Fabric Feels

If you’re like the best of us sewing professionals and enthusiasts, then you definitely love printed fabric.

Whether printed using bleach, dye, paint, screens, inkjet printer, stamps or stencils, a printed fabric can certainly add a touch of elegance, pop of color, and style to any sewing project.

And the best part is there are practically a limitless amount of designs of printed fabric. You can go for free-motion designs, animal prints, solid color patterns, and more - you just can't go wrong.

But the real question is: what can you use printed fabric for? With so many cool options, we’ve distilled it down to eight easy, yet amazing patterns and projects you can make with printed fabric.

Elegant Baskets

Printed fabric and baskets are a match made in heaven. In fact, this is one of the most exciting projects you can undertake as a newbie to sewing. Of course, sewing a beautiful basket starts with the perfect printed fabric.

Don’t limit yourself when looking for the right printed fabric – there are tons available, even at online stores. Animal prints, food prints, camouflage prints, nature prints, tie-and-dye prints, floral prints, and denim prints are some options, just to name a few.

When creating patterns for your beautiful baskets, let your creativity run wild. There’s no right or wrong. There’s only the right printed fabric for your taste. You can go for bold, majestic or clashing designs - the ball is squarely in your court. Better still, ensure to use an elegant printed fabric to suit your decor or attires.

Here’s a detailed tutorial that you might find useful for making fabric baskets.

Baby Quilt

If you want to take your fabric sewing to the next level, making baby quilts in several different patterns might be your best shot.

Baby quilt designs like the 9-patch or 16 patch patterns will marry well with printed cotton. You can choose a theme for each pattern or pick printed patterns randomly. Either way, make sure that the 3x3 or 4x4 grids of square fabrics are sewn together to create something stunning.

Alternatively, you can create blocks of blended fabrics and then reassemble them into a quilt bottom and top. Sew Fantastic has a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a baby quilt using all kinds of printed fabric.

Half Apron

Sewing a half apron will do justice to a variety of printed fabrics, especially vintage prints, animal prints and even printed spandex. The good thing is that half aprons have small real estate so you won’t have to spend a lot to get fabric.

Buy a couple extra yards, because you will need a bit of it for the tie. Don’t forget to get some lace trim.

You can also make a hobby apron for your sewing projects. This will keep threads and other mess off your sweatpants, jeans and so forth. For your first apron, it’s best to go with a simple print design - something that you can finish sewing in a breeze. As an added bonus, you’ll be able to use it immediately while making your next project!

Once you are done making the actual apron, add some customizable pockets (using printed fabric, of course) to accommodate your small personal sewing accessories. If you need a little help, here’s a handy video tutorial.

Wine/Water Bottle Bag

This is a ready-to-gift sewing project that you can do in no time. If you know someone who will appreciate a thoughtful gift, a wine bottle bag made with printed fabric will do the trick.

Requiring very little effort, this quick project can use up to two different types of fabric. Check out how to make a bottle bag here.

Of course, the type of fabric you select will surely make all the difference. If it’s the middle of summer, go for outdoorsy or animal prints. Pick a holiday print for a festive-looking gift. You can never go wrong with an artsy print at any time of the year. However, for a birthday gift, try any modern print that’s trendy and fashionable.

Hot-N-Cold Pack

Don’t want to turn your printed fabric into a dress, apron, quilt or something wearable? No worries. If you cannot bring yourself to wear print, you can make a hot-n-cold pack for your personal use. These microwaveable packs are easy to make and look superb in printed patterns. Besides, they will add some oomph to your kitchen cabinets when you tuck them on the shelves. The styles, the prints and the patterns will add a pop of color to your kitchen.

This is a very simple project, needing only a small amount of fabric and some rice. Take a look at this quick guide to help you get started.

 

Drawstring Bag Pattern

If you want to show off either small-scale or large-scale prints, a run of the mill drawstring bag will do the trick. These bag patterns are easy to sew and make fantastic gifts for all seasons and occasions.

You can make a bunch for your kids so they can lug around all their school items and paraphernalia. You can also make them in an ideal size for gym kits.

While it’s not a difficult undertaking, this project will also require some ribbon or cording to use as the drawstring. Take a look at an easy tutorial here.

Mini Tote Pattern

A mini tote certainly looks great in bold prints. Use printed cotton or printed spandex to make the best mini tote for carrying small items around, including kid’s toys, your lunch, small books, and so forth.

You can even use this for yourself – carrying books, groceries, and more! There are endless creative ways to use this tote.

Choose your favorite printed fabric to be the focal point, then add some embroidery or hemstitching for added durability. For a full walk-through, take a look here. If it turns out perfect, the tote would make an amazing gift bag for difficult-wrap holiday gifts.

Small Backpack Pattern

A small backpack is a low-budget sewing project.  It might look small, but it won’t when you use bold, bright printed fabric patterns. It is a fantastic way to use bright prints with animal or food characters.

This backpack can be a fun project for yourself, but also makes for a great gift. Fair warning: this is likely the most difficult project on our list. Still interested? See how to make a small backpack here.

 

There you have it: 8 easy, quick projects to make with printed fabric. Remember, we'd recommend buying lots of different printed fabrics - with so many options, it's nice to have the variety in your arsenal. Plus, once you finish one of these projects, you'll be hungry for more!