Sakura Bunnies- fabric comparison
Note:
This isn't, specifically, a comparison of all the different types of fabric from Spoonflower -- if you want that, spoonflower's faq has a pretty good rundown of each fabric, a description and its suggested uses right here.
What it is, is a quick side-by-side comparison of the fabric you might want to order this print on, according to its intended use.
Edit 5th Mar 2012 : just noticed a couple of silly mistakes in labelling the photos, I'll get a correct version up soon. I'm really sorry about that ^^;
About this print:
This print is designed to be made into sweet lolita clothes, with the leaping bunnies as the border print, and the sakura and lace border as accents for the bodice, bag or headbow.
(I've since realised that a lot of people prefer the sakura and lace border instead, lol. I'll try to upload all the colours of a double lace border up when I can.)
Contents of this post:
1. Fabric comparison
- my commentary on 5 fabric types
2. Colour and print clarity
- photo of pink, blue and lavender colourways, plus closeup of print detail (full sized)
Comparison notes:
1. Fabric comparison
In considering the use of the fabric as either clothing or quilting material, I ordered a batch of various ligther-weight fabric. Most of them are in blue, since it's the original version, the one I like the most, and the most-favorited version.
Note: The print seems small and unclear because I ordered a resized version to make clothes for my doll. There are human-sized swatches in cotton sateen at the end so you can judge the colour and the clarity of the print properly.
Note 2:This version of yellow printed with a grey cast, it is not for sale until I fix it.
Errata: The "cotton sateen" on the furthest right should be "cotton voile" instead
There is a paper-like stiffness to some of the fabric, but I'm pleased to note most of them seem softer after washing, although still a bit stiff.
Kona cotton: There is a slight yellow cast to this. The drape is merely stiff-ish. The opacity and threadcount are fairly decent.
It's slightly whiter after being washed and ironed, although it still has a slight yellow cast.
Errata: You can probably tell, I accidentally typed "washed" and "unwashed" over the wrong swatches. "Washed" is on the right, it's more wrinkled as I'm terrible at ironing. Unwashed is on the left, it has a definite yellower cast.
Cotton sateen: Cotton sateen doen't seem to like the washing machine, or at least, it looked slightly nicer going in than coming out. However, the print did survive fairly well. It has a soft drape, is fairly opaque and prints fairly well.
Well, the upside to the change in fabric (from the older cotton sateen), it seems the fabric is slightly thinner, so it's easier to sew doll clothes with it.
Combed Cotton: There is a slight yellow cast to this. The drape is stiff-ish, kind of papery. The weavecount seems a bit low, and the fabric has a general cheap feeling. You may need to use a lining fabric since it's slightly sheer. It does hold its colour as well as the other fabric though, so it's a good choice if you don't mind the cheapness.
Cotton Voile: The drape is very soft, the weave seems very open. The fabric is very sheer, you could almost use this as an overlay.
Cotton poplin: The print is the crispest on cotton poplin, but it honestly feels like a piece of paper -- the stiffest of all the swatches. The threadcount is good, the fabric is opaque.
(You can also see how much the details have been compressed in this comparison -- the cotton sateen being human-sized, and the cotton poplin being doll-sized)
Conclusion
For clothes, I think cotton sateen is still the best quality -- an opaque fabric with a soft drape. The print is acceptably crisp on it. However, there are problems with the washing machine -- you'll definitely want to handwash it to preserve its sheen.
As a cheaper alternative, kona cotton looks good, although it's a little stiff.
For the cheapest option, combed cotton is still workable if you line the dress/skirt, but it feels awfully cheap. I don't recommend it unless it's just a costume.
Cotton voile is useful if you're doing a sheer gauzy look, or maybe making a scarf out of this print.
If the little (print) details matter (eg- you're going to frame the print up) then cotton poplin looks the best so far. It has a papery feel though.
2. Colour and print clarity
These were all printed on cotton sateen so you can judge how the print looks like when used to make a human-sized skirt.
However, please do note there are probably some monitor differences so the colours might not look close to real life.
Closeup:
