As you are browsing the Spoonflower Marketplace, you will see small square thumbnails to represent the designs you can choose from.  These thumbnails, as well as the ones you’ll see in the cart and in your order history, give a general sense of a design but they do not represent size and scale accurately.  Additionally, when it comes to titles and descriptions, what one artist may consider "large" might be "tiny" to another.  It’s important to determine scale from the large preview windows on each design’s page instead of relying solely on these thumbnails or the design titles and descriptions. In this article, we’ll cover some tips for ensuring that you choose the design on Fabric, Wallpaper, or Home Decor that works best for your project.

Design Scale on Fabric
Design Scale on Wallpaper
Design Scale on Home Decor
Swatches
Customization Requests

Design Scale on Fabric

While the three images above look like large, medium, and small versions of a particular design, they are actually the same design on three differently sized items – a Swatch, Fat Quarter and One-Yard of Petal Signature Cotton®. The design isn’t changing in size, but the amount of fabric it’s shown on is. Things only look different because of the scale of the design on small, medium and larger sizes of fabric.  

Using the image below for the example, you will see the option to “Choose A Size” on the right hand side. If you change the size option, the image preview on the left will change too. However, this does not mean that the design pattern will be printing larger or smaller. Why? One other variable is also changing: the length of the rulers. 

You might not have immediately noticed them, but there are rulers across the top and left edges of our preview windows. These are there to help customers visualize the pattern on their chosen size of fabric. In the image above, the rulers of this Fat Quarter are highlighted in red. You will find these rulers surrounding the edges in the first image on every design page.

The horizontal ruler will always be equal to the width of the fabric you are ordering, while the vertical ruler is equal to the continuous length, or selvedge. When you order longer yardage/meterage, the vertical ruler is the measurement that will increase. The horizontal width is fixed and determined by the type of fabric you are ordering. 

Design Scale on Wallpaper

While there are no rulers surrounding a design on a wallpaper product page, the roll itself serves as a perfect measuring tool. Because our wallpapers print on 2-foot widths, you can use it like a 24" (60.96cm) ruler. The image below shows an "installation" of wallpaper. At 24" wide and with four "logos” across the width, we can imagine that each flower is a bit under 6 inches in width. If math isn't your thing, try toggling through the other four photos. One shows the wallpaper as a singular panel, while the other two are displayed next to furniture and other home accessories for better perspective.
 

Note: Due to the need for a seamless and even repeat across panels of wallpaper, the size and scale of a particular design is not always the same on fabric as it is on wallpaper. Wallpaper is designed to run seamlessly between multiple rolls in order for it to be installed successfully. However, the scale of a design on fabric is not bound by this particular limitation. This may be important for some design projects, so keep this in mind if you are ordering the same design on both fabric and wallpaper.  

Design Scale on Home Decor

A design on our Home Decor items will print at the same scale of the design on its related fabric page. This means you can use those rulers mentioned above if you prefer, but we also offer preview images of every Home Decor item. These images show the pattern in context to the item's true dimensions. For example, check out the image below. Throw Blankets are made to size at 50" x 70" (127cm x 177cm), and while there are no dimensions in the photo, using the person’s feet and hands help give a better sense of the design’s scale. You can always click through any other product images, as shown down the left side of the image below. 

Swatches

As mentioned, there are many previews on our site that you can use to get an idea of how something will print before ordering it. However, we always recommend ordering test swatches before committing to any larger order of fabric. Not only will you see the scale of the design in person, but you will also get to see how the colors print and touch the product to determine if the fabric or wallpaper choice is right for you! 

Customization Requests

Many Spoonflower designers are willing to customize a design for you, such as adjusting the scale or colors to meet your project needs. If you are interested in a customized version of a Marketplace design, we recommend that you contact the designer directly to make this type of request. Spoonflower designers often include links to other websites on their profiles through which you could contact them. When you are on a design page, you can click on the designer's screenname - it will be underlined next to the title of the design. Then, you'll see the designer's shop and profile. If they have any contact information, it will be on the left-hand side beneath their profile picture. Learn more by visiting Customizing Marketplace Designs.

See also: How to Place an Order

See also: How Long Can My Fabric Be Printed?

See also: Fabric Specifications and Details