Happy Free Swatch Day at Spoonflower!

FabricIt’s a brilliant marketing idea.

Although I have long been stalking Spoonflower (a fabric-on-demand printing service), checking out their Fabric of the Week, even subscribing to their promotional emails, I have never bought their services.

I have ideas, of course–fabric printed with the comic strip that my husband and I write, fabric printed with the rainbow patchwork pattern that I painstakingly piece together from a number of fabrics to make my crayon rolls, fabric printed with my pattern design for my dinosaur stuffies, etc. But these ideas have, so far, all remained in my head.

Until today, at least. Today I’m making at two of my design dreams reality. For free.

With Free Swatch Day (August 20, 2009), users can upload two different pattern designs to Spoonflower and receive two 8″x8″ swatches for free, including free shipping. Spoonflower offers detailed instructions about how to create and upload your design for the best results, whether you want to scan something, use a photo, or create a digital design.

To make the offer green, as well as crafty, consider having your swatch printed on an eco-friendly fabric, such as organic cotton, or a bamboo-cotton blend.

Also consider donating, at checkout, to Heifer International, which is the charity to which Spoonflower is asking (not requiring) you to give the money you’d normally pay for a swatch and its shipping.

I’m a super-thrifty crafter, so one of the things that’s kept me from trying out Spoonflower by now is the fear that I’d end up spending good money on a yard of fabric that I wasn’t happy with, so I’m actually pretty stoked to get to try out the service for free.

There are actually a lot of things you can make with an 8″x8″ fabric swatch. I’m thinking I might design a cool quilt block, or an embellishment for a scrapbook page, or upload a nice photo that I’ll frame when it arrives, or maybe create a quick pattern for a tiny little treasure purse for my daughters…

What could you make with one 8″x8″ swatch of fabric?

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