my future fame as a fabric designer!

Hey, it is possible! :-)

Reading this book: Mastering the Art of Fabric Printing and Design just renewed my excitement and passion for patterns and all the pretty places you can put them. Like on fabric and stationery and your walls and pillows and purses and other such lovelies! If you sew or quilt it is probably not a stretch of your imagination to design some fabric in your head. Websites like Spoonflower make it possible to print your very own. I have been tempted to do so but have not. Yet.

Kudos to the author for presenting such a thorough examination of the subject. After reading this you really could get started creating your own designs. The basics of pattern design – hello repeats – are covered along with in-depth Adobe Illustrator tutorials. Additonal chapters each detail various methods of printing fabric. There are loads of interviews with fabric designers, including their back stories. I personally find artists' stories to be hugely inspirational (a reason why I love the CraftSanity blog, podcast, and magazine by local writer and craft queen Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood).

A sampling of the fabric designers/illustrators/artists I have recently added to my blog reader:
A Stitch in Dye – Malka Dubrowsky
Heather Ross
Ink & Spindle – Lara Cameron and Tegan Rose
Jezze Prints –  Jesse Breytenbach
Skinny laMinx – Heather Moore (totally got distracted by her fabric catalog just now)

And another I have long enjoyed following:
Anna Maria Horner

Bonus kudos to the graphic designers and photograhers who so thoughtfully put together a beautiful book. The exterior feels like fabric. I love the subtle reference to ink behind the title. And that image on the cover is just beautiful.