Spoonflower Fabrics
UPDATED AGAIN May 23, 2023
I’ve been a Spoonflower user & fan since 2013. They’re an on-demand digital fabric (and wallpaper & home goods) printer. When other sewists hear I use Spoonflower, I’m often asked what their different fabric types are like; here’s an overview based on my experiences. The following is based on my own experience with the company. This is not a sponsored post!
What is Spoonflower?
Spoonflower is a Print On Demand (POD) company based in Durham, NC.
Update: On May 10, 2023, Spoonflower announced plans to shutter their Durham operations and move their printing to Shutterfly locations in AZ and SC. I personally am really disappointed to hear this news. Their local focus and impact were a huge part of what drew me to them, and I’m frustrated on behalf of all the staff who will be out of work in a couple months. I don’t think any of my fabric orders have come from these new locations; I will update if I notice any quality differences with future orders.
If you imagine your home printer, but giant and made to print on fabric, that’s the general idea! They have created a digital marketplace where you can purchase fabric, wallpaper, and home decor items with either your own artwork or the artwork of thousands of individual creative folks. It’s inherently a step in the direction of sustainability in the fabric industry, since they only print what is needed. They’re also committed to the environment within their processes, from water-based pigments to sustainable operational practices.
Printed vs dyed fabrics
(Disclaimer: I’m not a textile engineer or expert at all; this is my basic understanding of the differences as they apply to my needs as a quilter and home sewist.)
When considering Spoonflower for your projects, it’s helpful to have an understanding of the difference between printed and dyed fabrics. Printed fabrics start out white and then ink is laid down on top of them - again, similar to your home printer with paper. Printed fabrics have a right side and a wrong side; Spoonflower prints will only be printed on one side and the reverse remains white. Dyed fabrics, however, are fully immersed in pigment - think tie-dyeing! With dyed fabrics, there isn’t so much a right or wrong side since the pigment goes all the way through.
Spoonflower substrates for quilting
Now that we understand the different ink processes, we can consider substrates - the fabric itself. Spoonflower prints on fabrics ranging from lightweight cotton to velvet to stretchy knits to performance to thicker upholstery fabrics! I’ve used a variety of substrates but for quilting, I’ve worked with Petal Cotton and Cotton Poplin. I highly recommend ordering a sample pack which includes 4” x 4” swatches of each substrate with the same handful of color samples printed on them - this way you can really see and feel the differences between them.
Pros & Cons
Pros: it’s the least expensive of Spoonflower’s digitally printed fabrics. It takes colors very nicely, especially more muted colors. The colors do not run in the wash - I’ve found this to be the case with all Spoonflower prints. It has a softer hand than some of the other fabric types like the linen-cotton canvas.
Cons: with extremely detailed or very geometric prints, the lines of the design may not be quite as crisp as desired, especially after washing when the fabric fluffs up a bit. I don’t love this substrate for very saturated or dark prints - any ink loss or flaking really shows up (this can happen with dull needles, for example), it seems to make the fabric stiffer, and I’ve even noticed some faint print lines sometimes on dark fabrics - very very faint, but there nonetheless. For the record, Spoonflower’s customer service is top notch and has always reprinted & expedited orders for me when I’ve had any kind of quality issue.
Update May 2023: To date, I have had great experiences with Spoonflower customer service. It remains to be seen whether that will change with Shutterfly taking over more.
Spoonflower also has a line of dyed Petal Cotton Solids - I’ve used several of these and fond they don’t suffer any of the drawbacks of the printed Petal Cotton. I think it could be a great choice for sustainably manufactured quilting solids!
Update May 2023: Spoonflower is discontinuing their Petal Dyed Solids as of June 15, 2023.
Petal Cotton Project Example:
Sunset Bowls Lap Quilt
This was one of my first whole cloth lap quilt projects. I used my Sunset Bowls print on the front and the small-scale version of the same print on the back. The little white spot on the left side of the image is an example of ink flaking, though from a distance it’s not as noticeable.
Petal Cotton Project Example:
Grey Hexes
This project was an experiment in modern trapunto, a technique where additional batting is added in parts of the quilt - here, under the darkest hexagons.
Petal Cotton Project Example:
Bee’s Knees
Talented teen Evie G. sewed up this sample for me!
Pros & Cons
Pros: This fabric, like the Petal Cotton, has 42” of printed width, and great colorfastness. I’ve come to prefer it for my printed quilting projects because I find it prints more crisply, and I also have not experienced any flaking. It is a lighter weight fabric - I wonder if a slightly looser weave means the inks can sink in a little better (pure speculation on my part). Bright, bold colors look great on Poplin!
Cons: Really, the only con to report is that it is more expensive than Petal - at the time of writing this, it’s $20/yd compared to $19/yd for Petal.
Cotton Poplin Project:
Desert Green Bowls Lap Quilt/Wall Hanging
I used Spoonflower’s Petal Solid in Pine to back this quilt.
Cotton Poplin Project:
Viva Magenta Wall Hanging
This wall hanging was sewn from one of my DIY designs available in my Spoonflower shop.
Spoonflower resources
You can order a color map on any substrate to get a good idea of how a wide assortment of colors look and feel on a given fabric type.
There’s a Welcome Pack for makers, and a really great guide: the Spoonflower Handbook.
