Printing Art On Fabric | Contrando UK
Professionally printing art on fabrics is more than just a design theory. It can be a unique way to display and enhance your brand as an artist.
The possibilities are endless. You could turn a design into a striking fashion garment, print directly onto canvas and frame your artwork yourself, or even create home décor pieces using a combination of textiles.
Contrado was born from merging artwork with textiles to embrace original designs by independent artists and designers. It allows them to share their artwork in various new and exciting ways.
Read on as we talk you through taking a paper design to a finished piece of printed fabric, and learn how we can turn your beautiful images into breathtaking textiles.
It Begins With A Doodle
Trying to conjure up an idea of a finished concept can seem quite daunting, although we recommend taking it step-by-step.
The best way to create a design for your printed fabric is by letting your imagination run wild; experiment with various mediums and materials to create your design.
If you’re an illustrator or a painter, consider swapping out your classic materials for something new to open up different possibilities.
Try layering up textures: maybe collage art with paint, watercolors with marker pens, or spray paint with colored pencils.
You can explore abstract possibilities, particularly if you love the color. Alternatively, you could concentrate on recreating one motif, which can appear again on the fabric.
Flowers, animals, food, and geometric shapes are great places to start.
Some of our platform’s most popular artists who sell designs explore these print subjects. For inspiration, why not check out artists such as Charlotte Jade, Ashley Percival, The Taste Buds and Keren Toledano?
Once you’ve finished a physical design that you’re happy with, photograph or scan it into your computer. Then you can play around with the final look in an editing program.
For instance, you should tidy the edges of your drawings, change colors, re-size your image, or go even more abstract by trying creative filters.
When you complete your design on the computer, you can easily turn it into the beautiful fabric using our online design studio.
Ensure your designs use professional photographers and the image has at least 300 dpi resolution. This ensures that the quality remains high and is suitable for printing on a larger scale.
Start Designing
To get your design prepped and ready to print, upload it onto the Contrado
design studio once you’ve selected your fabric.
Then choose your custom fabric dimensions and position your image on the template.
You can put the pattern into repeat if your print comprises a single motif.
Select the effects repeat button so the effect appears seamlessly across the fabric.
Additionally, try mirroring the pattern to create an entirely new look to be creative.
This looks particularly effective with abstract prints.
You could change the color of your print to sepia or monochrome. You could try to rotate and rearrange the design within the template to achieve the perfect final print for your fabric.
Choosing A Fabric
Choosing a suitable fabric entirely depends on the purpose of your finished printed material.
If you want to create a garment with your printed fabric, consider the texture and how you want it to feel against the skin.
Do you want it to be structured, shiny, soft, and matt?
A popular choice of fabric for wearable fashion is a jersey. It is soft to the touch and flattering as a t-shirt, skirt, or dress.
offers various jersey options, such as the Vintage Loopback Sweat Jersey, a thicker jersey for sweatshirts with a creamy vintage color tint.
Or you could opt for Quilted Jersey Stretch, which has a texture that gives your design depth.
For a more luxurious fabric, please choose one of our silk options to create decadent scarves or wraps.
Also, we even offer a Silk Impression silk alternative, weighing 180 gsm.
Many fabrics can withstand the elements, so they are perfect for outdoor use.
You could print your design on Oilcloth Matte for an outdoor Summer tablecloth (perfect for Summer parties!). You could choose our Breathable, Waterproof material for a weatherproof winter jacket.
The possibilities truly are endless.
Alternatively, Contrado can print your new design directly onto a garment or homeware we handmake at our London site.
We print and sew every item to order in-house, available for next-day delivery.
Choose from over 200 products, including clothing, furniture, home accessories, gadget cases, decorations, swimwear, shoes, and more.
If you want to re-sell these products, you can order brand labels or swing tags to add to your new designs.
The Printing Process
To give your designs the platform they deserve to shine, we reproduce your images to the highest possible quality using a professional printing method.
With our dye sublimation process, the printing inks penetrate directly into the fabrics of your material with heat and pressure. This ensures a long-lasting print that won’t scratch off or fade over time.
Additionally, every print is handmade using environmentally friendly inks and materials wherever possible to reduce our carbon footprint.
Best of all, everything is produced in-house. Our skilled makers in London, England, will print and sew the piece if you put your design on a finished garment.
Contrado Collections
Our trend-focused collections feature designs from some of our talented designers, who print their designs on fabrics and ready-to-wear garments and accessories.
Also, one of our most popular collections is the Craft-Inspired Prints, which features collage-esque designs with expressive painterly elements and superior qualities.
Another favorite is the Statements collection, with dramatic designs and bold, vibrant graphics.
Elements of typography are a unique feature in some of these prints, which results in beautiful statement pieces.
Also, our current collections will inspire you to start your journey from paper to printed fabric.
Start designing your new fabric today for the chance to appear in Contrado’s curated print collections.
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