Year of the Snake (Fabric)

2013 is the Chinese Year of the Snake, and this week's Spoonflower Fabric of the Week Contest called for designs inspired by snakes. I originally wasn't going to enter this contest since snakes scare me a little. Then I did a bit of research on various snake breeds, and found the yellow-lipped and blue-lipped sea kraits. They look like something straight out of a Tim Burton film, and the yellow-lipped sea kraits reminded me of sandworms from Beetlejuice. These graphic sea snakes were the perfect inspiration for a fun design with some pop. Below is my entry, Sea of Swirly Snakes.

Sea of Swirly Snakes, shown at fat quarter 21"x18" view. Click on image to see repeat in yardage.

I created stylized versions of the sea kraits, and placed them on a teal background so that the blue-lipped sea kraits would almost blend in and the yellow-lipped sea kraits would give a graphic pop. The end result is a print that is fun and works well as a fabric. I think it would make fantastic clothing that people would possibly find pretty and terrifying. For some strange reason, that thought makes me happy.

You can vote for your favorite designs for Year of the Snake here at Spoonflower until Wednesday. There are not as many entries as there have been in previous weeks, but there is still a wide variety of styles in the contest.

*Past Contest Result*
-Snowflakes: Space Age Snowflakes 241/320

Fabric Recap: Creepy Crawlies to Flights of Fancy

I've been working on some new fabric designs lately, with some recent contest entries. I'm working on some more new fabric designs, and some sewing projects that need to be finished and photographed. I'll do a fabric recap in this post, and will post a sewing project this weekend. Onto the fabric designs!


My entry for the "Creepy Crawlies" Spoonflower Fabric of the Week Contest was "Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Iron":

Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Iron, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Iron placed 31st out of 224 entries. Both it and the Leather (brown) colorways are available for sale.

My next entry was also a new kit. For the "2013 Tea Towel Calendar" contest, I entered "Geometric Citrus 2013 Calendar":

Geometric Citrus 2013 Calendar, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click to see its fabric page.

This was my first calendar design. I wanted something bright, fun, and modern. I also wanted to keep it geometric and not cutesy. Geometric Citrus 2013 Calendar placed 177th out of 186 entries. Eh.

I created several different arrow themed designs for the "Arrows" Fabric of the Week Contest before settling on my entry. "Bias Arrows" was my entry for that contest:

Bias Arrows, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

This design got me started on a bit of a diagonal design kick. These arrows are rotated on the true bias, and the arrow head colors form a zigzag pattern. I think this design would be great to use both on the straight grain and bias. "Bias Arrows" placed 149th out of 221 entries.

The other arrow designs I created are "Geo Arrows" and "Arrow Grid", both shown below. I may do some variations on these designs, and upload them later.

Geo Arrows, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

Arrow Grid, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

For the "Flights of Fancy" Fabric of the Week Contest, I went with a whimsical (ahem, whimsicle) entry that was a bit odd. The contest called for fabrics with a bird or flight theme. I chose to go with a flight theme for a few designs. I couldn't get my first idea for the contest to look right, so I went with my second idea. My entry was "Peculiar Fancy Flights":

Peculiar Fancy Flights, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

Various accessories have taken flight to the next party in unconventional methods. A top hat air balloon, mask with pretty wings, blimp carrying a monocle, and wings attached to a handbag float and fly against a sky background. This contest required a limited palette of the colors shown. "Peculiar Fancy Flights" placed 216th out of 323 entries.

I also created a brown colorway of this design, shown below:

Peculiar Steamy Fancy Flights, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

I really like how this colorway looks. It fits perfectly with the accessories and modes of transport.

I have another contest entry ready to go, but will wait to post it until the contest. I am working on several coordinating prints for it too. I will work on a sewing post for this weekend. Maybe I'll be able to catch up before decorating for the holidays. And yes, there will be posts for the decorations too. Hmm, I need to get out my Cookie Advent Calendar.

Pretty Creepy Crawlies?

Halloween is the time for costumes, candy, decorations, spooky movies, and things that go bump in the night. Oh, and those sometimes terrifying things that crawl and slither. Creepy crawlies find their way into spooky decor, food, costumes, attractions, films, and even fabric. The current Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower is for Creepy Crawlies themed fabrics, just in time for Halloween. I went a slightly pretty route, and created a pattern inspired by scrollwork designs found in wrought iron. My entry for the Creepy Crawlies contest is Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Iron:

Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Iron, shown at fat quarter 21"x18" view. Click image to see pattern in yardage.

I hand drew stylized versions of spiders, scorpions, snakes, beetles, worms, and centipedes in a scrollwork style. Hearts, squiggly lines, and spirals fill in the print. I outlined the design with a black marker, then scanned it into my computer where the repeat was slightly corrected. This black and grey version was done with the contest in mind, and for a slightly creepy feel. I think it would be wonderful as a flocked fabric, or even just a flocked design on paper. I also think it would make a fun print for a frilly dress costume.

Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies is also available in a brown and tan colorway, shown below:

Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Leather, shown at test swatch 8"x8" view. Click image to see pattern in yardage.

The brown colorway was created as a not so creepy alternative to the black colorway. It also has an aged feel, which would also make this colorway great for costumes. I actually had steampunk fashions in mind for this colorway too, as I had recently looked at mechanical versions of animals (some of which are included in this print).

You can vote for your favorite creepy crawlies fabrics here until Wednesday evening. In addition to designs perfect for Halloween, there are also plenty of cute and pretty non-holiday designs in the contest. There are also a fair number that have candy and creepies in the design. (The most popular candy included is of course, candy corn). You may have to put aside some fears for voting, but some of the designs may win you over. Or, may just scare you even more.

I still need to photograph my cupcake zombie sewn up and its sweets. Photoshoot! (And then I'll have some sweets!) Remember to check out the creepy crawly fabrics at Spoonflower, and check back for the cupcake zombie project post.

*Past Contest Result*
-Zombie Plush Toy: Cupcake Zombie! 17/88