Mastering the Art of Fabric Printing and Design

Today I’m taking part in the blog tour for Laurie Wisbrun’s book, Mastering the Art of Fabric Printing and Design from Chronicle Books. I know that many of you are interested in trying your hand at fabric design, or you may already be creating your own digital designs and now you’re ready to improve your skills and take it to the next level. This book covers digital designs, various printing and dyeing methods, as well as the practical aspects of turning fabric design into a business, with many resources to start you on your way.

First off, this beautiful book has a fabric textured hard cover, which gives it a nice feel. Laurie begins with some helpful information about patterns, color theory and fabric types, and includes clear photographs and easy-to-read descriptions. She talks about getting inspired from the world around you, creating mood boards and sourcing vintage designs, and how to create repeats manually and digitally. Then you get down to the nitty gritty with chapters covering hand printing and digital printing, with detailed tutorials and tips. For the hand printing chapter, Laurie calls in expert contributors to show some interesting techniques, including a brilliant tutorial from Jesse Braytenbach about how to use a frame and fabric to transform a plastic stencil into a mini-screenprinter. In the digital printing chapter, Laurie covers both Illustrator and Photoshop design methods, with screen shots and step-by-step instructions.

Throughout the book, she’s also included inspirational interviews with some of your favorite fabric designers including Julia Rothman, Heather Ross, and Joel Dewberry. Then there’s a chapter about going professional with tips on presenting your portfolio and even starting your own fabric company. She also includes advice about surface pattern trade shows and marketing. I’d say that Laurie covers it all here, whether you’re interested in experimenting with a new dyeing technique for a special project, or you want to design and print thousands of yards of fabric.

An important message that Laurie includes in the book is not to give up. Most designers have dealt with some rejection (me included). Remember that a rejection gives you time to re-group, pick yourself up again and be better than before. The fabric industry has been inundated with new designers in the past few years, but I know there are still many fantastic artists out there waiting to be discovered. It’s important to think of what you can bring to the market that represents your unique voice. I’ll be reflecting on that myself in the coming months.

Check out the rest of the blog tour. The previous posts have lots of great peeks into the book. Here’s the full schedule:

Monday, March 12 – A Creative Mint
Tuesday, March 13 – Lena Corwin and Handmade Charlotte
Wednesday, March 14 – Spoonflower and; Print and Pattern
Thursday, March 15 – Centsational Girl
Friday, March 16 – A Stitch in Dye

Monday, March 19 – The Long Thread
Tuesday, March 20 – Fat Quarterly
Wednesday, March 21 – papernstitch
Thursday, March 22 – Julia Rothman
Friday, March 23 – Simply Grove

And by the way, take a look at Laurie’s Llook! Llamas! limited release fabric collection. These are adorable! There’s also an interview with Laurie over on Spoonflower.