I found a print that is perfect for making something for my SIL! I think a blanket would be perfect, so that’s a lot of yardage and am considering the minky. Has anyone ordered it? I’m concerned with the quality of the printing on that substrate. The print I want is kind of detailed, and of course, I want a gift that will look nice, so I wonder if the nap effects the print.
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I think you can order swatches or fat quarters. That might be a great way to see if the effect is what you are looking for.
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True, but if I can get some first hand accounts before spending any money at all, I will take it!
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I know @AIMR bought some Spoonflower fleece and wasn’t a fan. I imagine you’d run into a similar issue with the nap on the minky.
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That’s kind of what I was thinking… I used some fleece, but the print was way less detailed.
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I did buy the minky for The Thing. Ask @MistressJennie how it is looking/holding up/compares to her other fabric experiences maybe? I can’t speak to it as compared to others, but she likely could.
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About Spoonflower prints in general: Spoonflower is both very awesome, and not quite as awesome as they want to be. I always feel like their prints are not as vibrant as fabrics in regular stores. They remind me of those mineral-dye tee shirts that were popular in the early 2000’s. Where the dyes were meant to look like tee shirts that had faded over lots of time and washing, but were brand new. Their blacks are never true dark black, more a deep charcoal, and all the colors always seem a bit softened.
After ordering several things over the years, I think they do best with prints with a white background, on their quilting cotton. (Whatever they call it now, they’ve changed the name a few times.) The LC fabric I had printed for the Make & Take at the Midwest Meetup look pretty good, and their colors were the most vibrant I’ve gotten from them.
About minky specifically:
The minky I bought is a detailed vibrant print on a white background, and so far it has held up well. Especially considering Ada brings at least one Lovey everywhere she goes, and is nearly 2 years old. Here’s one of the Lovey’s overall.
The Spoonflower minky is thinner than the plain purple I got from Joann’s, but it doesn’t bother me. I assume that’s so it’s easier to print on, and so the print goes as far into the nap as possible. Even when it was brand new, if you pushed the nap back and looked closely you can see the white background, but it was actually a better quality than I expected. Here are a few detail shots of the nap, with how deep the color printed, and the ‘cracks’ you can see between tufts of nap.
It is still very soft, despite washing. You aren’t supposed to put it in the dryer, so we hang dry the Loveys. I assume we wash these more than an adult would need to wash a whole blanket, so it shouldn’t be much of a problem for them. You can hang it dry, then toss it in the dryer on ‘no heat’ for 10 minutes to resoften and refluff if needed, but so far, we have never needed to do so. It doesn’t dry crispy for us, just nice and soft.
This dragon print actually came in a black background option too, and I would never order it, even though I love the look of it on the monitor. I just think the white background would be too visible through the black print. So I would recommend a print with a white background for any minky. Even a light color like pink, will show the ‘cracks’, through to the white background. But overall, I am happy with the color, softness, and wearability of the minky fabric.
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I would send you a scrap of Spoonflower minky, so you could see it up close, but I just gave what I had to @endymion for a project. She might be able to cut off a raggedy end, and put it in a greeting card to send you as a swatch so you can decided after seeing it.
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THANKS so much for the picture! I am never as pleased with a digitally printed fabric as with a traditionally printed one - you can just see the difference if you’re used to looking at printed fabrics. BUT you get so many cool options! It is an exercise in trade-offs to order from Spoonflower, for sure. The print I want is a lot more detailed than your sweet rainbow dragons - it’s pieces from illuminated manuscripts, so I think the minky is out. I have some double gauze summer-weight blankets that I like, so I am considering that base material. My next gift giving occasion for my SIL is not until autumn, so maybe I will come up with another idea before I need to order and a nice tightly woven base will be just right.
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It is 58 inches wide instead of 60. It is thinner than Shannon cuddle minky. There is a wide unprinted white border around the design. That said, the quality is super. It feels great. And you can’t beat the incredible number of options available to get just what you want or better yet to make exactly what you want.
In general, the artists on spoonflower do not have much understanding of scale. Use the rulers on the sides to try an determine if the print design is going to be too big or too small for you. That said… again… I have found that because the design process is not difficult, when I have contacted artists and asked them if they would be willing to swap a color or change the size (Very basic, very simple processes on the website involving a minute or two of the artist’s time.) I have found that they have been willing to work with me. It is a great way to get exactly what you want!!!
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Thanks for responding. What did you think of the quality of the details in the printed pattern on the minky, especially after a few washings.