DIGITALLY PRINT YOUR DRAWINGS ONTO FABRIC - TUTORIAL

This project is a unique way to preserve some of your Little People's artwork.  It is easy to get the fabric printed - which can then be used for Little People sewing projects; to make a new outfit; or to whip up some presents.    This tutorial uses Adobe Photoshop Elements to edit the drawing and Spoonflower to get the fabric digitally printed.   But there are other photo editing programs and fabric printing companies out there.  This is just what we use.   

The method shown to edit the drawing is probably the easiest and most basic you can find.  If you have more experience with image editing software - get creative!  You are only limited by your imagination.   

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE

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* What you need

• Your drawing
• A scanner or digital camera
• A computer with:   

                        Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements
                        Internet connection

* Scan your drawing

Scan your drawing at the highest resolution you can - it will need to be at least 150dpi to print well on fabric.  

If you don't have a scanner, use a camera.  In this case try and take the photo so that that drawing (or the part that you want to use) takes up the whole frame.  

Here is what my Little One's drawing looked liked after scanning.  Because she used watercolours on standard paper from the printer, the paper wrinkled.  This is nothing to worry about as it will get 'fixed' in the next step. 

* Clean up and Edit 

Open the image with Photoshop.  

Right click with your mouse on the Background layer.  Duplicate this layer.   

You will now have a layer called Background, and a layer called Background Copy.    Click the visibility icon next to the Background layer so that this layer cannot be seen.   Click the Background Copy layer to highlight it - this will ensure you are working on this layer for the next step.  

Using the Selection Brush Tool, select the the part of the image you want to use for your fabric print.   This will allow you to remove any unwanted marks etc from your drawing.   While your image is still selected, right click your mouse and Select Inverse.    Delete the Inverse.

Crop to size.  Image > Crop  NB: If you want your final fabric to have the repeating image spaced closely then crop in tight around your image.  This step determines the amount of negative (plain colour) space in your final fabric. 

If you want the background colour of you fabric to be white - you can skip this step.   If you want a colour background, you need to create a new Fill Layer.   Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid 

Select your colour - you can use the dropper to pick a colour from your drawing or choose something completely different.   In the example below, I used the dropper to select a purple from the image.  

Once you are happy, save your image as a high quality jpeg.  File > Save As..

* Upload to Spoonflower and design the pattern repeat

Open up the Spoonflower Create Fabric page.  Choose your file that you've just created and upload to Spoonflower.  

You will then get a screen that looks like this:

• Play around with the Repeat options

and 

• The Design Size.

• Save This Layout

then

• Choose a Fabric - there is a wide variety of fabrics available for almost any project you want to complete. 
• Choose a Size & Amount  

NB: Make sure you are happy with the preview before you order your new fabric.   There are rulers on the sides of the preview window to help get a feel for the scale of the final piece.  

It's that easy!   All you have to do now is wait for your precious parcel to arrive in the post and start thinking about what you or your Little One will make with it!  Happy creating.  

NB: For the fabric to make the shirt in the photo below, I created a random repeat in Photoshop and resized some of the flowers.   This is slightly more advanced than the method described above.