Spoonflower Review and Custom Shirts

Pattern: Grainline Archer (women's) and BurdaSyle's Men's Shirt 7045
Fabric: Spoonflower Kona Cotton
Cost: $43/shirt

My friend tells me Spoonflower recently landed a major investor to the tune of $25 million. Can you believe all these people are interested in working with fabric? I am always excited when our little community gets some big interest.

While I have used Spoonflower, the online fabric printing service, once before, I have never used them for apparel. The perfect opportunity came up when the two grooms from this summer's weddings asked if I'd gift them and their brides Cal-themed shirts. While they quite liked the ones that Mr. Made and I sported last football season, I thought it might be nice to get them something a little nicer for their weddings. To make my own unauthorized gear, I marched on over to Spoonflower and designed my own. I started with our mascot and played around with colors and proportions until I got everything just about right. So easy!



From the outset, however, I was very concerned about the longevity of the fabric as I had read online that it fades extensively. I tried to research the issue, but it seems that Spoonflower has updated their printing process, so I couldn't be sure how relevant reviews were from a few years ago. While I tentatively went ahead with my plan, I did try to hedge my bets by buying the more extensive Kona cotton, which I read held the dye better.

My 8-yard bundle arrived promptly a few weeks later. I was impressed with the delivery time, and although the color was a bit lighter than expected it otherwise looked good. The detail was sharp and they had followed all of my specifications. Unfortunately, after washing in cold water with vinegar to set the dye, the colors started to fade. Worse yet, the colors faded more where the fabric had twisted in the wash, making it look like an old, faded shirt. This was really disappointing, and I think for this reason alone I won't be using their fabric for more projects. I just can't trust that the fabric will hold up to multiple washings, and that really is half the point of wearing clothes, isn't it?





After investing in all the fabric, however, I forged ahead with my project, proclaiming these "Vintage-Inspired" with faded charm. I loved the print, loved the colors, and loved the idea of gifting them these goofy shirts to wear together as a big, dorky family. And despite the fading, the results were truly unique. While the two couples will be over-the-top matching, it's guaranteed that no one has ever had a shirt quite like this before.

I turned these out assembly-style, cutting all four shirts in one night (well, three and a half, and then I had to order a few more yards), and sewing them two at a time before each wedding. I'm just going to call it my shirt-making boot-camp.

The first couple, who are both Cal grads, got all bear. But for the second couple, one of whom is a Michigan Tech grad, I mixed things up a bit and added some Husky details. The inside yoke and the under collar a done in Michigan Tech fabric ordered from their website. The details are small, but when they pop the collar or hang the shirts up in the closet you can see it. I hope it makes the bride happy!



So far, we have heard back from one newly-married couple, and they look amazing! I can't wait to see these dorks at the football games this year.

Was the Spoonflower experience worth it? I'm not sure. I love the look of these shirts, and it really was the only way to get such a cool, custom fabric. But there was a moment there where I debated scrapping the idea entirely - who would spend all that time making button-up shirts on faded fabric? In the end the couples loved them, but I'm not sure I'll be entrusting my precious projects to Spoonflower in the near future. Perhaps that $25 million will sharpen them up?

16 comments:

  1. It was such a bummer! My friend recently ordered the knit, so I will try to report back how it does in the wash. I would say if you're thinking of doing a project to order a swatch first and go from there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. thank you for this post! I've been looking at spoonflower to get some fun looking fabric for a specific project but now I'm a bit on the fence. I was going to order the Sport Lycra to make tights, so maybe to dying of synthetic lasts longer? i might order a swatch as you suggested and see what happens... thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. omg, your print design is amazeballs!! As a cal-couple (we met in Berkeley) I totally want to order your fabric and make a shirt for hubby and dress for myself! though spoonflower is quite expensive.

    I had made something with spoonflower print before. It was a black background and yes, i found that it felt faded. perhaps they would be better with lighter/white background.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay cal couples! I'm thinking of using the scraps I have for some accents on things, like a button placket or a pocket - cheaper and less of a fade risk! I think the idea of a light background is a good one, too.

      Delete
  4. Unfortunately I've had exactly the same problem with Spoonflower on their cotton, knit and satins... I'm kind of amazed they're still going strong given how flawed the product is. I guess if you're just making home wares that don't need to be washed youd be ok?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yuk, that after-wash fade is no good. I heard they are opening a printing plant in Germany for the Europe market, but it's disappointing to see it so flawed. I do recommend you try Zazzle, I was super happy with the pima cotton I got from them and my dress hasn't faded at all yet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I might try them next time! Thanks for the rec.

      Delete
  6. I had the same problem with two dresses I made from Spoonflower fabric, even with a cold hand wash and super gentle detergent both fabric faded like crazy. Too bad, since I'd be all over that new lycra (can someone say bathing suit??) otherwise.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I had one from from spoonflower that faded massively a while ago - but the most recent knit seems to have held up well if hand washed. I do worry it's going to fade though and don't wear it often even though I love the dress I made!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think the shirts look great, but what a bummer about the fabric! I've heard this same thing from other people about Spoonflower so I've never tried them. Thanks for you honest review!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yay Berkeley! Too bad the printing didn't work out.

    I've found that their quality varies a LOT by type of fabric. The performance knits actually have AWESOME color-fastness, presumably because they're all synthetic. But I've never had good luck on anything cotton with a dark background, period. I hope they figure out how to make it better, because some of the designs are SO COOL. But for now I feel like I need to be really obsessive about getting swatches before really ordering anything.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's good to hear about the synthetics echoed throughout the comments - I'm going to keep that in mind next time I'm thinking of doing some custom fabric. Thanks!

      Delete
  10. These are so cute! What a great gift! I went to USC but I loved going up to Berkeley for the Weekender... always a fun place to visit!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I just ordered a few yards. My fingers are crossed that the colors stick!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm a keen, and experienced - but amateur - dyer and screenprinter. I am SHOCKED by so many similar reports about Spoonflower fabrics. It is extremely irresponsible of them to flagrantly contribute to the contamination of the domestic wastewater systems by selling fabrics processed in such a substandard way.
    Contrary to popular 'old wives tales' neither a vinegar nor a salt-water rinse will help in setting dye of any type on any fabric. Mild acids, and common salt, do have their places in the different dye processes of various fibres, but not in any way as stand-alone aftertreatments.
    Depending on the dye, the fabric and the processing, a commercial product such as 'Retayne' may help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you I will keep 'Retayne' in mind!

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...