181: The Art of Fabric Design: My Proven 30-Day Workflow

In this episode, I share the complete breakdown of my 30-day workflow for designing a fabric collection—from the spark of inspiration to the final product. This topic is particularly special to me as I recently released a new fabric collection, A Year in Petals, a heartfelt project inspired by the flowers I grew in my own garden.

Whether you're a seasoned designer or dreaming of starting your fabric design journey, this episode is packed with actionable insights, tips, and inspiration to guide your creative process.

• Tips for clearing mental and physical space to foster creativity
• The five-step process for establishing the foundation of a collection, including telling its story, brainstorming 50 descriptive words, and creating thumbnail sketches
• Breaking down patterns into hero, coordinate, and blender categories
• Digitizing and refining artwork to create motifs using tools like Adobe Illustrator
• Final steps: scaling, formatting, and preparing the collection for submission or production

I also highlight how these skills translate beyond fabric design to other creative ventures, such as gift wrap, wallpaper, and more.

📒 Episode Notes, Links, & Resources 📒

https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/181

📝 Read the Transcript 📝

Connect with Bonnie: ▸ ONLINE | http://bonniechristine.com ▸ INSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/bonniechristine ▸ START SIMPLE IN SURFACE DESIGN | FREE MINI CLASS | https://www.bonniechristine.com/startsimple ▸ FREE SURFACE DESIGN GUIDE | https://www.bonniechristine.com/guide