Remember that old game, "I See Something..."?  One kid would suddenly say, "I see something green."  And you'd have to guess what it was.  He might give a few more hints, and eventually, you'd get it.

If we were playing the game and I said, "I see something Fabric," you'd have a world of things to point to.  It seems like we live in a world made of textiles - just look around the room you're in right now.  Because fabrics are so much a part of our lives, we'll take a moment to look at how the designs on them are carefully created, and let you in on a way you can actually create your own fabric designs.

Regardless of what fabrics you wear, we are interested in treating them properly to ensure you go on wearing or using them as long as you wish.  Thanks for giving us that opportunity.

Jim Nixon

What would life be like without fabric?  A lot chillier, for one thing, and definitely more drab.  We're drawn to fabrics that contain colors and prints that please us... and there's method to the designers' efforts.  Read on and find out more!

Is It Time for a Facelift?
No, we're not implying you don't look mah-velous, darling!  But is it time to take those Drapes down - or remove that Bedspread and get them cleaned?  Have $30 in household textiles cleaned (drapes, comforters, quilts or bedspreads) and we'll take $10 right off the top.  (Include the first page of this e-mail with your order.  Offer expires July 12, 2003.  Cannot be combined with other offers.)

The Fabric of Life

From the moment we are born until we die, we are swaddled in fabric.  It's an essential part of our culture.  What we choose to wear helps us create an identity that those around us recognize instantly.  We can even improve how we look, if we choose the right patterns, styles and colors.

In its earliest form, fabric was generally monochomatic - a single color, usually created by using the natural color of the fibers or by dyeing them with home-made dyes.  But over time, people became bored with solid colors, and the art of fabric design was born.  Today, there is such an abundance of fabric with designs and prints, it's sometimes a relief to buy something with solid colors, just to give the eye a rest!

You can design your own!

If you have some imagination, a drawing program on your computer, and an inkjet printer, you can literally create your own swatches of fabric.  How?  By pre-treating and preparing the fabric piece with a special solution and ironing technique, and then washing the finished printed fabric in another solution to "set" the ink.  (Though, if you've ever gotten inkjet ink on clothing, you know it's pretty well set to begin with!)

• Click here to go to a site that explains the procedure and offers the bottled solutions you will need.

Though you won't come out with a sheet of fabric as big as you might buy in a fabric store, you will be able to make custom-designed fabric in panels that can be assembled into wearable garments or other creations.  Don't think it can be done?  The fabric design example shown at the left was created by professional designer Elaine Polvinen, and output using a professional-grade inkjet process.  Beautiful!  (You can click on the image and see more about this panel or learn more about this designer.)

What goes into design?

Until you're faced with the blank screen, you will probably never have really thought through what goes into creating a design on fabric that is both visually pleasing and functional.  Designers go through quite a program of study before they master the techniques that enable them to routinely produce fabric designs that sell well -- whether on clothing, upholstery, drapery material or other home textiles, vehicle upholstery, carpets, and the many other places design is required.  However, once you begin to pay attention to fabric designs that appeal to you, you'll pick up ideas and guildelines just by observing.

Upholstery fabric design -- The rule of thumb in interior design is to use a palette of neutral colors or solid colors, and then bring in a few special pieces that punch up the volume - like a beige couch with hand-done batik print pillows in bright shades, or one piece of furniture in the room with a busy print, contrasted with others of more muted shades.  Too much print is just... too much.  It makes the viewer feel claustrophobic when there is too much going on to take it all in.  The eye needs places to rest between bouts of lively print.

Automobile fabric design - Have you really looked at the fabric in your car?  It's not just rugged and stain-resistant, it's meant to woo the car buyer with a pleasing shade and unobtrusive print.  You won't find wild prints in cars, generally, unless the upholstery has been custom-done.  It's too big a gamble for the car dealer to get stuck with an expensive vehicle that won't sell because the fabrics used were unappealing.

Household fabrics - Changing the table linens, the drapes or a slip cover can make it appear you redecorated a whole room sometimes.  Home fabrics generally follow color trends (for instance, 1970s Gold is back... but of course, we call it "Mustard" now.)  That's why you can take one look into someone's living room and have a thought, "Oh, how out of date!"  The upholstery and drapery and carpet may be in absolutely pristine condition, but the color palette is behind the times.  Designing these types of textiles takes special attention to how they will blend together in an overall "look", not competing with each other for attention.

• Click here to see examples of well-decorated rooms and learn more tips.

Clothing fabric design - Did you realize you can decrease your weight just by wearing the right prints?  You don't even have to exercise for this one.  If you are trying to look smaller, then think smaller: small prints that repeat over and over tend to make you look smaller.   If you want to look narrower, try something with an off-center print that includes long lines.  This will stretch you out and hide "difficult" areas.  Taller people can wear big prints better than short people.  Short people, however, can increase their perceived height by wearing prints that are elongated.  Horizontal stripes are not going to help you here.

• Click here to learn more about using color, design and fabric to slenderize.

Artistic fabric design - The use of printed fabrics has long been part of the handicraft and artistic movements.  Colors and patterns play against each other to create visual impact, such as in a quilt or wall hanging.  Artist Jill Jensen made the panels at left by combining an original design block print on hand-painted 100% cotton fabric.  (Click the image to see more of her work.)  If you've ever priced hand-made quilts, you know how expensive they are.  This attests to the artistic natural of the items, rather than their functionality.

• Click here to see other examples of artistic fabric design.

The Warp and Woof of Our Language

It's difficult to go for even an hour without encountering fabric.  You are wearing it, probably sitting on it, you'll wipe your face with it after you wash, pull it up over yourself when you get into bed, and wake up to see light streaming through it in the morning.  Fabric is everywhere, even in our language.

We say, "I'm hanging by a thread," or we repeat Ben Franklin's admonition that "a stitch in time saves nine."  We worry about the "moral fiber" of our nation, and read about the "string theory" of the universe.  A questionable person has a "checkered" past - as in checked cloth.  Some things are "soft as silk," while bumpy roads were described as "corduroy."  In short, fabrics and the uses we put them to make up a great deal of our everyday life.

It makes a difference to us.

The reason we take such care to examine and test each garment you bring us is that different fabrics respond differently to the processes we use to clean them.  It is a normal practice that we determine the fiber content of a garment, test it for color-fastness, and take into account the garment care label instructions when planning how to best clean it and return it to you in great condition.  Just as the fabric designers go through rigorous training to learn how best to create fabric prints, we are highly trained in keeping them beautiful.  Thanks for giving us that privilege.

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