Many textile craft projects these days are portrayed as being super simple, easy as 1,2,3. I’ve read my fair share of sewing tutorials and gotten rather confused. Maybe because we are all so time poor we like to seek what will be quick. If I get told that the sewing project is quick, I wonder what about the cutting, or the thread change…. very suspicious.
Behind the scenes of skilled textile craft is consideration, arduous design, labours of love and proof of concept.
There is that wonderful saying, that it is about the journey and not the destination so we might as well embrace the ride. Although I do wonder, would we undertake half our ideas if we knew how hard it actually might be.
Textile craft is a journey of frustration and attempts until you slowly get better and faster or acknowledge the skill is best left to others.
As creatives we are inspired by the ideas and dreams of what will be, sometimes it’s nice to keep it simple and focus on the end and not everything you have to do to get there, or we’d be staring at the blank page, pen in hand forever.
What does happen these days is speed, we need everything now and faster and I feel a bit sad as we seem to be loosing a bit of tinkering time and now need to consciously allocate our time to improve and explore new skills.
Honing your craft takes time and dedication.
Knowing what you can’t do, now that is quick.
If you are an artist, creative or designer and have some product ideas here is what we can do for you based on our years of experience as print, fabric, design and sewing professionals.
Our Textile Crafts
Create digital files
We have years of experience transforming artworks into print ready files. We can translate files into repeat designs to seamlessly cover large lengths of fabric or set artworks to the scale of a planned finished product.
Sew your products and merchandise
Creating any product no matter how simple or complex, takes lots of testing. We make quality products from great fabrics in reliable shapes with functional trims as part of our Print and Make Range.
We also create custom concepts when you have a strange request we love solving this problems and using our advanced textile craft knowledge.
Prepare your artwork for Exhibitions
We love printing artwork and when you need it on fabric we can print it, cut it, sew it and prepare it for hanging. The biggest work we have done to date was three metres by seventeen metres it was one huge wall hanging!
We love sharing our knowledge of different fabrics and how they look printed with photographs, illustrations or painting. Depending on the aesthetic you are after we can help you achieve whatever is the right fit.
We’d love to share some of our favourite places to learn how to create seamless textile pattern repeats. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to refine your skills, there’s a wealth of resources out there.
Platforms like Skillshare and Domestika offer fantastic online courses from experienced surface designers, covering everything from hand-drawn repeats to digital workflows in Illustrator, Photoshop, and Procreate.
If you prefer a more structured approach, websites like Make It In Design and Pattern Observer offer comprehensive guides and communities to help you grow. There are also some great books on the topic, including Pattern Design by Elizabeth Wilhide and A Field Guide to Surface Design by Abby Huff. Whether you’re designing for fabric, wallpaper, or digital prints, these resources are a brilliant way to build your confidence and skill in repeat pattern making.