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FAQs

Last Updated: July 10, 2023

What is The Textile District?

The Textile District is an online design showroom and fabric retailer offering custom fabric printing services to professional designers, quilting shops, custom clothiers, and small batch manufacturers, as well as made to order fabric by the yard for do-it-yourself sewing, interior design and hobby enthusiasts. Customers get to choose any design, colorway, and base fabric option to create unique, one-of-a-kind fabrics to fit their exact project needs - for apparel, home decor, upholstery and furniture restoration, quilting, and more!


Do you have a physical store location?

No. The Textile District is an online-only fabric store, but our office and custom fabric printing services are based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Our team is available to consult on projects (large and small), so please send us a note through our Contact Us page or give us a call at 704-814-0712 during regular business hours.


What makes The Textile District different from traditional fabric stores?

The Textile District is not your typical fabric store! Unlike traditional retailers where fabrics are available in limited quantities until sold out, The Textile District prints all fabrics to order in any design, colorway, and base fabric option you choose!

Here are a few ways we stand out from the crowd:

  • Quality: The Textile District's eco-friendly, OEKO-TEX® certified process and colorfast, fiber reactive dyes ensure excellent print clarity, vibrant colors, and soft finish. We steam, wash, and dry all natural fiber substrates, and roll fabrics flat on a core for orders of 3+ yards or more. You receive selvage-to-selvage fabric by the yard that is project-ready with no creases or folds to work around.
  • Customization: The Textile District offers a wide range of base fabric options, each selected to complement our high quality standards and exceptional printing/finishing technology to ensure customer satisfaction with the end products produced with our fabrics. Customers can choose the design, colorway, and type of fabric to create unique, one-of-a-kind fabrics that are tailored to their specific needs.
  • Sustainability: The Textile District is committed to sustainable practices, and our custom fabric printing service is no exception. We use eco-friendly inks and processes to minimize our impact on the environment, and provide customers a reliable, US-based fabric resource for just-in-time production and efficient order quantities.
  • Expertise: The Textile District's team of experts share a wealth of experience and knowledge in the field of textile printing and design. We are able to offer guidance and support to customers throughout the design and printing process, ensuring their final product meets their expectations.
  • Speed: The Textile District's digital fabric printing service is known for our exceptional quality, and quick turn around. We understand that customers often have tight deadlines, and we work to ensure orders are completed and shipped as quickly as possible.

How much does fabric cost on The Textile District?

The Textile District offers a wide range of ground fabric options so you can create the ideal fabric for your next sewing, quilting, home decorating, upholstery, and crafts project.

Pricing adjusts based on the ground fabric you choose. You can view our base fabric offering at a glance on our handy fabric guide which includes print fabric pricing and specifications, printable width, plus fabric care and usage specifications. If you need a specific substrate, give us a call or send us a note! We also offer ground fabrics and custom finishing options for hospitality and commercial use. View Our Fabric page for complete information about our base fabric options.


How do I purchase fabrics from The Textile District?

Customers can browse our online catalog to choose from a wide assortment of high-quality designs created by independent artists from around the world. Each design is digitally stored and always available to custom print on any ground fabric to suit your exact project needs. We focus on producing high quality fabrics on demand, making our platform a go-to destination for textile enthusiasts.


Can I get fabric printed with my own designs?

Absolutely! The Textile District custom prints fabric by the yard, our designs or yours, on any base fabric you choose! Our fiber reactive dyes and eco-friendly, OEKOTEX® certified process produce vibrant, soft and colorfast fabrics suitable for apparel and fashion accessories, home decor, upholstery and furniture restoration, quilting, and fabric crafts. We offer a wide range of base fabric options, from silk to canvas, so you create the ideal fabric for your project at hand! We also offer ground fabrics and custom finishing options for hospitality and commercial use!

Large projects or small, our team will assist you with all facets of custom fabric printing and design preparation! Send us a note or give us a call to get started.


Want to learn more about our Designer Program?

Are you looking to sell your art as custom printed fabric by the yard? We invite you to join The Textile District, a platform that enables you, the textile designer, to take advantage of the efficiencies of digital fabric printing to launch your designs as quickly as your inspiration flows! Our OEKO-TEX® certified process and on-demand printing eliminates the limitations, long lead times, and significant financial investment that traditional printing processes and retail channels require!

To get started, please check out our Designer Program page to learn more and to send us a note.


How can you promise that the design ordered will always be in stock?

All fabrics from The Textile District are custom printed to order using the latest digital printing technology. The designs are digitally stored so always available to print on demand on any base fabric you choose. While we cannot guarantee that the ground fabric will always be available, we do source from several well known and reliable fabric suppliers that can meet your needs.


Do you print on colored fabrics?

All of our ground fabrics are white, and all colors are printed onto the fabric.

To learn more, we have provided photos of fabric swatches along with specifications and usage recommendations, print information and care instructions on the Our Fabrics page. To help choose the best fabric for your project needs, we recommend buying our complete ground fabric swatch kit which includes a 5" x 5" unprinted sample of each base fabric we carry.


Are your fabrics from mills in the USA?

While we do give preference to American textile mills, not all of our fabrics are from U.S. mills. Our ground fabric selection is based on overall quality and availability.


What kind of dyes do you use?

The Textile District uses fiber reactive dyes for our fabric printing which have properties that allow the dye to bind to a wide variety of textiles with great results. These dyes produce colorfast results that will not fade or run when washed under normal conditions.


Is your process "green"?

Yes. Our process is OEKO-TEX® certified.


What is the process for printing on fabric?

Our printing process varies by ground fabric type. Our natural-fiber fabrics are pre-treated prior to printing, and then printed using reactive dyes for clarity and colorfastness, and then steamed to set the color and bring it to life. The process for polyester fabric is best known as “Dye Sublimation,” which is a process where we first print on a special paper with reactive dyes and then transfer the printed design onto the fabric using a very hot press. All of our printed fabrics arrive flat on a roll (no creases), are soft to the touch, and ready-to-sew.


Is the fabric printing permanent?

Yes, the dyes used for printing the fabric are formulated to not bleed, run or smudge. They will wear with the fabric over time as any cotton, linen or polyester fabric would.


How do I ensure my fabric colors will print the way I see them on my screen?

Each monitor is calibrated differently and the color you see will only be a close facsimile of the printed product you will receive. Color will appear differently on the various fiber types and base fabrics due to the way light reflects off the fabric surface. For this reason, we recommend that you order a sample yard printed on the desired base fabric.

For best results on large projects, we recommend ordering the full yardage required plus any extra buffer you feel you may need to ensure success. While our color formulas and environmental conditions are regulated for consistency, there is always a chance that there may be a slight variation from one order to the next due to variations inherent in the manufacturing of the ground fabrics.


Does the fabric require special handling in the wash?

Most of our fabrics are machine wash and dry, and require minimal special care. Our fabrics are lightfast, colorfast, and will not run, smudge, or fade with normal wear and care. For best results, we suggest using a mild detergent with a gentle cycle. We also recommend that the heavy fabrics such as 7- and 10-ounce cottons should not be washed in a traditional washing machine. These fabrics should be washed by hand and laid flat to dry or professionally dry-cleaned.


Do you print stretchy fabrics?

We certainly do! We offer a Polyester Micro Fiber Spandex 4-way Stretch fabric which offers comfortable wear and freedom of movement for performance wear applications. This versatile blend offers great comfort and flexibility, and its light weight dries quickly making it perfect for beach and water sport activities.


Does the fabric shrink?

During the production process, our fabrics undergo some pretty intense heat. The heat will shrink the fabrics anywhere from 2-5% depending on the type of fabric, and as a result the fabric arrives pre-washed, pressed and ready for sewing. Like with any fabric or garment, we recommend taking care to not use extreme heat when washing or drying as all fabrics will shrink more if put under extreme temperatures.


Do you ship internationally?

TheTextileDistrict.com currently ships within the United States and Canada. If you are unable to check out, please contact our Customer Service team for a shipping quote and information regarding how to place your order. All international customers are responsible for their taxes and duties. For more information, please contact us.


How much does it cost to ship?

Because there are so many variables to consider when calculating the cost of shipping, we recommend you create a price quote for the items you are considering to purchase by adding them to your cart and proceeding to the Order Confirmation page where you can review your order before submitting for payment.

You will not be charged unless you submit your order.

All domestic orders to the continental United States ship via FedEx Ground, and will require a minimum of 5-7 days of transit time, depending on the destination of your shipment. Additional charges apply when shipping to Alaska and Hawaii, which will be reflected at checkout.


Can you print more than 10 yards?

Absolutely! We can print up to 50 continuous yards of any design (or combinations of designs) in increments of one linear yard (or greater) on the same base fabric, in whatever total quantity you require.


Do you offer volume discounts?

Yes, we offer bulk pricing for orders over 26+ yards, 51+ yards, and 76+ yards on the same substrate. These discounts apply automatically on all orders placed on our website.

If you have a large custom requirement, please send us a detailed note through our Contact Us page and we can discuss our bulk volume opportunities in greater detail.


Can I supply my own fabric to be printed on?

We do not accept customer-supplied fabrics for printing, although we will consider special projects if the volume warrants it.

Send us a detailed note through our Contact Us page and we will be happy to review your special requirements.


Do you take returns?

Since all of our fabrics are printed "on demand" just for you, we do not accept returns unless we make a mistake. Thank you for understanding.

We are happy to answer any questions you may have regarding a particular design, colorway, or substrate option.


Not sure which base fabric is most suitable for your next project?