Contrado are a London-based company who offer fabric printing on demand. I talk about my experience designing and printing a fabric with them in my latest vlog, which you can view here:
As mentioned in the vlog, my design was inspired by a comic-print, black and white Prada skirt, which I eyeballed in a shop window. My design features some personal favourite comic characters / artists.
The design was printed on Contrado’s Crepe de France fabric. The fabric is light/medium weight, with lots of drape. The image print quality is very high, with even small details printed clearly. The colour didn’t run when I washed the fabric, but I did get some colour/image transfer when I ironed this dress on a high heat (following one wash). The fabric is slightly see-through; I lined the bodice and will wear a slip underneath.
I used my fabric to make a Megan Nielsen Sudley Dress, with the skirt extended to floor length. I thought Sudley would be a good pattern to show off the fabric, due to the lack of fastenings or darts. As in my previous Sudley, I cinched in the waist of the dress by attaching elastic around the waistband.
I’m looking forward to wearing this out – although slightly wary about how dirty the hem may be by the time I get home!
Disclaimer: I was provided with two metres of fabric in exchange for blogging about it, all opinions expressed are my own.
March 2, 2017 at 10:08 am
Really enjoyed your vlog . Very useful too as I’ve just received my fabric swatches from Contrado (so many to choose from!) and hoping to print some fabric at some point. I’m going to need all the advice I can get!
March 2, 2017 at 12:46 pm
That’s a lovely dress! Thanks for the vlog – so interesting to see your design process. It’s so cool the idea of designing your own fabric.