Episode 30 How Long Does It Take To Design A Fabric Collection?

Posted on by Carina Gardner

On today’s episode of Make + Design, Carina answers a question that she gets a lot: “How long does it take to design a fabric collection?” Carina talks through the difference between fabric lines that take a long time and lines that come more quickly.

Her current fabric collection project, which is set to release in late 2022 or early 2023, is one that has taken a long time because she has specific things she wants the collection to do.  Carina’s process begins with setting aside blocks of time so that she can figure out the color scheme and what the theme for the collection will be. Carina typically starts with the master or the secondary design for the collection. Starting with the secondary gives her two things: first, she doesn’t have to make the secondary as colorful, which gives her more options down the road, and, second, the secondary design doesn’t have to be as detailed as the master. The master is always very detailed and very specific, so it can limit choices later in the design process. 

On her current line, Carina gave herself an overnight hotel stay so that she could filter out every other distraction. It took her about 14 hours of work to get the secondary and the master done. Then she set it aside for a week. After getting back to it, she *hated* the master. It was off in terms of look, feel, and overall vibe. For the next week, she worked on the fabric line. On Monday she made a very detailed, two-layer demasque. Then she spent a couple of days mapping out the rest of it and changing the colors. She actually did the master last at the end of the day. For Carina, this entire fabric line took about ten days. On her first fabric collection, this process took months.

Carina finds that it’s important not to get too attached to a certain design. Sometimes the client sees it and wants something different. Sometimes what you’ve designed doesn’t quite fit the current project and you have to modify it. Every design experience, even the rejected ones, are a learning experience. 

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Download Carina’s free guide: The 7 Tips Nobody Will Tell You About Becoming a Surface Pattern Designer here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY 
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About Carina Gardner:
Carina Gardner is a fabric designer, paper designer, and design educator who is passionate about helping other designers fulfill their creative dreams by teaching them her strategies for making money as a designer. She has a Ph.D. in Design and taught design at the University of Minnesota before starting Carina Gardner, Inc.
 
Carina Gardner, Inc design brand has been featured in dish ware, holiday decor, sewing patterns, and more. Her exclusive Design Suite Program helps creatives make money designing as they learn to design. Her programs include Illustrator and Photoshop training, surface pattern design, paper design, Silhouette & Cricut file design, and running a design business. She started the Make and Design Podcast so that she could share inspiration, stories, and experiences about design and life with crafters and designers.
 
Find out more at https://www.carinagardner.com
Check out her most popular program, Design Bootcamp, here: http://www.carinagardnercourses.com/designbootcamp