Hi folks,
can anyone give an advice on this? I have a large (full imperial) painting of a butterfly. I think it would make a great image for a cushion or something, but don’t really know where to start. I hope the following questions are sensible but I think some of them might be how-long-is-a-piece-of-string questions!
Do I need to look for a screen printer or something else?
Can this kind of printing be done from the original or do i need to get a digital image? photo or scan?
What sort of fabrics would work best?
Am I likely to have to supply the fabrics to the printer?
What sort of cost should I expect to incur?
Has anyone done this, and to what success?
I have put images onto fabric before, I tried emulsion printing (doesnt work on leather), I also did image transfer (scanning on your own inkjet printer and printing onto transfer paper, only if the image is a4 size) and even tried image transfer. The best thing is to try out new techniques and see what suits you best before going to a professional and spending loads of money
You could look at Spoonflower - http://www.spoonflower.com/welcome - I see this name mentioned a lot when fabric printing questions come up. They are in the US, but they are apparently very good and even with the customs charges (if you incur any depending on how much you are ordering) they still seem to work out the best price. Unless there’s a new UK based printer started up recently. Worth looking into.
catdigital sound interesting - they in the Glasgow school of art so should be pretty reputable! Now the hard decision will be what sort of fabric to go for?!!
I’ve just used Bags of Love http://www.bagsoflove.co.uk/ for a length of fabric. They have loads of choice, their website was simple to use, and I was reallly pleased with the service. There are plenty of companies that do this - I wanted one specifically in the UK - but have a look at their small print about the type of dye they use, and washing instructions (if that’s important for you). What they call ‘reactive’ dyes seem to be more robust.
Im glad you liked them. Can we see what youve made when its ready, or just a sneaky peak at the fabric would be great too.
What type of fabric did you go for?
It’s just for fun really, I wanted to make a summer skirt because I couldn’t find one in the shop in the colours I like, and I discovered you could easily design repeating patterns in Photoshop, so I gave it a go. I did a5 samples on Monroe Satin; polycotton sheeting; and panama flo. I chose the monroe satin because it had the nicest feel, and I thoght the others were too lightwieght. Actually, as I’m now intending to line the skirt anyway, I think the polycotton might have been better. If all goes well, I’ll take a photo when It’s done (may take a couple of weeks, it’s a long while since I got the sewing machine out!).
