd be able to easily find coordinating colors in the Bali handpaints or other blender fabrics at a more normal price.

So you buy a yard of the focus fabric, and built the rest of the quilt from regular quilting cottons. That's what I'd try.

Thank you for posting this site! I had "found" it a couple of years ago and couldn't remember the name of the site. I keep thinking I'd LOVE to have my own design printed sometime!

That's what I was thinking. Yikes :!:

$18 a yard is outa my league!! Whew!!!!

I would never buy fabric that 'may' bleed.
There are too many fabrics out there to buy that will not bleed.
We put too much time and money into a quilt to purchase fabrics that will bleed and ruin a quilt.
Buying good quality fabrics are important when purchasing fabrics for quilt tops.
ericas.com has LQS qualtiy fabrics and a large selection.

I absolutely am blown away by some of the fabrics on Spoonflower's site. I agree the price is prohibitive, but I would spring for some fat quarters for very special fabrics.

I have to wonder if down the road, as the business grows, the prices might come down. Printing small amounts of fabric must be very expensive. But for now, we really need to know how colorfast the fabrics are. We need someone (preferably multiple someones) with experience to tell us!

Thanks for letting is know the fabric might bleed.I may know rethink getting fabric done there and opt for getting squares made at a local place again using direct to garment technique since not sure what they are doing.

Hoppa

great prints but the cheapest I saw was 18 bucks a yd. outta my budget. sigh

This site has a great selection of dinosaur fabric that I have been looking for but I am not willing to pay that much for them.

I made a photo memory quilt for my daughter using Spoonflower to print the fabric for the backing. It was a design of her black & white high school mascot with a red background. I was concerned about the red bleeding & contacted Spoonflower about it. She said there would not be a problem and there wasn't. I tested a small amount when I got the fabric. It did not bleed. The quilt has been washed twice since then & bleeding has not been a problem.

Those prints are adorable. Hope you get some positive replies.

Wow! $18 a yard. I didn't even know there was any quilting fabric out there for that price. Makes the prices at my lqs look like a deal!

The lady who designs some of the spoonflower fabrics was on Martha Stewart show today. It was a rerun. She was making baby bloomers.

Cute fabric, will be interested in what others say about the quality.

What adorable fabric.

Since the Spoonflower process is digital rather than the usual printing method most companies use, they can accommodate anyone's design requests, so long as it is your original design. You are paying for the convenience of small amounts of custom printing, so it will cost more. And they have several textures and contents to print on. I bought a fat quarter of Laurie Wisbrun's fabric and was given directions from her how to handle it when washing for the first time. It's basically the same as most fabrics: no phosphates, gentle cycle, mild soap. I always use a color catcher in the wash, too. Perhaps the dye doesn't penetrate as far with the digital process. But I don't ever see me buying yardage at those prices!