Textile Design – Chinese Pistache

Ola! It’s been a busy week so far I can’t believe it’s only Wednesday. I think the boy feels the same way and has decided to call it a night at 9:30 (which is unusually early in this household). But since I cannot will myself to go to sleep, I’ll take this opportunity to share with you my second installment of textile designs while watching the SNL Christmas special on television. Although now I’m realizing that I’ve been sitting here for two commercial breaks in a row and haven’t gotten anywhere with this post, and that is why I’m putting the television into mute mode for now.

The Chinese Pistache is a tree in the cashew family that has pinnate leaves that turn scarlet in the fall, and is planted in urban settings for it’s attractive autumn foliage. The first time I saw these trees was in a magazine and I thought they looked gorgeous. I think the leaf arrangement itself is interesting. For the following designs however I decided against using red and tried different colors to give it a modern spin. I think it’s more fun when things aren’t too literal, no?

Digital Textile Printing at Spoonflower

Since I recently got into the craft of sewing, I have discovered that great fabric designs are hard to come by. Most of the stuff that they sell at fabric chains are either too old fashioned or too cutesy for my taste. If you look hard you can find some really cool ones at independent stores around the neighborhood, but still the selections seem pretty limited. I thought about designing my own fabrics but the idea of setting up silk screens and emulsions to print multi-colored designs sounded like a pretty daunting endeavor. And given the limited work space I have at home, it just made the idea seem more intimidating.

Enter Spoonflower. The only thing I can say is “Where have you been all my life and why haven’t I discovered you sooner?” I guess I’ve been sleeping under a rock all this time but let me tell you, this website is a godsend and I thank Google for bringing it up to my attention. In a nutshell, Spoonflower makes it possible for people to design, print and sell their own fabric. So not only does it serve as a source for great fabric for all your crafting needs, it’s also a platform for designers to showcase and sell their own work.

How awesome is this!

If anyone out there has tried this service I would love to hear what you think about it. I can’t wait to try it myself. In the meantime, check out some of these really cool designs from the awesome designers over at Spoonflower (Click on each screenshot to go to the designer’s store):