For the launch of our new organic cotton fabric Poppy we asked Lilli of Frocks and Frou Frou to test it for us. Lilli is a creator and a maker and we were so excited to collaborate with her. We sent her the Hearts Garden design print by Susanna April on Poppy sateen fabric to create a dress that her readers would love, and to share with you also! As Lilli said: The Poppy is light enough to billow when it catches the wind, but with a weight of 140gsm, it’s perfect for use in items that need just a little structure! Interested to know more about Lilli’s creation? Keep reading Lilli’s blog post!
Dress pattern: Cashmerette Honeybourne, made from cotton sateen fabric Poppy printed by Digital Fabrics (print design by Susanna April)
I am not, let’s just say, an accomplished sewist. I can sew a straight(ish) seam, and I’ve more or less learned how to read the instructions of a sewing pattern. I know the difference between a French seam and a felled one. But apart from moving a hem up or down I don’t really know how to do alterations. About this time last year I bought myself a copy of Jenny Rushmore’s book Ahead of the Curve, thinking that it was probably time to teach myself how to do a full bust adjustment at the very least.
Reader, the book sat on my shelf. Then it sat on my shelf a little more. And then the team at Digital Fabrics got in contact to see if I’d like to road-test their brand-new cotton sateen, and I thought ‘Ooooh, I’ll need to make something really special with that!” and decided maybe it was time to try my very first Cashmerette pattern.
Based in Sydney, Digital Fabrics is a digital textile print house that prides itself on its quality, quick turnaround, and ease of design services. All their inks are non-toxic and water based, and they have a huge range of fabrics on offer including cotton, rayon, linen, ponti, lycra, canvas and more. They also offer on-demand cut-and-make product services for people who might not sew, but would like to take advantage of the ability to print their own artwork onto cushions, teatowels, curtains, totebags, etc.
On the website they have straightforward tutorials on how to create your own seamless fabric repeats, and if you’re feeling Very Serious about this textile design thing, you can actually take a one-on-one online class that will guide you through the process. Or you can do what I did, and simply choose an existing print from Digital Fabrics’ gallery of artists.
The print that I chose leapt out to me from the screen with its gorgeous painterly hues of blues and greens and hints of pinks. It reminded me immediately of Claude Monet’s Water Lillies series. Perhaps aptly, it’s called My Heart’s Garden, and it’s by Brisbane based artist, Susanna April.
Digital Fabrics sent me My Hearts Garden printed on their beautiful new Poppy sateen, a 100% cotton fabric with a slight sheen, and a soft hand-feel. It’s light enough to billow when it catches the wind, but with a weight of 140gsm, it’s perfect for use in items that need just a little structure. Which is to say: it was perfect for Cashmerette’s Honeybourne.
The Honeybourne is available exclusively with Ahead of the Curve, and it’s a woven dress pattern with a darted front, sleeves, and a full skirt. It’s the pattern where Jenny teaches you a brand range of alteration techniques, including full and small bust adjustments, a narrow shoulder adjustment, a full bicep adjustment, a swayback adjustment, and broad back adjustment. It comes in sizes 12-32 and in three cup ranges: C/D, E/F, G/H. I made the 18 E/F, and full disclosure – for all my hyping myself up to learn how to do adjustments, it fit perfectly (as far as I can tell) straight out of the packet.
With the full gathered skirt, fitted bodice, and half-length sleeves, it’s got a real 1950’s party-dress vibe to it. There’s an enormous amount of yardage in that skirt – it’s actually six panelled, though the abstract print disguises that well – and it’s actually the perfect length for me to wear over my tulle skirt when I really want to fancy it up.
I love the pattern, and I LOVE the fabric; which at just $44 per metre (limited time only) is virtually the same price you’ll pay for fabric from one of the big European design houses. I’m keen to try my hand at designing my own print next time (or enlisting some three-year-old help!)
Have you felt inspired reading Lilli’s blog post? Are you ready to dive into your own creative project? If so, don’t forget to visit out
fabric shop online to view an enviable range print-to-order designer prints!
This year our focus is to test as many new fabrics as we can find and get to know fabric mills worldwide. Through our exploration, we came across our new fabric base which has won our hearts.
Say Hello to our latest addition to the fabric family, Poppy! This fabric has a soft handle, a lovely texture when washed (you probably won’t even want to iron it!), brilliant colour reproduction and most important of all, colour fastness. We simply couldn’t resist introducing this glorious fabric to our range.
Keep on reading to find out more about our brand-new natural fabric print base and get inspired for your next project!
Fabric design: Sunday Drive to the Coast – Sue Michael
Printed Poppy fabric. You can print your own artwork online or select a unique design from Australian artists and designers in our Fabric Shop!
Fabric design: Checkered Lavender – Britney Munday
Fabric design: Sunflower Fields – Andrea Maurer
Poppy is a luscious 100% Organic Cotton fabric woven in fine sateen weave with a slight sheen. It has beautiful colour reproduction when printed due to its bright white base and washes well keeping the print lovely and bright. Even though this fabric washes well, the pigment inks are one of the most fragile inks on the market and require special care. For the best results, we recommend washing the fabric gently by hand with cold water or a cold, gentle machine wash with phosphate free detergent.
Unprinted Poppy fabric
Left side: colour chart before wash. Right side: colours and shrinkage after wash.
It’s a wonderfully versatile, easy to sew fabric with a maximum printable width of 145cm. It has a weight of 140 GSM making it a perfect lightweight print base for fashion garments and accessories such as skirts, dresses, pants, shirts, bandanas and hair scarves. It would also be suitable for some homewares such as table linen, pillowcases or even a sweet wedding banner!
Image source: Rachel Antonoff
Image source: Poppy and Honesty via Etsy
Sample swatches of Poppy are available through our Sample Pack Order Form in our ‘Natural Fabrics’, ‘For the Little Ones’ and ‘Super Pack’ sample packs on the website. Contact us to find out if this fabric is a suitable option for your next textile project!!
Fabric design: Sunset Poppy – Jenni Rogers
Fabrics design: Snakes in Leaves Peachy Pink – Dominique Collins
Samples of Poppy fabric can be ordered online
This year our focus is to test as many new fabrics as we can find and get to know fabric mills worldwide. Through our exploration, we came across our new fabric base which has won our hearts.
Say Hello to our latest addition to the fabric family, Poppy! This fabric has a soft handle, a lovely texture when washed (you probably won’t even want to iron it!), brilliant colour reproduction and most important of all, colour fastness. We simply couldn’t resist introducing this glorious fabric to our range.
Keep on reading to find out more about our brand-new natural fabric print base and get inspired for your next project!
Fabric design: Sunday Drive to the Coast – Sue Michael
Printed Poppy fabric. You can print your own artwork online or select a unique design from Australian artists and designers in our Fabric Shop!
Fabric design: Checkered Lavender – Britney Munday
Fabric design: Sunflower Fields – Andrea Maurer
Poppy is a luscious 100% Organic Cotton fabric woven in fine sateen weave with a slight sheen. It has beautiful colour reproduction when printed due to its bright white base and washes well keeping the print lovely and bright. Even though this fabric washes well, the pigment inks are one of the most fragile inks on the market and require special care. For the best results, we recommend washing the fabric gently by hand with cold water or a cold, gentle machine wash with phosphate free detergent.
Unprinted Poppy fabric
Left side: colour chart before wash. Right side: colours and shrinkage after wash.
It’s a wonderfully versatile, easy to sew fabric with a maximum printable width of 145cm. It has a weight of 140 GSM making it a perfect lightweight print base for fashion garments and accessories such as skirts, dresses, pants, shirts, bandanas and hair scarves. It would also be suitable for some homewares such as table linen, pillowcases or even a sweet wedding banner!
Image source: Rachel Antonoff
Image source: Poppy and Honesty via Etsy
Sample swatches of Poppy are available through our Sample Pack Order Form in our ‘Natural Fabrics’, ‘For the Little Ones’ and ‘Super Pack’ sample packs on the website. Contact us to find out if this fabric is a suitable option for your next textile project!!
Fabric design: Sunset Poppy – Jenni Rogers
Fabrics design: Snakes in Leaves Peachy Pink – Dominique Collins
Samples of Poppy fabric can be ordered online
Whenever you choose to order custom fabric through Digital Fabrics instead of a retail store, you reduce fabric waste in the world. The reality is that every year, Australians discard an average of 23kgs of textiles per person. In total, approximately 800,000 tonnes of textiles are sent to Australian landfills each year (and more has been historically sent overseas). This makes Aussies the second highest consumers of textiles behind the United States.
As we are emerging into the new world of social media and the ease of shopping accessibility, micro trends (which typically last 3-5 years) are now playing out in a matter of months.
The rise of fast fashion
Fashion is now the second most polluting industry on the planet – usurped only by oil production. The business of churning out fashion options to hungry consumers who crave the head-spinning speed of trends has a lot to answer for.
When large clothing conglomerates begin a design cycle, they order immense amounts of fabric. If all this fabric is not used, or if the clothing isn’t in demand; it becomes something known as deadstock fabric. Deadstock fabrics remain in the system, generally becoming waste, destined for landfill or incineration; generating greenhouse gases and other toxic emissions.
In 2018, we saw many eyes turn to fashion houses as whistleblowers exposed the burning of perfectly good stock, in order to preserve exclusivity. Fast-fashion giant H&M reportedly destroyed 60 tons of new and unsold merchandise between 2013-2017, a strategy also undertaken by Louis Vuitton, Nike and Burberry.
On top of this issue, according to UN figures, the production of one cotton shirt requires 2700 Litres – the amount a person drinks in 2.5 years! The 2.5 trillion dollar fashion industry is the 2nd highest user of water in the world. These numbers are shocking.
In May 2021 participants from across retail, fashion, charity, production, environment, research and waste management came together for Australia’s first ever National Clothing Textile Waste roundtable, hosted at Parliament House in Canberra.
This roundtable signals the start of a collaborative effort, drawing on a diversity of expertise across Australia to create action to reduce waste from clothing textiles going to landfill. There was a particular focus on increasing the ability to recycle textiles and driving action to improve product stewardship of textile waste. However, this doesn’t address the amount of textiles still being produced at large.
Why Digital Fabrics are doing things better
At Digital Fabrics, we don’t have piles of unsold or unused fabric sitting in the studio destined for landfill once a trend has trickled down to nonexistence. We only ever print-to-order and with low minimum order quantities of as little as 1 metre of fabric or 1 cushion cover this significantly reduces deadstock and wastage.
Sending us your own fabric designs gives you control over what your label, store or DIY project looks like, aligning directly with your style and project requirements. You can also shop directly from our range of designer textile prints which can be custom printed on any of our stocked fabrics.
Order what you need
Everything is printed for you on-site in Marrickville, Sydney and is strictly print ‘on demand’! This means we only use the materials that are completely necessary for each order placed, with minimal waste. We put a lot of effort and time sourcing our fabrics from reliable suppliers who either manufacture their fabrics preferably locally or have long-standing, established relationships with their manufacturers, ensuring the production and supply of high-quality fabrics. Most of our fabrics are from overseas manufacturers and are OEKO certified, which means that the manufacturer meets certain health, safety, environmental, and quality targets.
Whilst we take measures to keep waste to an absolute minimum there is still some waste during any production process. Any left-over unprinted fabric is either re-used by us for samples and strike-off printing, recycled or donated to local makers or craft groups who always have creative ways of repurposing the fabric.
We believe in slow fashion, and believe that we can all do our part to reject fast-fashion practices in favour of more sustainable methods, ethical workplaces, and supporting local makers.
Like the sounds of sustainability? Shop our fabrics now.
To gain some knowledge, research, and write this blog post we’ve used information that we’ve found in the reference links below. We know that you are curious just like us so please feel free to browse these links and learn more about textile waste in the world and its impact.
https://www.planetark.org/newsroom/news/tackling-australias-textile-waste
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgpkKDyPEez/?hl=en
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/product-stewardship/textile-waste-roundtable
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/17/17852294/fashion-brands-burning-merchandise-burberry-nike-h-and-m
https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/RCM_Website/RFSD_2018_Side_event_sustainable_fashion.pdf
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/product-stewardship/textile-waste-roundtable
Whenever you choose to order custom fabric through Digital Fabrics instead of a retail store, you reduce fabric waste in the world. The reality is that every year, Australians discard an average of 23kgs of textiles per person. In total, approximately 800,000 tonnes of textiles are sent to Australian landfills each year (and more has been historically sent overseas). This makes Aussies the second highest consumers of textiles behind the United States.
As we are emerging into the new world of social media and the ease of shopping accessibility, micro trends (which typically last 3-5 years) are now playing out in a matter of months.
The rise of fast fashion
Fashion is now the second most polluting industry on the planet – usurped only by oil production. The business of churning out fashion options to hungry consumers who crave the head-spinning speed of trends has a lot to answer for.
When large clothing conglomerates begin a design cycle, they order immense amounts of fabric. If all this fabric is not used, or if the clothing isn’t in demand; it becomes something known as deadstock fabric. Deadstock fabrics remain in the system, generally becoming waste, destined for landfill or incineration; generating greenhouse gases and other toxic emissions.
In 2018, we saw many eyes turn to fashion houses as whistleblowers exposed the burning of perfectly good stock, in order to preserve exclusivity. Fast-fashion giant H&M reportedly destroyed 60 tons of new and unsold merchandise between 2013-2017, a strategy also undertaken by Louis Vuitton, Nike and Burberry.
On top of this issue, according to UN figures, the production of one cotton shirt requires 2700 Litres – the amount a person drinks in 2.5 years! The 2.5 trillion dollar fashion industry is the 2nd highest user of water in the world. These numbers are shocking.
In May 2021 participants from across retail, fashion, charity, production, environment, research and waste management came together for Australia’s first ever National Clothing Textile Waste roundtable, hosted at Parliament House in Canberra.
This roundtable signals the start of a collaborative effort, drawing on a diversity of expertise across Australia to create action to reduce waste from clothing textiles going to landfill. There was a particular focus on increasing the ability to recycle textiles and driving action to improve product stewardship of textile waste. However, this doesn’t address the amount of textiles still being produced at large.
Why Digital Fabrics are doing things better
At Digital Fabrics, we don’t have piles of unsold or unused fabric sitting in the studio destined for landfill once a trend has trickled down to nonexistence. We only ever print-to-order and with low minimum order quantities of as little as 1 metre of fabric or 1 cushion cover this significantly reduces deadstock and wastage.
Sending us your own fabric designs gives you control over what your label, store or DIY project looks like, aligning directly with your style and project requirements. You can also shop directly from our range of designer textile prints which can be custom printed on any of our stocked fabrics.
Order what you need
Everything is printed for you on-site in Marrickville, Sydney and is strictly print ‘on demand’! This means we only use the materials that are completely necessary for each order placed, with minimal waste. We put a lot of effort and time sourcing our fabrics from reliable suppliers who either manufacture their fabrics preferably locally or have long-standing, established relationships with their manufacturers, ensuring the production and supply of high-quality fabrics. Most of our fabrics are from overseas manufacturers and are OEKO certified, which means that the manufacturer meets certain health, safety, environmental, and quality targets.
Whilst we take measures to keep waste to an absolute minimum there is still some waste during any production process. Any left-over unprinted fabric is either re-used by us for samples and strike-off printing, recycled or donated to local makers or craft groups who always have creative ways of repurposing the fabric.
We believe in slow fashion, and believe that we can all do our part to reject fast-fashion practices in favour of more sustainable methods, ethical workplaces, and supporting local makers.
Like the sounds of sustainability? Shop our fabrics now.
To gain some knowledge, research, and write this blog post we’ve used information that we’ve found in the reference links below. We know that you are curious just like us so please feel free to browse these links and learn more about textile waste in the world and its impact.
https://www.planetark.org/newsroom/news/tackling-australias-textile-waste
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgpkKDyPEez/?hl=en
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/product-stewardship/textile-waste-roundtable
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/17/17852294/fashion-brands-burning-merchandise-burberry-nike-h-and-m
https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/RCM_Website/RFSD_2018_Side_event_sustainable_fashion.pdf
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/product-stewardship/textile-waste-roundtable
Recently, we’ve been testing some fabulous fabric print bases to hopefully add to our print fabric range! One fabric that we are very excited to introduce is called Cooper. This is a fantastic commercial-grade interior fabric suitable for any creative upholstery or drapery projects.
Keep on reading to find out all about this brand-new print base fabric and get inspired for your next project!
Unprinted Cooper Fabric Print Base showing linen-look texture
Our Cooper is a high-quality, heavyweight 100% Polyester fabric that is both durable and versatile, it has a heavy weight of 380 GSM with a printable width 145 cm. This woven fabric has the most stunning linen-look texture and a vivid white base colour with a slight sheen in the slub texture. The vivid white colour of the fabric insures the strongest colour reproduction of digital designs.
Digitally printed Cooper fabric
This fabric has undergone the Martindale Test, which tests the durability and abrasion resistance of the fabric. Test results are given as a score of 1000’s of rubs or cycles, and the higher the number is, the more suitable the fabric is for heavier usage. Cooper fabric went through 50,000 cycles…wow! Meaning it’s a suitable fabric for heavy-duty commercial use, heavy-duty domestic use, and all commercial furniture applications and environments. It is important to note that the rub tests were performed on unprinted fabric.
Digitally printed Cooper fabric samplesAs Cooper is a polyester fabric, it’s easy to care for. Depending on the finished product it can be washed in cool or warm water using a gentle or standard machine cycle. To reduce wrinkles we recommend washing it in a half-loaded washing machine and for drying to air dry or tumble dry on low-temperature settings in a half-loaded machine.
This fabric is easy to work with, non-slippery, and has great movement whilst holding its shape very well. This makes it ideal for upholstery and drapery purposes such as sofas, chairs, throw cushions, table linen, and curtains. It’s also a perfect choice for some small DIY homewares and accessories projects like tote bags, wall hangings, and picnic rugs. We have put together a small collection of reference images to inspire you to create with Cooper fabric.
Sample swatches of the Cooper are available through our Sample Pack Order Form in Interior and Super Pack packs on the website. Contact us to find out if this fabric is a suitable option for a textile project you’re working on!
Interested in our Aerocorp fabric but unsure what it’s used for? We’ve put together an article that gives you some insight into this fabrics specifications, what to expect when printing and the type of projects it works well for. Keep reading to find out why this fabric is such a popular choice from our range of stock fabrics.
Aerocorp is a light-weight, fluid fabric with a fine texture and matte finish. It is 100% polyester, with a maximum printable width of 147cm and a weight of 125GSM. The fabric’s smooth and plain weave gives it the look and feel of a cotton fabric. Due to it’s bright white base Aerocorp provides excellent colour reproduction when printed making it a fantastic choice for designs featuring vibrant and deep colours.
Aerocorp is a microfiber fabric which provides moisture management and breathability which makes it an ultra comfortable fabric to wear. These qualities, teamed with the fabric’s soft surface and good drape makes it ideal for fashion. Shirts, dresses, skirts, bandanas and pants are all popular applications for Aerocorp, as well as some homewares projects including napkins and tablecloths. We’ve included some examples below of the types of products that our Aerocorp would be perfect for!
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
Sample swatches of the Aerocorp are available through our Sample Pack Order Form and can be found in our ‘All Stock Super Pack’ and ‘Fashion Fabrics’ sample packs. Get in touch to find out if this fabric will be suitable for your next project!
We thought it would be a great time to introduce another one of our favourite natural fabrics, Cotton Drill! You’ve definitely heard of it, but what is it used for? Below we’ve listed the fabrics specs, printing characteristics and the types of projects, products and applications we think this fabric is perfect for!
Cotton Drill is a wonderful mid-weight cotton fabric with a crisp white base. The fabric is strong in construction without being heavy or rigid. The fabric is 195GSM, has a maximum printable width of 140cm, and features a beautiful twill weave and texture. Due to its bright white base, the Cotton Drill provides great colour reproduction when printed!
Please keep in mind when considering our Cotton Drill for your next project, that it’s normal for some fading to occur after washing with printed natural fabrics. Fading can be minimized through hand-washing in cool water and using a phosphate-free detergent.
Cotton Drill is extremely versatile and can be used across both apparel and interiors applications. Popular uses for the fabric are skirts, jackets, dresses, tablecloths and runners, napkins, banners, cushions, curtains and tea towels. We’ve included some examples below of the types of projects that this fabric is the ideal choice for!
Tea towel
A-line skirt
Jacket or coat
Cushion covers
Sample swatches of the Cotton Drill are available through our Sample Pack Order Form and can be found in our ‘Natural Fabrics’, ‘Home and Interiors Fabrics’ and ‘Super pack’ sample packs. Get in touch to find out if this fabric will be suitable for your upcoming project!
Interested in our Aerocorp fabric but unsure what it’s used for? We’ve put together an article that gives you some insight into this fabrics specifications, what to expect when printing and the type of projects it works well for. Keep reading to find out why this fabric is such a popular choice from our range of stock fabrics.
Aerocorp is a light-weight, fluid fabric with a fine texture and matte finish. It is 100% polyester, with a maximum printable width of 147cm and a weight of 125GSM. The fabric’s smooth and plain weave gives it the look and feel of a cotton fabric. Due to it’s bright white base Aerocorp provides excellent colour reproduction when printed making it a fantastic choice for designs featuring vibrant and deep colours.
Aerocorp is a microfiber fabric which provides moisture management and breathability which makes it an ultra comfortable fabric to wear. These qualities, teamed with the fabric’s soft surface and good drape makes it ideal for fashion. Shirts, dresses, skirts, bandanas and pants are all popular applications for Aerocorp, as well as some homewares projects including napkins and tablecloths. We’ve included some examples below of the types of products that our Aerocorp would be perfect for!
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
Sample swatches of the Aerocorp are available through our Sample Pack Order Form and can be found in our ‘All Stock Super Pack’ and ‘Fashion Fabrics’ sample packs. Get in touch to find out if this fabric will be suitable for your next project!
We thought it would be a great time to introduce another one of our favourite natural fabrics, Cotton Drill! You’ve definitely heard of it, but what is it used for? Below we’ve listed the fabrics specs, printing characteristics and the types of projects, products and applications we think this fabric is perfect for!
Cotton Drill is a wonderful mid-weight cotton fabric with a crisp white base. The fabric is strong in construction without being heavy or rigid. The fabric is 195GSM, has a maximum printable width of 140cm, and features a beautiful twill weave and texture. Due to its bright white base, the Cotton Drill provides great colour reproduction when printed!
Please keep in mind when considering our Cotton Drill for your next project, that it’s normal for some fading to occur after washing with printed natural fabrics. Fading can be minimized through hand-washing in cool water and using a phosphate-free detergent.
Cotton Drill is extremely versatile and can be used across both apparel and interiors applications. Popular uses for the fabric are skirts, jackets, dresses, tablecloths and runners, napkins, banners, cushions, curtains and tea towels. We’ve included some examples below of the types of projects that this fabric is the ideal choice for!
Tea towel
A-line skirt
Jacket or coat
Cushion covers
Sample swatches of the Cotton Drill are available through our Sample Pack Order Form and can be found in our ‘Natural Fabrics’, ‘Home and Interiors Fabrics’ and ‘Super pack’ sample packs. Get in touch to find out if this fabric will be suitable for your upcoming project!
