Blog posts that make our hearts sing
While these aren’t just from 2016, these are the posts we keep coming back to again and again. No matter how many dresses we make or pillows we stitch together, these are the projects that stay in our minds and in our crafting rotation year-round.
Still one of our all-time favorite projects, these tea towels are the perfect personalized gift. Not only are they easy to stitch up, but since they’re made from a fat quarter, they’re affordable, too. We made a video tutorial this year to help people create their own tea towels, from designing it in Photoshop to hemming it up once it arrives printed and pretty from Spoonflower. If you haven’t checked them out yet, now is the time. Ahem, now would also be a good time to ask you to subscribe to our Youtube channel, if you haven’t already! We have a team working hard to keep bringing you helpful tutorials just like this one on a regular basis.
2. Hungry Monster Laundry Bags
Cute, cuddly, and very useful, the hungry monster laundry bag is one of our favorite projects (and gifts to give). Don’t have anyone in your life who struggles to get their dirty laundry into the bag? No worries, these make great keepers for plastic bags, dog toys, and anything you can think of.
3. Mix and Match Bralettes and Briefs
We’ll take any excuse to wear fun patterns, and this mix and match tutorial is the perfect primer for those unfamiliar with sewing up these simple garments. This tutorial was created to go along with the launch of our Cotton Spandex Jersey (another big deal in 2016!) and it’s still our favorite fabric to use for them. Plus, they only require a fat quarter. Toast 2017 by grabbing a couple fat quarters and overhauling your intimates!
With several months of cold weather left, there’s no better time to make a no sew fleece blanket. Natalie Malan–friend of Spoonflower, freelance illustrator, and mom–shows us how to make a quick, no sew blanket for cuddling up on the couch or swaddling your little ones. If you’re more of a visual learner, there’s a video, too!
5. 41 Must Try Back to School DIYS
Finishing up our top 5 is a huge roundup we did back in August of 41 must see DIYs to make with your back-to-schoolers. From pencil cases to pillows, custom patterned pockets to chalkboard lunch boxes, these projects really resonated with our community, and they are great for sparking creativity and spending time with the kids year round.
Other Big News
Interior Décor Comes to Roost
Spoonflower’s second sister company, Roostery, officially launched. Roostery is focused on building a unique home décor marketplace using over 350,000 indie surface designs or by uploading your own patterns and bring them to life on an array of home décor products. They currently offer tea towels, napkins, pillows, placemats and–our favorite–custom chairs. We could not be more excited about Roostery, so check them out!
Soft and Stretchy Cotton Spandex Jersey Launched
We couldn’t stop making things with Cotton Spandex Jersey and, judging from the response we had following its launch, y’all couldn’t either! This 95% cotton/5% spandex blend (our first ever poly cotton blend at Spoonflower) has the perfect amount of stretch for tons of projects–t-shirts, intimates, loungewear, baby apparel–and we totally love it.
Sprout Patterns partners with Cashmerette Patterns
Spoonflower’s first sister company, Sprout Patterns, has been busy knocking it out of the park all year, but one thing we’re over the moon about is their partnership with Cashmerette Patterns, which offers elegant sewing patterns for modern, curvy women. Cashmerette’s extended sizes (12-28 and bust sizes C-H) show that gorgeous, perfectly-fitting clothes are meant for every woman. From Sprout’s site: “Your dress size doesn’t limit your creativity, so why should it limit your wardrobe?” We couldn’t agree more.
While we’re on the topic of Sprout, two other wonderful things happened in the pattern lab this year. The first: white glove service. For those who love the idea of custom clothing but don’t know how to sew, Sprout’s white glove service offers to professionally stitch up your custom garments for a small additional fee. Make your dreams of corgi dresses watercolor floral leggings and all over print–with no time commitment or know how needed.
Spoonflower Berlin gets even better
No year end roundup would be complete without an update on Spoonflower DE! The Berlin team finished setting up their offices which allowed them to welcome the local community. They hosted an open house, several fabric design workshops, and discussions at local universities to spread the word about Spoonflower. One of the biggest (and definitely trendiest) events of 2016 was Sprout x Berlin, where Spoonflower DE partnered with Sprout Patterns and five local artists to transform their illustrations, photographs and tattoo designs into textiles for the runway.
The best year yet to design fabric on Spoonflower
Lastly, we’ve been working hard at all year at HQ to make 2016 our best year yet to be a designer on Spoonflower. We announced a new commission structure so you get paid more for selling more. With our community of over 16,000 designers and more than 600,000 shoppers, whatever your passion is, there is something for you.
What were your favorite moments or design trends of 2016? Share with us in the comments section!
