SpoonChallenge 2015 logo. The image has white flowers outlined in dark brown and the text says "Creating A Fabric Collection" in dark yellow in the middle and the words "Bonnie Christine: Going Home to Roost" in smaller dark brown text to the right.

Once you’ve created your focal print, it’s time to get started on filling out your collection with coordinates. Bonnie Christine walks you through the process with today’s SpoonChallenge post. 

An image with a design of rows of green flowers with pink and red stems on a cream background.

Though designing single prints is a fun way to express solo ideas, designing entire collections will round out your pattern skills and bring cohesion to your work. It’s also a really fun way to bring your ideas to life and see them come together in a full expression of prints. Generally, a well rounded pattern collection will include 8-12 prints. In addition to designing a focal print, you’ll also want to include several coordinate prints.

Coordinate prints serve several purposes.

They support the focal print, bring balance to the collection and help reference the overall theme.

Ideally, you’ll have a nice balance between focal prints, medium prints and small coordinates (maybe 3-4 of each). Below are a few of my own prints that I consider to be coordinate prints.

Six different prints from a collection by Bonnie. Clockwise rom the top left the designs are: a mint green background with small white flowers spilling all over, a light yellow background with dark yellow and pink stems growing upward throughout, a dark green background with light green, white and yellow green flowers, a mauve background with rows of white petals connected by stems, a light pink background with mauve drips of paint and a mint green background with dark green leaves.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you begin to designing your coordinates.

Scale:

The supporting coordinates in a collection should range in scale from medium to small. This will give the overall collection an appealing look to the eye and draw the viewer in to study the prints in detail. If your collection will be printed on fabric, these small to medium scaled prints will also give the sewer several options to choose from for the details of their project. Think quilt bindings, the lining of a bag, a collar to a dress and more!

Complexity:

These prints should also vary in complexity. Having too many complex designs will make the entire collection feel hectic and busy. Including a few simpler coordinates will give the eye a place to rest and the end user more options for using the collection as a whole.

Contrast:

Coordinate prints will also present various contrast values. As you design a collection, it’s a great idea to include an equal amount of dark, medium and light patterns in hue. Using color to add contrast to a collection will help the final designs feel balanced and detailed.

Motif Theme:

Finally, you’ll want to make sure that the prints support your overall theme and story, but aren’t too repetitive. For example, if you have several floral patterns, adding a few geometric or abstract prints will break them up and add value to the collection as a whole.

Creating a well balanced collection in scale, complexity and contrast will give the end user several options when it comes to using your collection. For instance, a quilter will use focal prints and medium scaled prints for the bulk of the quilting pieces and backing, and the smaller coordinates for the binding. Sewers will also enjoy using these smaller coordinates for things like piping, linings of a bag, collars and more. Of course, other industries will find them useful as well for things like stationery collections, wallpaper coordinates and more!

An image of Bonnie's Illustrator Keyboard Shortcuts download, which includes a drawing of a computer keyboard at the top of and a list of Bonnie's favorite keyboard shortcuts in a list at the bottom.

One of the best ways to work in Adobe Illustrator is to take full advantage of all the keyboard shortcuts. It will make your workflow run smoothly and your designs come to life even quicker. To help you learn the most essential keyboard shortcuts for surface pattern design.

What comes more natural for you to design – focal prints or smaller coordinate prints?

Let’s chat in the comments section and by using hashtag #spoonchallenge on your favorite social media platform!


About Our Guest Blogger

Bio

Bonnie Christine is a fabric designer for Art Gallery Fabrics, teacher and creator. In addition to teaching Adobe Illustrator and sharing all that she knows at bonniechristine.com, you can find her working in the garden and spending time with her husband and children.