It's Olympics (Fabric) Time!

I love watching the Olympics, especially the Winter Games. I look forward to the Games every two years, for the opening ceremony, the athletes' inspirational stories, and the idea of the Olympics. This week, Spoonflower chose to make the Olympics the theme of their Fabric of the Week contest.

My first idea was to do a sort of retro looking print using a stripe resembling a heartbeat line. Stars and circles were added to the stripe print, but I just didn't feel it for the contest. You can view that print here.

For my final contest entry, I went with a maze-like design. I used two basic blocks with lines and rectangles, and rotated them to create the print. Originally, I was going to have the background be a single color, but thought the checkerboard design was more dynamic. It also makes the print seem a bit smaller and adds optical illusion. Here is my entry, "Modern Labyrinth".

Modern Labyrinth, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

The design represents the twists, turns, and dead ends one meets before they reach their goal. I used colors similar to those of the Olympic rings and the checkerboard background to give it a sporty feel. But I think it is also appealing to non-athletes. I think it would be great for duffel bags, backpacks, tote bags, and similar items.

Voting for this contest ends Wednesday, and you can vote for your favorite fabrics here. This contest has a smaller number of entries than the past few contests, but there are still a lot of great fabrics that capture the Olympic spirit. Be sure to vote for your favorites, perhaps while watching the Olympics.

*Past Contest Results*
*Paper Collage Cakes: I Want Sprinkles Plaid Large 118/143
*Mid-Century Cocktail Dress: Click Clang Crash! Purple 127/367

Games and Cocktail Dresses

Mid-Century (as in 20th century) fashions and textile prints covered a range of different styles and colors, reflective of the times. Those fashions and prints have become very popular again, for their timeless and still modern styles. This week's Spoonflower Fabric of the Week contest was for prints fit for a Mid-Century cocktail dress. The contest prints will also have a possible use: fabric for a vintage cocktail dress pattern for a production of How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. I am not big on floral patterns, so I decided to go a different route for my entry.

I knew I wanted to do either an abstract or geometric pattern, but wasn't sure what to exactly do. I instantly thought of classic board games, some of which I loved to play (and still play). My entry, Click Clang Crash! Purple, was inspired by Kerplunk!, but works for many games that involve sticks, discs, or marbles.

Click Clang Crash! Purple, swatch 8" x 8" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

This print is also in another colorway. Each colorway has the print on two different backgrounds. The other colorway is a bit softer, but still has some bright colors.

Click Clang Crash! Dark Grey, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

I decided to do a couple more prints inspired by games. One is a larger print made up of circles and forms a sort of woven look pattern. I used the circle shapes from Parcheesi as inspiration for Game Circles.

Game Circles Purple, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

Game Circles Dark Grey, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

Game Dots uses Connect Four as an inspiration. I used more than two colors for the print, to give more interest. There is one "winner" in the repeat, hidden amongst the dots.

Game Dots Salmon, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

Game Dots Silver, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

Voting for the Mid-Century Cocktail Dress Print contest ends tomorrow, Wednesday, evening. You can vote for your favorite entries here until then. Be sure to check out all the fantastic entries in this week's contest.