Almost anything you can put on a scanner can form the basis of a design, such as the postage stamps used for this luggage tag (this page).
RAID THE JUNK DRAWER
The easiest way to create a design is to start simple! A collection of objects (like feathers or stamps) and a scanner can be all you need to get started, without having to worry about your drawing skills. It’s as easy as finding an object or group of objects that you like and scanning—presto! You are on your way to your first fabric design.
SKILLS LEARNED IN THIS CHAPTER
+ Scanning
+ Sizing and Scaling
+ Basic Image Editing: Crop & Select tools
Almost anything you can put on a scanner can form the basis of a design, such as the postage stamps used for this luggage tag (this page).
Many people have experience with scanning, but we’ll still start from the beginning in case you don’t. First, place your original artwork or found objects on the scanner bed face down and close the cover. (Original artwork can mean many things, such as a painting or drawing, and found objects can include leaves, stamps, feathers, cut pieces of felt, or buttons that you put directly on the scanner.) Choose something that is relatively flat for best results.
TIP: If your image or object doesn’t have a background that covers the scanner bed (a handful of buttons, for example), place a piece of paper on top of the objects before you close the cover. This ensures that you will capture a clean image with fewer shadows at the edges of your object.
Most scanners come with their own software. For example, the all-in-one desktop machines that print, copy, and scan have a specific program that opens automatically when the “Scan” button is pressed. You can also use a graphics program like Image Capture or Preview to scan.
Usually, your scanner will let you preview what you’re scanning so you can make sure everything is placed where you want it, and then you can select the area of the image you want to scan. To do this, look for an option or button that says “Overview” or “Preview,” and click it to see the preview. To select the part of your image you want to scan, click the image and drag to draw a box around your selection (Figure 1). When you make a selection in this way, you’re cropping the part of the image that your scanner will capture. We give more information about using the Crop tool in an image editing program on this page, but this is a quick and easy way to crop the image as you are scanning it.
FIGURE 1 We placed buttons with colored paper on top of them on the scanner bed and began the scan. In Preview mode, we chose the part of the image we wanted to capture.
CHOOSING SIZE AND CALCULATING RESOLUTION
You will base the size and resolution of your scan on the size at which you want Spoonflower to print it. Remember that Spoonflower uses a resolution of 150 dpi to print, so all calculations should be based on that figure. Here is a simple formula to make this easy.
(SIZE OF FINAL ÷ SIZE OF ORIGINAL)
X RESOLUTION OF PRINTER =
RESOLUTION TO SET THE SCANNER
Work the part of the equation in parentheses first, then multiply that figure by the resolution of the printer to determine the resolution for the scanner. Here are a couple of examples of the formula in action.
OPTION 1: YOU WANT YOUR IMAGE THE SAME SIZE.
Let’s say you have a piece of artwork that is 8 inches (20 cm) wide, and you want to print it at exactly the same size to make a potholder.
Drop the numbers into the Scaling Formula like this:
(8 ÷ 8) X 150
1 X 150 = 150 DPI
This is a 1:1 ratio of finished design to artwork. Since 8 inches ÷ 8 inches is 1, and 1 × 150 dpi = 150 dpi, simply scan it at the same resolution that it will print—150 dpi. The shortcut for this option is: anytime you want to print your design at its full size, scan it at 150 dpi (Figure 2).
OPTION 2: YOU WANT YOUR IMAGE TO BE LARGER.
Now let’s say you want to make a 16-inch (40.5 cm) dinner napkin from your 8-inch (20 cm) artwork. Here are the numbers in the formula:
(16 ÷ 8) X 150
2 X 150 = 300 DPI
This is a 2:1 ratio of finished design to artwork. Instead of capturing 150 pixels in each inch, you need to capture 300 pixels in each inch (Figure 3). That will give you twice as many pixels, which is enough to fill a 16-inch space that is twice as large as your artwork. This retains the quality of the image.
This formula works equally well if you’re defining the size of your image in pixels instead of inches, too, which is a common option in image-editing software.
FIGURE 2 Set your scanner to capture 150 dpi resolution if you want to print your design at actual size.
FIGURE 3 Set your scanner to capture 300 dpi resolution if you want to print your design at a 2:1 ratio, or double the size of the original.
Now that you have done the math necessary to scan at the proper size, set the scanner to the proper resolution in the scanner setting dialog box. Look for a box labeled “Resolution” or “Quality” and type your resolution (dpi) in the box. Depending on your scanner software, it may only allow you to set it to standard defaults from a drop-down menu. Choose the number that is closest to—but larger than—what you want, and you will be able to edit later when you upload to Spoonflower. (Once you have uploaded your design, there are tools built into the site that will let you scale up or down to a certain degree.)
Next, choose the file type to save your image. For the projects in this book, .jpg is the best choice (Figure 4). But there are many types of files and each one has advantages (see this page to review the file types Spoonflower accepts).
Finally, click the “Scan” button and save your file. (To keep your files organized, it may be helpful to save your designs in a designated folder, especially if you’re just beginning to work with images.)
FIGURE 4 For the projects in this book, save your scanned images as .jpg files. This will be one of the choices in your drop-down menu.
Once you have scanned your artwork, you may want to do a little editing before you’re ready to upload and print your design. Open your .jpg file using your favorite graphics software. Here are a few of the basic tools you may want to use.
Cropping means trimming away the extra parts of an image that you don’t want. For example, there might be stray marks (like the edges of the paper) that you would like to trim away—or you may decide to use only one section of a scanned and saved image. There are two ways you can crop an image: the Crop tool or the Marquee Select tool.
The Crop tool looks like two overlapping Ls. (Remember, as we explained earlier, each program has its own “different-yet-similar” version of tools with common functions.)
If you click somewhere on your image and then drag, the tool will draw a box showing the part of the image you would like to keep (Figure 5). You can adjust the area by clicking and dragging again, or by clicking and adjusting the corners of your previous selection. Once you have your area selected, you should click a button or checkbox marked “Apply” or “Okay” to confirm your crop. The part of the image outside of your selection area will be discarded.
MARQUEE SELECT TOOL
The Marquee Select tool works almost the same way as Crop. It looks like a box drawn with a dotted line.
Click and drag to draw a box around the part of the image you would like to select. Once you have selected an area with this tool, there are lots of things you can do with that selection, like copy and paste, move, rotate, and so on (we investigate those tasks more in later chapters). To crop the image using this tool, make your selection and then choose the menu item “Crop”—usually you can find it under the “Edit,” “Image,” or “Tools” menu (Figure 6). Don’t forget to save the changes: Your program may or may not prompt you to save. Choose “Save As” to make a new copy and preserve your original image—you don’t know when you might want to go back and use the original image again.
JUDI KETTELER / CINCINNATI, OH
Judi Ketteler (known as ketteljm on Spoonflower) is a freelance writer; in fact, she is one of the writers of this book. She travels quite a bit for work, so her luggage gets a workout. Tired of the flimsy paper luggage tags airlines provide, she decided to make her own permanent tag. To create the background fabric, she scanned some vintage stamps; for the center section, she scanned her address.
MATERIALS & TOOLS
TO DESIGN THE FABRIC
Collection of stamps (or other small objects like ticket stubs or playing cards)
2 × 4-inch (5 × 10 cm) piece of colored or patterned paper
Scanner
2 swatches of basic cotton, 1 for the background and 1 for the address, each 8 × 8 inches (20 × 20 cm)
TO MAKE THE TAG
Printed fabric
8 × 8-inch (20 × 20 cm) piece of heavyweight interfacing
Scrap piece of paper, at least 3½ × 5 inches (8.9 × 12 cm)
Grommet and grommet setting tool
Leather cord or your choice of material for hanging tag
Basic sewing tools (this page)
designing the fabric
1 Create a collage, scan, and upload.
Review the general scanning instructions on this page. Arrange the stamps face down on the scanner bed in an 8-inch (20-cm) square. Overlap the edges of the stamps so there is no space showing in between them. Because you want to print the design at actual size, a 1:1 ratio, you will scan it at 150 dpi, which is the same resolution as the printer (this page). Crop the image to trim away messy edges before you finish the scan (Figure 1). Save the file as a .jpg and upload to Spoonflower (this page). Choose a basic repeat and print on a swatch of basic cotton; the design should fill the swatch.
2 Scan your address and upload.
Write your name and address on the piece of 2 × 4-inch (5 × 10 cm) paper and place it with your address face down on the scanner bed. Again, because you want to print your design at actual size, scan it at 150 dpi. Save the file as a .jpg and upload to Spoonflower (this page). Choose a swatch of basic cotton fabric and a basic repeat (this page). Repeating the design will yield multiple copies of the address, so you will have extra labels for other projects.
3 Make the tag pattern.
Cut a 3½ × 5-inch (8.9 × 12 cm) piece of scrap paper. Fold it in half lengthwise. To make a rounded corner, trace around the edge of a drinking glass and then trim. Unfold the paper. This will be the pattern piece.
4 Interface and cut out.
Apply the heavyweight interfacing to the back of the stamp collage swatch following the manufacturer’s instructions. Fold the interfaced fabric in half, pin the pattern to it, and cut two tag shapes. (If the interfacing is very heavy, you will have to cut the pieces out one at a time.)
5 Appliqué your address.
Cut out a fabric address label from the printed swatch. Pin the label to the center of one tag (on the printed side) and machine-stitch around all four edges using a zigzag stitch, pivoting at the corners.
6 Sandwich and stitch.
Place the two tags wrong sides together and pin. Using a buttonhole, overlock, or zigzag stitch on your machine, stitch around all sides. Be precise while sewing so that the stitching covers the raw edges.
7 Add the grommet.
Install the grommet to the rounded end of the luggage tag following the manufacturer’s instructions. (Hint: If the grommet kit comes with a hole cutter, use the cutter to mark or score the fabric and then use a sharp pair of embroidery scissors to make the hole, as thick fabrics may be difficult to cut through.)
8 Add finishing touches.
Slip the leather cord through the grommet and tie to your travel bag as desired.
SPOONFLOWER DESIGNERS RAID THE JUNK DRAWER
We’re always amazed and inspired when we see the designs that Spoonflower users upload to our site. When we started looking around for designs based on scans of random objects, we found all sorts of interesting ideas. Here you can see designs made by scanning foreign currency; crocheted granny squares; a collage composed of a paper bag, masking tape, washers, and cutup colored paper; newspaper flowers; a tape measure; envelope liners. What else did we see? Peacock feathers, leaves, love letters, lace, magazine ads, cogs, shells, the list goes on and on. Now it’s your turn. Raid your junk drawer, go for a walk, flip through a magazine, open your eyes. We can’t wait to see what you dream up.
SARAH GIFFORD / MAPLEWOOD, NJ
Covering a lampshade with peel-and-stick wallpaper is an easy way to dress it up and personalize it. For this one Sarah Gifford (sarahgdesign on our site) gathered square paint chips at the hardware store, scanned them in a chevron pattern, and uploaded. We give instructions for making the chevron here, but you can arrange your paint chips in any pattern you like.
MATERIALS & TOOLS
TO DESIGN THE PAPER
An assortment of 4-inch (10 cm) paint color chips (about 8 different colors)
Masking tape
Scanner
Peel-and-stick wallpaper (size based on lampshade; see Step 3)
TO DECORATE THE LAMPSHADE
Printed wallpaper
Cylindrical lampshade made with smooth plain paper (see More Ideas on this page if you want to cover a different lampshade shape)
Basic sewing tools (this page)
designing the decal
1 Create the chevron design.
To create a chevron pattern, stack your color chips one on top of the other, overlapping them as shown in Figure 1 so that you see about ½ inch (1.2 cm) of each color. Once you’re satisfied with the arrangement, use a piece of masking tape on the wrong side to secure the chips.
2 Scan and crop your design.
Review the general scanning instructions on this page. Place your paint chip design face down on the scanner, aligning so the “V” shapes are placed vertically. Because you want to print your design at actual size, scan it at 150 dpi. Crop the image so that your “V” is centered and there is no white space showing around your design, either cropping while you scan or working in your image editing program after you’ve saved the scan (also shown in Figure 1).
Save the file as a .jpg and upload to Spoonflower. Choose a mirrored repeat (this page) to automatically make a seamless repeat of this design.
4 Determine size.
Depending on the size of your lampshade, you will need to order a swatch or a roll of peel-and-stick wallpaper. To figure out what size to order, make a pattern out of a piece of newspaper and measure it to see if it fits on a swatch (24 × 12 inches / 61 × 30.5 cm) or a roll (24 × 144 inches / 61 cm × 366 cm).
To make the newspaper pattern, place the newspaper face down on a table. Using a pencil and ruler, draw a vertical line near the bottom left corner. Carefully line up the seam on the lampshade with the line you drew. Place the point of the pencil at the bottom edge of the lampshade and trace the bottom edge, running a pencil line along it as you slowly rotate the lampshade. Continue until you reach the lampshade seam again (the lampshade will have made a complete rotation) and make a small mark at both the top and bottom of the seam. Connect them with a straight line, using a ruler. Return the lampshade to the starting point and repeat the process to trace the top edge of the lampshade.
covering the lampshade
5 Trace the lampshade shape onto the peel-and-stick paper.
Following the instructions for creating the newspaper pattern in Step 4, trace cutting lines onto the back of the peel-and-stick paper.
6 Cut out the wallpaper and apply.
Cut out the wallpaper following the pencil lines. Peel a few inches (centimeters) of the backing paper from the wallpaper and line up the lampshade seam with one end of the wallpaper. Leaving the wallpaper face down on the table, slowly peel away the backing paper and roll and press the lampshade on to the adhesive. The peel-and-stick wallpaper is repositionable, so don’t be afraid to adjust as you go. Trim away any extra wallpaper.
Another way to add interest to a simple design like this one is by adding a layer of texture. This is a preview of what we teach in Chapter 9, but if you’d like, you can try it now. Once you have scanned, cropped, and saved your paint chip image, open it in your graphics program. Add a new transparent layer with a texture on top of the colored paint chip layer. Many graphics programs also allow you to adjust the texture layer, making it more subtle or more pronounced as you wish.
Or, if you prefer a lower-tech approach, simply place a very thin, almost translucent piece of paper on the scanner bed and then put the paint chips on top. Your scanned image will have a diffused texture. After you’ve cropped and saved either version of the image—low-tech or high-tech—upload to Spoonflower, print, and proceed as in the project instructions.
For the design shown above, we used paint chips in white and different shades of blue and applied a linen texture.
EMMA JEFFERY / HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA
Emma Jeffrey is a blogger and a member of the Fiskars Design Team. She made these tea towels from scans of recipes handwritten by her late grandmother. They were the subject of one of the most popular posts ever on the Spoonflower blog.
MATERIALS & TOOLS
TO DESIGN THE FABRIC
6 × 4-inch (15 × 10 cm) piece of paper or index card with recipe (see Note)
Scanner
1 fat quarter of linen-cotton canvas, 27 × 18 inches (68.6 × 46 cm)
TO MAKE THE TOWEL
Printed fabric
4 inches (10 cm) of narrow ribbon, for hanging from corner
Pencil or fabric marker
Basic sewing tools (this page)
Note: If the recipe or artwork that you want to scan isn’t 6 × 4 inches (15 × 10 cm), use the Pixel Equation on this page and Scaling Formula on this page to help you adjust it to fit on a fat quarter.
designing the fabric
1 Scan your recipe.
Review the basic scanning directions on this page. Place the recipe face down on the scanner. If your text is vertical as in this project, place the long side of the rectangle horizontally when you scan so it is oriented properly to print (this page).
To make the recipe fill a fat quarter of linen-cotton fabric that is 27 × 18 inches (68.6 × 46 cm), scale it up. The finished height of the design is 16 inches (40.5 cm). Use the Scaling Formula on this page to determine the resolution for the scanner:
16 INCHES ÷ 4 INCHES = 4
4 X 150 = 600 DPI
So scan at 600 dpi. This file will print at a finished size of 24 × 16 inches (61 × 40.5 cm).
2 Save, upload, and print.
Save the file as a .jpg and upload to Spoonflower (this page). Choose a centered repeat (this page) and print on a fat quarter of linen-cotton canvas, which is a great fabric for this project.
3 Prepare your fabric.
Wash, dry, and press your fabric. Trim the fat quarter to 26 × 18 inches (66 × 46 cm) which includes a 1-inch (2.5 cm) seam allowance on each side.
4 Hem with mitered corners.
Turn under ½ inch (1.2 cm) on all sides and press. Turn under another ½ inch (1.2 cm) folding the raw edge of the fabric towards the inside. Press.
To create a neat mitered corner, open each corner. Draw a line through the innermost square formed by the folds as shown (Figure 1) and clip away this triangle (Figure 2). Fold the clipped edge under ⅜ inch (9.5 mm), then refold along the original pressed hemlines. Gently smooth the corner with your fingers and the folded edges should meet at a 45° angle. Pin in place.
5 Insert ribbon and stitch.
Trim the ends of the ribbon at a 45° angle. At one top corner, insert the ribbon ends under the folded hem so the ribbon slants diagonally across the corner. Pin in place. Stitch close to the inner folded edge of the hem on all sides, catching the ends of the ribbon inside the hem allowance as you stitch.
FIGURE 1 The light gray dotted lines indicate your fold lines. Cut where indicated by the black dashed line.
ANDA CORRIE / BERLIN, GERMANY
With a signature whimsical, hand-drawn style, Anda Corrie was one of Spoonflower’s early users. She is a designer on Etsy’s global brand design team in Berlin, and goes by the screen name anda on Spoonflower. She designed these ornaments when she was decorating her first child’s nursery.
MATERIALS & TOOLS
TO DESIGN THE FABRIC
3 or 4 sheets of solid-colored paper in contrasting colors
White paper
Craft scissors
Black or brown felt-tip pen
Double-sided tape
Scanner
1 swatch of basic cotton, 8 × 8 inches (20 × 20 cm) (see Note)
TO MAKE THE HOOP ORNAMENTS
Printed fabric
5-inch (12 cm) wooden embroidery hoop
Embroidery floss in several complementary colors
Embroidery needle
Fabric fray stop or fabric glue
Basic sewing tools (this page)
Small nail-less sawtooth picture hanger
TO MAKE THE PUFFY ORNAMENTS
Scrap of complementary fabric, about 6 inches (15 cm) square
Embroidery hoop
Embroidery floss in several complementary colors
A small amount of polyester stuffing
6 inches (15 cm) of decorative cord or narrow ribbon
Basic sewing tools (this page)
Note: 1 swatch will make 1 ornament
designing the fabric
1 Cut out shapes and personalize.
From the colored paper, cut several 4-inch (10 cm) diameter circles and several 2½-inch (6 cm) diameter circles. Cut these as a freehand shape or trace a smooth circle around a plate or bowl, depending on the style you like. Draw initials, names, faces, or words with a felt-tip pen in the center of the smaller circles.
2 Assemble the design and scan.
Review the basic scanning directions on this page. Use double-sided tape to place smaller circles on the centers of the larger circles. Lay the circles face down on the bed of a scanner, leaving at least 1½ inches (4 cm) between each circle for seam allowances. Depending on the size of the scanner, you should be able to fit 4 to 6 circles on the scanner bed.
Lay a white sheet of paper on top of everything, being careful not to disrupt the circle layout. Because you want to print your design at actual size, scan it at 150 dpi (this page), a 1:1 ratio. Save the file as a .jpg and upload to Spoonflower (this page). Choose basic cotton and a basic repeat layout (this page) and print as much yardage as you need, depending on how many ornaments you want to make. A swatch will yield one finished ornament; however, if you plan to order only a swatch, you should crop your design (this page) to 8 × 8 inches (20 × 20 cm) to be sure you print the full circle you like the best.
OPTION 1
HOOP ORNAMENTS
3 Mount the fabric in the hoop.
Cut out one circle, leaving at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of extra fabric around the edges. Center it inside the wooden hoop. Arrange it so the hoop opening is at the center-top of the design, close the hoop, and tighten. Gently tug the fabric so it is taut along all sides and the surface is smooth.
4 Embroider to add details.
Use your favorite embroidery stitches to add detail and texture to a circle flower such as the one shown in the photo on this page.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
+ Stitch straight lines from the outer edge of the larger circle to the outer edge of the small circle, radiating around it to make petals.
+ Use a few rows of running stitch just inside the edge of smaller circle to make seeds.
+ Use a backstitch to trace the initials or face in the center of flower and to create details like leaves.
5 Finish the ornament.
Once the embroidery is finished, retighten the fabric if it has loosened. Trim the fabric close to the back of the hoop and paint the edges with fray stop to finish. Glue the hanger to the back of the frame and hang.
OPTION 2
PUFFY ORNAMENTS
6 Embroider to add details and texture.
Follow the directions through Step 3. Choose a circle and embroider as in Step 4. Remove the design from the hoop and press lightly to remove the creases left by the hoop.
7 Cut out a back.
Place the embellished flower face down on the right side of the complementary fabric. Pin through both layers and cut a second shape from this fabric to be the back of your ornament, using the front as a guide.
8 Stitch and stuff the ornament.
By either hand or machine, stitch around the perimeter of the flower about ½ inch (1.2 cm) from the edge. Start at the bottom of the flower and work around, leaving a 1-inch (2.5 cm) gap at the bottom to use for stuffing. Notch or clip around the edge and turn the ornament right side out. Stuff with polyester stuffing to the desired puffiness and hand-stitch the opening closed. Tie the thread in a secure knot.
9 Add a hanger.
Using a large needle and the cord, make a small stitch through the back of the ornament. Make a loop with the thread and tie the ends securely.
