If you have any aspirations of becoming a fabric designer, you should try designing fabric for the Spoonflower design contest. There is a new contest every week, with a prize of $100 in Spoonflower credit, which you can use to buy fabric printed with your own designs or other fabric offered in the Spoonflower marketplace. Even if you don’t win, you’re sure to benefit from the practice!
I’ve only entered once so far, but I’m seriously thinking about trying to come up with a design for the upcoming coffee-themed contest. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the submissions in the contests overall, but of course there is a wide range of submissions from people of all skill levels. However, there are a few things I’ve noticed (as a voter, rather than a designer) that might help you if you have aspirations to win this contest.
Make Your Entries Professional
Seriously, there are some top-notch fabric designs in every contest. Take a look at your design and ask yourself if you can picture it on the shelf at your favorite fabric shop. If not, go back and revise your design until it represents your absolute best effort.
Don’t Use a White Background
Are you a quilter? Quick, go to your fabric stash and check to see what the predominant colors are in your fabrics. How many of them have white backgrounds? Not many, if you’re like most of us. Keep this in mind when designing.
Use a Patterned Background
I’ve noticed that many of the fabrics with patterned backgrounds look more professional than those with solid-colored backgrounds. Of course, you have to make sure that your background complements the design and does not overpower it. This is something that may be tricky to get right, but if you do, it can make a world of difference.
Learn to Tile Your Designs
The best designs almost always those that are tiled without looking like they are. You need to learn this skill if you want to be a fashion designer. It is something that takes some practice, but the last thing you want is to submit a design that has an unsightly line in it because it doesn’t tile properly.
More Information on Spoonflower Design Contests
If you are interested in entering Spoonflower’s fabric design contest, check out the upcoming themes and start designing. I look forward to seeing your entries.
Hi Beth!
Welcome to TSA!Nice to have another creative person in our community! I look forward to reading your blog and learning more of what you do. I am also a creative person :-) Again, welcome and I’ll be back soon …
Twitter: bethparker
says:
Thanks for the comment, Lesly. I just checked out your blog. It’s too bad I didn’t find it before my last baby was born.