Spoonflower’s Weekly Design Challenges encourage creativity by inviting our community to submit designs around a theme and vote on favorites to win weekly prizes. See what design challenges are coming up and which designers were crowned grand champion in past challenges here.
March Design Challenge Themes
Hand-Drawn Florals | Entries due by February 23
This week we’re excited to announce a partner challenge with our friends at Peppermint Magazine! Peppermint is an Australian quarterly print publication focused on style, sustainability and substance. Embracing sewing and DIY as an important part of sustainability, Peppermint regularly releases free sewing patterns that are much-loved amongst the sewing community.
To help celebrate the launch of the next free sewing pattern in Peppermint’s Sewing School coming this May, we’re teaming up to bring you a Design Challenge that celebrates a trend that both designers and sewists alike have been loving: hand-drawn florals.
Inspired by their passion for the natural world around them, Peppermint knew just the place to look for a challenge theme – nature! For this challenge, we’re asking you to put the petal to the metal and show us your best hand-drawn floral designs.
We think flowers equal joy, giving us colorful reminders of the beauty of life. Bonus points for the use of native botanicals (show us what’s endemic to your backyard!) and trending earth tones because, at the end of the day, mother (earth) knows best. While we can’t reveal the sewing pattern details just yet, a dramatic -sleeved blouse should be your inspiration for this challenge!
The winning design, hand-selected from the top 50 by Peppermint, will be the featured fabric for May’s pattern launch! Get a peek at how you could be featured with Issue 48’s Bardon Dress!
Entries will be previewed on a 21″ x 18″ fat quarter. Submissions close February 23 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins February 25. Winners will be announced March 2. See official rules.
Rococo | Entries due by March 2
Inspired by the modern popularity of costume dramas and period pieces, for this challenge we encourage you to draw from the decorative arts and fashion of the Rococo style. Prevalent in 18th century Europe, Rococo is characterized by soft colors, elegant asymmetry, and romantic motifs. The word “rococo” derives from the french term “rocaille”, referring to the use of shell and rock to decorate royal garden grottoes and fountains, a nod to overarching themes of naturalism, amusement and frivolous delight we hope to see in your entry this week.
Entries will be previewed on a 21″ x 18″ fat quarter. Submissions close March 2 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins March 4. Winners will be announced March 11. See official rules.
Boardsports | Entries due by March 9
Do you boogie? Boogie board that is! Boogie, skate, snow, surf, paddle, wind, kite….no matter the current weather outside your window, there’s a board for that!
Whether your board skims the waves, cruises the halfpipe, grazes the snow, sand or even the sky, we challenge you to create a repeating pattern featuring the boardsport that speaks the most to you.
In March, two challenges have a twist! Every week, Spoonflower employees watch as you, our creative community, participate in the Weekly Design Challenges. This year, employees will participate alongside the Spoonflower designer community in two Design Challenges—Cryptozoology and Boardsports.
Entries will be previewed on a 21″ x 18″ fat quarter. Submissions close March 9 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins March 11. Winners will be announced March 18. See official rules.
Cryptozoology | Entries due by March 16
Bigfoot and jackalopes and the loch ness monster, oh my! Cryptozoology is the official word for the study of creatures like these that are only rumored to exist.
Many are well-known like the Yeti or the aforementioned Sasquatch, but have you ever heard of the Wolpertinger that allegedly hides in the alpine forest of Bavaria or the Bunyip that may call Australian swamps home? Have fun this week researching and illustrating the many legendary animals from regional folklore.
In March, two challenges have a twist! Every week, Spoonflower employees watch as you, our creative community, participate in the Weekly Design Challenges. This year, employees will participate alongside the Spoonflower designer community in two Design Challenges—Cryptozoology and Boardsports.
Entries will be previewed on a 21″ x 18″ fat quarter. Submissions close March 16 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins March 18. Winners will be announced March 25. See official rules.
Grand Prize
One Grand Prize Winner each week will receive $200 in Spoondollars. The winner will also receive additional exposure in our email newsletters, professional photography of their printed designs and social media mentions.
Second Place
The 2nd place winner will receive $100 in Spoondollars.
Third Place
The 3rd place winner will receive $50 in Spoondollars.
The rest of the top 10
4th through 10th place winners will receive a $20 Spoondollar credit.
All of the top 50
Each of the top 50 entries, determined as set forth above, not receiving one of the foregoing prizes will be automatically proofed for sale in the Spoonflower Marketplace (approximately a $5 value) (the “Runner Up Prize”) if winners are verified sellers.
Hi my name is Kelly and I’m a 100% newbie on this here site. I am interested in all forms of art; have worked with several different mediums throughout the years and feel it’s a definite smart idea to constantly be learning growing and evolving. I’m a little bit confused only about what it is you refer to as a quarter, a fat quarter and that it be of a certain size. Does this mean if we enter a challenge we will need to submit a quarter square? I’m very excited th o be on your website and look forward to learning yet another medium and am excited about the weekly challenges you have. Definitely want to do that!!!! Well again I’m very happy to be here on your site and look forward to learning all I can about your styles of art. Thank you much!!!????✌
Hi Kelly!
Thanks for your interest in Spoonflower and welcome! For our design challenges, we ask that you submit a repeating pattern (more info on that here!). Many of the contests will preview that repeating pattern at a 21″ x 18″ fat quarter crop. A fat quarter is traditionally a quarter of a yard and it is a size of fabric we sell on Spoonflower.com along with a yard and a swatch. I hope that helps, but please let us know if you have any other questions.
Take care,
Amy
Spoonflower
I was thrown off by your reply to her question above. She mentioned an 18 x 27 inch format for “Hand drawn flowers” but the design challenge instructions say it is a 21×18 inch format. Which is correct?
Hi Virginia,
Sorry for the confusion. If a design challenge is set to preview entries as a fat quarter, it will be previewed on a 21″ x 18″ fat quarter. I’m not sure what the 18 X 27 is referring to in the previous comment.
Take care,
Amy
Spoonflower
I believe Matha was stating that her submission is ALREADY 18 x 27″. She understands the fat quarter is 21 x18″. Is her design going to be cropped to fit the 21 x 18″ or is it going to be automatically made into a seamless repeat for the 21 x 18″?
I wonder that myself as I too have created some designs that fit the 21 x 18″ fat quarter without repeating and others that repeat on a 21 x 18″
Question about submitting design for challenge e.g. Hand drawn flowers. If the submission is on 18 x27 format, does the design have to already have seamless repeat applied or is that done by Spoonflower?
Hi Martha, Thanks for your interest in our design challenges! The design should be a seamless repeat. Here are some tutorials using different software that you may find helpful. Best of luck with your entry!
Take care,
Amy
Spoonflower