The Sewing Place
The Emporia => Fun with Fabric => Topic started by: suburban on November 28, 2020, 13:30:57 PM
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Hello again,
Has anyone used one of those "We Print Your Design on Fabric" firms? Are the prices exorbitant? Supply consistent? Deliveries prompt? I know it's lockdown and things are unpredictable, but any insight or experience would be most welcome thank you!
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I looked at this a few years ago (5+) with my cousin - she is a graphic designer and was considering having her designs printed up. We never followed it up but at that time the cost - for furnishing fabric - was about £40 metre to include the plain cotton fabric it was printed onto. As many furnishing fabrics can cost that and much more I didn't think that was too bad.
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Woven monkey :)
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Lots of print your own on FB....
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Depends on what fabric you want and how washable you want the item to be. Manuela has had it done. Mostly successful but I recall one particular fabric was dreadful.
I'd spend the price for samples or fat quarters to check the suitability of whatever fabric to my end use.
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Very strange, I replied to you yesterday but it done gone! I've used Spoonflower a couple of times and while they are OK for a special project it's a bit pricey if you need a lot. I needed a technical quick dry fabric for travel and it has fulfilled the brief - lasting well and the printing is still good - been using it for about 6 years already.
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I looked at this a few years ago (5+) with my cousin - she is a graphic designer and was considering having her designs printed up. We never followed it up but at that time the cost - for furnishing fabric - was about £40 metre to include the plain cotton fabric it was printed onto. As many furnishing fabrics can cost that and much more I didn't think that was too bad.
Thanks for replying. I had no clue how expensive this process is. For someone like me who wanted to start a business - only for novelty type items - it's prohibitive. Even unbleached, plain skimpy cotton - before any pattern is printed onto it. Jeez I had no clue. I know some people use freezer paper etc and inkjet printers but I just haven't got the time for that. I did look at the designs people submitted and there are so many talented people out there. People don't seem to be adequately rewarded for their hard work though. People who sell on 'Etsy' etc. It's depressing!
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Woven monkey :)
I looked. It's a good site, I've realised I had unreasonable expectations, in terms of cost. I had no clue how expensive cotton is.
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Lots of print your own on FB....
I didn't think of that! Sadly I don't use 'Facebook'. It's just a personal issue I have with it. Thanks for responding though, it reminded me to look in less obvious places.
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Depends on what fabric you want and how washable you want the item to be. Manuela has had it done. Mostly successful but I recall one particular fabric was dreadful.
I'd spend the price for samples or fat quarters to check the suitability of whatever fabric to my end use.
Yes, I've thought about that. I think I forgot to mention I wanted to start a business, but money-no-have. I just underestimated the cost of basic fabric before anything's printed on it.
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The cotton/Lycra on the FB groups usually sells for around £16 per metre...I have no idea how much wholesale printing is but if your designs are good then they will sell at that price.
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Very strange, I replied to you yesterday but it done gone! I've used Spoonflower a couple of times and while they are OK for a special project it's a bit pricey if you need a lot. I needed a technical quick dry fabric for travel and it has fulfilled the brief - lasting well and the printing is still good - been using it for about 6 years already.
Yeah, I looked at that site - it's great - some lovely stuff. Saw some patterns already suitable for my projects. It's not really that I wanted to be the designer; I just wanted specific details. I did find suitable stuff on 'Spoonflower', but they're pricey. It's not just a one-off thing I'd want you see. Thank you for replying (twice!)
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It really depends on what you're trying to make, what volume of product you want, how you plan on marketing it.
Don't feel bad about not knowing how pricey the fabric is. The printing places are premium priced on the blank fabric.
I had a friend start a premium potting soil business for soils that sold by the small box at upscale plant nurseries. He partnered with his college best friend who had a business marketing degree. I was hanging out with them one day, pasting labels on boxes when we started talking about cost, profit, all the good stuff. Marketing guy said something alarming. He had totally messed up the books and they were selling the product at a significant loss.
That ended the business and friendship.
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It really depends on what you're trying to make, what volume of product you want, how you plan on marketing it.
Don't feel bad about not knowing how pricey the fabric is. The printing places are premium priced on the blank fabric.
I had a friend start a premium potting soil business for soils that sold by the small box at upscale plant nurseries. He partnered with his college best friend who had a business marketing degree. I was hanging out with them one day, pasting labels on boxes when we started talking about cost, profit, all the good stuff. Marketing guy said something alarming. He had totally messed up the books and they were selling the product at a significant loss.
That ended the business and friendship.
The more I investigate this malarky, the more I realise the importance of marketing. I've seen someone with mediocre product outselling real talent on 'Etsy' etc. I mean wildly outselling them. I don't begrudge the budding tycoon their success - there's nothing wrong with their product, but I've looked at how they've done it and thought, "Ahhh...Marketing. Someone went to Business School." Then again, what did I expect?
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The more I investigate this malarky, the more I realise the importance of marketing. I've seen someone with mediocre product outselling real talent on 'Etsy' etc. I mean wildly outselling them. I don't begrudge the budding tycoon their success - there's nothing wrong with their product, but I've looked at how they've done it and thought, "Ahhh...Marketing. Someone went to Business School." Then again, what did I expect?
I am completely useless at selling (buying I'm brilliant at !!! ) or promoting myself.
I invested a small amount of money on an online UK based crafters type shop Numonday (https://www.numonday.com/shop/Iminei/)and have barely had any views let alone a single enquiry, God forbid a sale!
I know quilts are not exactly impulse buys but I thought the coasters might at least sell !! :(
Theres also a Faceache page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/nuMONDAY/?multi_permalinks=3941492099204262) where the shop owners promote their wares and I tried to show and tell with them ...
Whereas the other posts received likes, and OOhs and Ahhhs and How Much is that? (doggy in the window) and can I buy this? My posts didnt even garner a thumbs up let alone a comment...
I also know (yes really in the flesh know) of a girl who styles herself as some sort of vintage sewing guru with a FA following who ooh and ahhh and fawn over her every syllable on her blog which I recently found ....
I have known her since she moved to my town and was so interested to read her delightful flowery prose of the charmed life she lives ... sitting in the garden stitching away listening to the birds and feeding a seemingly tame hedgehog or being interrupted by the postman who said she looked so peaceful and content sewing in her specially made studio that he really didnt want to disturb her but he had this parcel of antique lace for her ...
All bollocks because, as I said I know her personally, and she has begged me to go and visit her studio as she ... and these are her words... hadnt sewn a single stitch since moving !
The blog is very inspirational but I have sewn a thousand times more than her in the last year and it is as I say Self promotion and aggrandisement of herself on her part to the highest degree ...
All in all as I said before ... Im useless at self promotion lying.
Errrm Should this be on the Rant thread! :|
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Have you tried Etsy, @Iminei - no outlay unless you sell something, but you will be found on searches and they do their own promotion. I have a theoretical Etsy shop. I do actually have it, but it's theoretical because I've never put anything into it!
Edited to add that my shop is actually Folksy, which is like Etsy but largely British and not as successful - but I prefer it! I would think that a similar process for setting up a shop applies to Etsy.
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As you well know Acorn Im not very good at the tech and setting up ...
what you see on the Numonday site took me about a week to get sorted.
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I've just taken a look at my empty shop and it's not as free as I thought! You can list three items for nothing a month, then it's 15p +VAT per item. For £5 a month you can have unlimited free listings and your items can be featured - whatever that means!
A quick look says that Etsy's pretty similar - no free listings, but 15p for a listing that lasts 4 months.
I have no doubt whatsoever that you could do it @Iminei ! (Where's that stern-look-over-the-glasses smiley?)
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Whereas the other posts received likes, and OOhs and Ahhhs and How Much is that? (doggy in the window) and can I buy this? My posts didnt even garner a thumbs up let alone a comment...
@Iminei
How do you know that all those OOhs and Ahhhs are genuine and not posted by friends and family, or even the seller herself using different email addresses?
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Because Im a gullible eejit ??? (Ah @wrenkins ... Where are you when we need you ??) and I tend to believe what people say ! :S
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Because Im a gullible eejit ??? (Ah @wrenkins ... Where are you when we need you ??) and I tend to believe what people say ! :S
Oh Darling @Iminei , people, bless them, lie through their teeth online. You can't take most of what you read as factual. It's all in the spin.
I assumed that's why we all like to see photos of projects and such. Documentation don't you know. :thumbsup: