My journey to Pattern Design and why I believe in the Immersion course
Surface Design Immersion Course
I've been in love with patterns since childhood. Often it was hard to find a nice and flattering dress that fits just right. But the assortment of fabrics in stores was rather good. Many women were sewing clothing for themselves and their kids. So did all the women in our family. We didn’t have after-hours childcare, so I spent many hours in fabric stores with my mom or grandma and helped them to cut sewing patterns, baste seams, thread needles, etc. Later I learned to sew myself. Needless to say, I was amazed when I learned about Surface Pattern Design.
As soon as I learned that it's possible to design patterns for fabric and other products, I started taking classes on this topic. I’ve learned how to design patterns in Photoshop and Procreate. But it can be hard to recolor or scale raster art, and it was always hard to decide how large the motifs should be or which color to use.
Then I came across Bonnie’s classes. Her Immersion course seemed like the most comprehensive course on pattern design, but it was a huge investment for me as I also needed to update my computer to be able to use the most recent version of Illustrator. I was hesitant if I will be able to turn it into my carrier path. Finally, I decided to trust my intuition and enrolled in the course.
I loved working in Illustrator, using shortcuts, playing with colors and composition, and various pattern layouts. I was hooked right away. I also loved Bonnie's approach to creating collections based on your own inspiration and personal story. The community in Immersion and Flourish is incredible. Everyone is so supportive and inspiring.
Since taking Immersion in 2021, I've designed almost 100 patterns. Now it’s my favorite thing to do. Most of them are simple, but I'm trying to make the layout more dynamic and interesting. I continue designing new patterns in collections and I have opened my Spoonflower shop in 2022. Being able to order my own designs on fabric and sew something with it feels like a dream come true. I’m getting momentum with selling my designs on Spoonflower. When someone orders fabric or wallpaper with my designs, it gives me such a huge boost of self-confidence as an artist, designer, and creative business owner.
I highly recommend all of Bonnie's classes, and especially Immersion to anyone who wants to have a career in Surface Pattern Design or design fabric for their family.
Since taking the Immersion course I’ve gained much more clarity as I don’t have to piece-meal my education anymore, I have more confidence in my design process and workflow.
All designs from the Little Treasures fabric collection are now available on products through Spoonflower
The product range includes kitchen textiles (tablecloths, runners, napkins, placemats), bedding, and home décor (curtains, pillow covers, throw blankets, and wall hangings). All products are printed and sewn in the USA.
Blooming Garden Tea Towel from Spoonflower in Berry colorway
I ordered these tea towels in Blooming Garden design for myself, and they are making my days brighter. The towels measure 16x24" and are made from Linen Cotton Canvas. They can also be used to line a bread basket or as gift wrap.
Click this link to order the tea towel pictured above
To find all available products, you need to choose a design and then click on a link Home Decor right beneath the Add to Cart button (circled in the image below). From there you’ll be able to see the whole range of products available in your chosen design.
Finding products on Spoonflower
Little Treasures fabric collection is now available on Spoonflower!
Little Treasures fabric collection in Berry colorway
My first fabric collection called "Little Treasures" has just launched on Spoonflower. It's inspired by my childhood memories and things I’ve learned from my grandparents. Like cross-stitch embroidery, crochet, and sewing.
There are 9 patterns in three colorways in this collection. The colorways are called "Berry", "Evergreen", and "Caramel".
Little Treasures fabric collection in Berry, Caramel, and Evergreen colorways
I've also added various scale options for some of the prints so that they will work nicely for fabric, wallpaper, and home décor products.
Cross-stitch Flowers fabric in Berry and Evergreen colorways shown in two scale options.
It took two rounds of samples to make sure that each pattern looks exactly as I wanted it to be. I hope that some of them can be a perfect fit for your sewing or patchwork projects, and I can't wait to see what you create! Feel free to tag me @reginakareev on social media.
Click the links below to take a look at all the fabrics and wallpaper!
Little Treasures in Berry on Spoonflower
Little Treasures in Evergreen on Spoonflower
Sneak peek at some products
It’s always very exciting to see my designs come to life on real products. Here is a small collection of samples I have printed through Shutterfly. The quality of their products is always great, and customer service is always there to help with any issues. I did have one product lost in shipment, and they were so kind to offer a replacement
Lined journals
Placemats
Melamine plates
Using my retro-inspired floral patterns on products
I have to say that I love designing patterns for products. It’s kind of a win-win combination as products give new life and dimension to the patterns and vice versa. So here are some product mockups that I designed last week with these new retro-inspired patterns from my previous post.
The 5 Day Pattern Challenge with Bonnie Christine
Last week I was participating in the 5 Day Pattern Challenge with Bonnie Christine. Bonnie is an artist and surface pattern designer, passionate about sharing her knowledge with others. She walked us through the process of creating a repeating pattern in Adobe Illustrator from gathering inspiration to a final design that can be applied to the product.
I used to design patterns in Adobe Photoshop but never used Illustrator for this. I created my designs in Illustrator for iPad, so the process was a bit different and I had to figure out some tricks along the way. I think that I wouldn’t have designed these three repeats in one week without the 5 Day Pattern Challenge.
Retro-inspired floral repeat patterns
Firebirds on a silk scarf
I love to wear lightweight scarves. It’s a simple addition to any wardrobe that can enliven casual outfit and add a special playful touch. It occurs that my watercolor Firebirds illustration can make a nice scarf.
Firebirds on a silk scarf
Floral Medallion pattern on products
This Floral Medallion pattern was designed in the Procreate app. I used digital watercolor brushes to draw all the elements, so it looks somewhat transparent in some areas. I was hesitant about using it on any products at all but decided to give it a try with a dark contrasting background anyways. It seems that a silk scarf is the best fit for a pattern like this. At least, I like how it looks on this mockup.
Product design mockup with Floral Medallion pattern
Drawing and Painting for Textile Design
This summer I took a course “Drawing and Painting for Textile Design” at the University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins.
We were exploring various traditional techniques from painting to stenciling, block printing, and stamping.
I love experimenting with various mediums, so it still felt more like a comfort zone for me. But creating my own stamps and stamping with various types of paints was really exciting as the results were unexpected most of the time.
Here is a little presentation I created using my favorite designs from this course.
Textile Design presentation
Dancing vase Gelli print
This time I was aiming to create a more dynamic composition. So this Dancing Vase print was born. I would say that with the Gelli Plate printmaking it’s only half about planning and another half about lucky (or not so lucky) accidents. No matter how much I plan, I typically end up with something a bit or a lot different. It’s just a part of the process and I like it.
Dancing Vase Gelli print
Ikebana Gelli print
This year I was planning to take a course on Ikebana, the ancient Japanese art of flower arrangement, but all in-person classes were canceled in our area. So I read a bit about the fundamental principles of Ikebana and decided to create my very own virtual arrangement in the form of a Gelli Plate print.
I layered paint for the background, then printed florals on top, and added some shading with colored pencils.
Ikebana Gelli Print
Experimenting with Gelli Plate printing
Here is a Rustic Bouquet print that I created using the Gelli Plate, acrylic gouache, and various acrylic mediums. This method doesn’t really allow for precision and fine details, so I finished my design with acrylic markers (yellow dots) and colored pencils (shading).
Rustic Bouquet Gelli print
Tropical Peacock home décor collection
This month I’m taking the Home Décor Plus class at Make Art That Sells. It is taught by an art agent Lilla Rogers and art director Margo Tantau. They share a wealth of knowledge and insights about creating home décor collections.
This course was focused on ceramics and tropical theme. Here is my proposal for a small ceramics collection.
Tropical Peacock tableware collection proposal
Gratitude Journal design
This year I’m taking Assignment Bootcamp course at Make Art That Sells with an art agent Lilla Rogers. Our assignment this month is to create a cover design for journal or notebook. All students are divided into three groups and assigned a type of medium to use, color palette, and types of flowers to draw.
Here is my design with magnolia, that I made in mixed media. Main elements are painted with watercolors and inks, and backgrounds are created with acrylics.
Gratitude Journal design proposal
Whimsical Flowers
Here is a small collection of one placement print and two repeat patterns I created in Adobe Photoshop. Pillows are now available through society6.
Whimsical flowers fabric patterns and pillow