Material Pleasures

Pink camo polar fleece might work for that pair of footie pajamas you nestled into on Valentine’s Day, or maybe for that homemade Snuggie you’ve been contemplating, but not so much for the pillows on your new couch. For crafters who call sewing machines and fabric swatches their tools of the trade, unique materials are scarce. Fortunately, a new class of DIY sites has emerged to entice the Etsy generation with the ability to create custom designed fabrics on demand:

Fabric on Demand: This service offers customers ten different fabrics to choose from, ranging from naturals like cotton and cotton/linen blends to synthetics such as polyester satin and Lycra/Spandex (perfect for making an American Apparel-style bodysuit that won’t cut off your circulation). Fabric designers need only to upload an image file, choose a pattern to be generated with that image, select the fabric, and specify how many swatches or yards they want printed. Fabric on Demand will send out a “proof” before the order is actually manufactured, ensuring that you’re not surprised with a bolt of purple star print microsuede when you really wanted blue.

Spoonflower: With a social networking twist, this site facilitates fabric design and creation while giving visitors the opportunity to peruse and purchase creations generated by other Spoonflower users. (We’re coveting birdnerd’s Red-Winged Blackbird for a new set of accent pillows.) When a designer’s work is purchased by another user, he or she receives a 10% commission. Providing users with even more incentive to employ its service, Spoonflower offers a 10% discount for self-designed orders larger than a swatch, and a 20% discount when more than 20 yards is ordered. Plus, winners of weekly themed contests hosted on the Spoonflower blog are rewarded with five yards of free fabric – more than enough to make your own bunting.

Envelop: The most Etsy-like of the bunch, this site both allows users to upload illustrations to be printed on a variety of cotton items and lets them set up their very own Envelop shops through which to sell their creations. Site visitors who aren’t so great with a sketchpad can shop designs, and then choose from a selection of pillowcases, aprons, tote bags, oven mitts, cloth napkins, placemats, pot holders and table runners on which to print the designs. One-hundred percent cotton fabrics and eco-friendly printing methods make the service easy on the conscience. Looking for a discount? If you upload a photo of your purchase to the Shots of Envelop gallery and it gets selected as one of the Shots of the Month, you’ll receive a $15 gift card. * References to products and services in trendcentral do not imply our endorsement, but rather are intended to provide objective insights into emerging trends and examples of those trends. trendcentral is published by The Intelligence Group, a trend research and consumer insights company focusing on youth culture. For more information on our services, or to subscribe to our syndicated Cassandra Report studies, please contact Noelle Weaver at 212-277-5244 or via email at nweaver@intelg.com.