REPEATING PATTERNS: PRINT-ON-DEMAND FABRIC

Fabric stores today carry a staggeringly wide range of pattern selections. Classic plaid and paisley come in every color and image size you can imagine. There are spaceship, farm animal, and Disney-themed fabrics, not to mention solid colors of every shade, tint, and hue. But sometimes a pre-designed pattern just won't cut it. For those situations, a number of printing companies and specialty websites have risen to the challenge, providing digital images - usually graphic designs - that can easily be transformed into repeating patterns that cover an entire piece of fabric. Once you have that digital image, you can print your own, custom fabric for bedding and upholstery, curtains and clothing. At KeenART Media, we don't have a large selection of fabrics, but we do offer any image you like printed to satin cloth, removable adhesive fabric, or beautifully textured digital canvas. This list outlines a number of websites that offer patterned designs perfect for creating beautiful fabrics for all your home decor or small business projects.

PATTERNBANK Patternbank offers digital patterned images created by designers from around the world. While they do not offer printed material, customers can purchase a licence for the high resolution images. Two options are avaliable: a basic stock licence (£30 - the site is based in the UK), and an extended licence (£190) that allows you to print 15,000 or more units of the image. The artwork can be reproduced on fabrics (using one of the sites listed above), stationary, wallpaper, or simply as framed artwork. The site also offers a design blog and trend reports.

SHUTTERSTOCK Shutterstock is one of the most popular and well-stocked image licencing sites. Search "graphic pattern repeat" on Shutterstock, and you'll find hundreds of thousands of digital patterned images perfect for creating a custom fabric design. From geometric to fluid and organic, seamless vector designs abound. Shutterstock charges per image licence, with lower rates available if you're purchasing multiple images. A single image licence costs anywhere from 27 cents to 15 dollars. Extended licenses are available for large print runs and commercial use.

123RF Another general stock image website, 123rf also has a good selection of repeating pattern images. Just make sure the design is listed as "seamless", as this means it can be repeated without any overlaps, spaces, or awkward offsets. 123rf is made up of photos and designs uploaded by thousands of artists. Some patterns are sold as collections, while others include only a single image. Licences for the images are sold by "credits". One image can cost between one and ten credits, depending on size and required allowances. Credits cost between $.26 and $1.20 each.

CANSTOCK PHOTO CanStock Photo is yet another stock image website that offers a good selection of patterned digital images. Like 123rf, the images may be sold individually, or in artist-specified collections. The images on this site are sold piece by piece, or may be purchased with a customized credit plan. Depending on size and licencing requirements, one digital image costs between $3 and $50.

OTHER PATTERN SITES There are a vast number of stock photo sites that offer both seamless vector patterns both for free and for a nominal cost. Though it is important to keep in mind most free sites are uncurated and the quality of the vectors are not guaranteed, it is possible to find very high quality free patterns! Sites that offer Vector Pattern designs: Vecteezy - free and paid iStock - paid GraphicStock - paid Dreamstime - paid BigStock - paid, with free trial DepositPhotos - paid