I was asked to review some fabric from Modern Yardage. They are running on a new and interesting concept. In very basic terms, they are digitally printing fabric, so all their designs are stored digitally. When you order, they print your designs out and and send them to you. The idea is less waste, more environmentally friendly, and you don’t need to worry about running out of a favorite print. You can read more about them here.
They let me choose the fabric prints I wanted to try. I decided to pick some assorted fat quarters in the colors of my McElligot’s pool quilt so that I could add more variety to these blocks that I’m slowly working on.
As you can see in the photo above, the fat quarters come printed all on the same piece of cloth. Because the fabric they use is wider than traditional quilting cotton, they’ve got cute illustrations and ads all along the one edge.
Upon arrival, I found the fabric slightly stiffer than quilting cotton. They use prewashed sheeting as their base cloth. I decided to wash all the fabrics just to see how they would come out. I was pleasantly surprised by the feel after washing. It softened up nicely but still had a crispness.
I did notice some fading on the two darkest prints after one washing.
I made up a few of these blocks with these fun peach and aqua prints. My favorite print by far is that floral with the white background.
One thing I want to mention about their website is the option to buy any of their prints in different scale sizes. So I ordered this floral print in the smallest size. There is also a medium and large size in this print. This is a great option, something that I’d love to see in every fabric collection! Sometimes I love a print, but wish it was larger or smaller. Here you can do just that!
A few more blocks that I made in these colors. That teal colored star print did have some fading. The white stars were not as crisp as I was expecting, so that was a slight disappointment. Overall though, I don’t mind a slightly faded look, since I’m a lover of vintage and soft colors so this would not deter me too much.
This last print was not part of my aqua and peach color scheme, but I just had to order it cuz I thought it was fun! I used this as my test piece and washed it twice. Slight fading on the first wash (more than a regular quilt shop cotton), but after the second wash I noticed no more fading. I was going to show you another photo after the second wash, but it would have been virtually the same.
So my final consensus? If they had a print that I loved, I’d definitely buy it! They are adding new fabric designers and uploading new designs all the time, so I know I’ll be checking back!
Would be interesting to wash half and compare the washed with the unwashed fabric!
What a fantastic idea! I would love to be able to order prints in different scales!!
That's really interesting. I wonder if more companies will try it… I like the ads. I'd want to use them.
I didn't realize you could choose the scale of the prints, that is really cool! Love that small floral.
Thanks for the review – I really like the look of some of their designs.
Great review. Thanks for all the information.
What a fab idea with the digital concept. I really like that. How are their prices?
What an interesting idea. I wonder if we'll see more designers doing that, spoon flower-style.
What an interesting idea. I like the thought of less wastage and a print never running out.
Love the idea of chosing the fabric designs and not worrying about if I can reorder it, thanks for sharing
Interesting! thanks for taking the time for this review!
I love this concept! Thanks for sharing your review 🙂
Just want to say that that print in the last photo is by Allison Bielke – she's a friend from my MQG and is a very talented designer! Thanks for the review, I have some Modern Yardage fabric but haven't washed it yet, so I'm happy to hear the fading wasn't too bad.
Sounds great idea! Thank you for telling us about this shop!
These are great prints…I checked out the website…very cool! I may order!
Interesting review. Thanks so much. I have seen Modern Yardage popping up a lot lately and wasn't familiar with it.
Thanks for this info! About the idea, I really think that it's a great principle. I'm going to check that site. Thanks! 🙂
I see they charge $10.99 a yard, which compares very favourably to Spoonflower's $18 yard, although Spoonflower print on kona cotton not poplin. It would be interesting to compare the two!