Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

[Karalora]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

I'm actually considering using T-shirt transfers to make my own HM wallpaper fabric for the cross-stitch project. I'm just wary because I've had bad experiences with DIY transfers in the past. You have to work the iron just right or the design peels right off.

[fourmountain]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

Having just sewed up a Snow White costume using the Simplicity pattern, I have to say that I love this idea (having a sewing/notions store in Disneyland). I have to say, spending $80-100 to buy all the necessary goods to make this costume for my seven year old has now made me appreciate the cost of the "official" costumes you can buy in the park. I would love some "land" fabrics, though. It would make for neat quilts. Just a thought, too, for the quilters out there...you can print your own fabrics on a small scale. When I was making a baby blanket for a friend, I went to the park and took pics of her favorite locations in the park and then printed them onto white fabric. It came out really neat.

[QuestionableKri]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

I don't think they'd want to sell patterns for CM costumes for adults. They're pretty proprietary about the costume designs. CMs can get in big trouble for sneaking costume pieces home for private use, even if they bring them back, so I don't think the company would want to do anything that might seem like inviting people to make their own accurate copies.

Oh, I know it's a stretch. but still not much different than the official character patterns they sell...and I can still dream.

[Bruce Bergman]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

$40-$50 a yard? What about poor people, how are we supposed to make clothes?

Well, then you have to get busy, and tell all your friends to get busy, too. I'd have to do it by proxy, there are Grandmas and Aunts that I'd take the fabric and pattern to and plead to make me a shirt or jacket - Or my sister the semi-pro RenFair Costuming seamstress - if I can come up with some really good blackmail material... :evil:

It's a funny thing about manufacturing, the designing and platemaking and other setup costs are fairly fixed, setup and cleanup of the printing press or setup and tear-down of the weaving looms takes the same time whether the production run was an hour or a month. Or custom dying a standard velour to a specific non-stock solid shade, etc.

So if the production run is special fabric for making costumes for a park or a production, it's going to cost you a bloody fortune - more like $500 or $1,000 a yard or even more. But if you need period authentic fabric, you pay it.

The advantage is when they make a million yards of that color/pattern and can sell them rapidly (so storage and stocking costs are not an issue) they can spread those fixed setup costs out over the whole production run - it suddenly drops to $5 or $10 a yard.

--<< Bruce >>--

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

$40-$50 a yard? What about poor people, how are we supposed to make clothes?

[BlueSkyDriveBy]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

I think it would be logistically difficult for them to sell by-the-yard fabric in the park. To start with, a cutting counter takes up a lot of space. And in a theme park where people are getting dirty and carrying snacks around, there would be a constant tug-of-war between the risk of ruining an entire bolt of fabric because someone spilled their Coke on it, and the inconvenience and expense of storing it where only Cast Members can reach it and thus requiring extra staff to be hired.

Actually, there used to be bolts of wool fabric in the Pendleton exhibit in Frontierland, sitting on shelves tucked in a corner of the store near the front entrance. When you found a fabric you liked, you would ask a CM to measure and cut the fabric for you on a nearby table. Then he/she would take it to the register to ring up.

I've purchased several yards throughout the seventies for vests and skirts, and still have a couple of the exhibit's garment tags they handed out with each fabric purchase. (It was the same tag sewn into the off-the-rack Pendleton garments for sale in the exhibit's shop, which I placed in my avatar.)

Offering fabric off the bolt is obviously doable, given DL's history with the Pendleton exhibit, but not necessarily practical. I would imagine that the costs for designing and screening a special print, similar to the SHAG bark cloth for his limited edition aloha shirts, would put the fabric at a minimum of $40/yd. I've purchased vintage atomic boomerang bark cloth at higher prices than that, but it's certainly a niche market and not automatically profitable.

I could see collectors willing to drop $50/yd on limited edition fabric designs, especially from SHAG and the dynamic duo of Daily & Kidney, as well as recreations of designs from the parks, such as the OP's suggestion of HM foyer wallpaper. (Doesn't the latest HM SHAG aloha shirt incorporate that wallpaper pattern?) I know I would be very interested in collector fabric of this nature, but I've been big into needlearts of many stripes since before Kindergarten.

I don't know what percentage of Disneyana collectors would also be interested in park-centric fabrics, but I somehow doubt it would be high enough to whet the profit appetite of the sharp pencil dudes in Burbank. I could be wrong, however.

Maybe the OP should contact the folks at D23 about this idea.

[Karalora]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

I don't think they'd want to sell patterns for CM costumes for adults. They're pretty proprietary about the costume designs. CMs can get in big trouble for sneaking costume pieces home for private use, even if they bring them back, so I don't think the company would want to do anything that might seem like inviting people to make their own accurate copies.

[leopardchucks]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

If they had that as a fabric, I'd totally buy some. Don't know what I'd do with it, but I'd buy some.

That's the story of my life.

[QuestionableKri]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

This is a great idea, and as mentioned before disney already sells princess and other themed material, so doing stuff based on the parks isn't much of a stretch. and using a mainstream retailer like joanns, who has stores all over the U.S. iirc, would be fine.

Joanns also regularly does contests, from store to store to nationwide, for dresses, costumes, quilts, etc etc. So to advertise disney could, at least at the start of the product line, do a big contest to see what people can make out of this material. having different catagories based on age, experience, type of product made, etc.
(I personally want to make a dress using some material themed after that haunted mansion wallpaper.)

Also, while we're at it, how about giving us some patterns and material based off of the IJA and HM uniforms, please? Simplicity already does some official licensed costumed of Snow White, Cinderella, and Tinkerbelle and the other fairies. I really wish they would expand upon it. (cause I don't particularly feel like pattern drafting my own belle ballgown.)

[Colorized]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

I love this idea! There are so many different fabrics that they could make, just Disneyland themed. Everytime I go on Haunted Mansion I mention how much I love the wallpaper there. If they had that as a fabric, I'd totally buy some. Don't know what I'd do with it, but I'd buy some.

[Bruce Bergman]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

<Snip>
Now what I need to do is see if my old "PC stitch" program can run on XP and see about turning out Disney cross stitch patterns. (for personal use). Mmmmn...could be fun. It would take a scanned item/photo and turn it into a cross stitch pattern, complete with DMC or JP Coats floss list.... <Snip>

If at first you don't succeed, Windows has "Compatibility Mode" that emulates earlier versions. And you still have access to MS-DOS through the 'Command Prompt'. The bigger problem is if it's on a 3-1/2 or 5-1/4 floppy, XP and Vista have forgotten how to talk to older drives - the Media Identification byte. You have to use a working older system to get the program off floppies and onto a CD or flash drive.

--<< Bruce >>--

[Karalora]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

It's funny--I have cross-stitch software myself (Stitch Color--it's freeware!), but so far I haven't used it for any projects. I find it's easier just to make a sheet of 14 or 18-count graph paper in MS Word and then print the picture I want to stitch over it. Actually, I usually lighten the picture before I print it so that none of the squares are obscured, and print a separate normal copy for color matching and additional reference.

[Young at Heart]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

Or what if Disney partnered with JoAnn's and had a special section in the stores?

Now that...has potential. But would they be willing to make theme park prints available through JoAnn's?

A Main street craft/sewing shop like y'all described would be WONDERFUL! I like the idea of making patterns, fabric and trims for costumes available. However, with the current attitude of Resort merchandising...fat chance. Now if Walt was still alive.....

Now what I need to do is see if my old "PC stitch" program can run on XP and see about turning out Disney cross stitch patterns. (for personal use). Mmmmn...could be fun. It would take a scanned item/photo and turn it into a cross stitch pattern, complete with DMC or JP Coats floss list....

Gotta get the halloween tree done first, though. Dang it, I wish the craft stores would get the full stock of ornaments in...I want to try painting Jack Skellington faces on white ornaments.

[leopardchucks]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

As a quilter/embroidery nut, I think this is an awesome idea. The few licensed printed fabrics I have seen (Cars, Pooh, Princesses) have been kinda cliche and boring for my personal tastes. I would adore some small scale (calico) prints of Disneyland themed fabric. Awesome! I would buy a ton of it!! A fabric shop on Main Street is a good idea for us, but I don't think it would bring enough revenue in the park(s). Freestanding Disney Craft stores would be awesome! Or what if Disney partnered with JoAnn's and had a special section in the stores?

[Karalora]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

Ooh! Ooh! They could also sell patterns for children's Disney costumes (maybe even miniature versions of CM costumes), and stock the "official" fabrics, trims, and notions right on hand.

[wvnative]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

:wave: I am addicted to fabric and no, I don't want the cure.

I think this is a GREAT idea! Quilting is a billion dollar industry after all and most quilters I know make home dec items and many of us started out making clothing.

Gosh, if they put a craft/fabric store on Main St. I'd never be able to fly to Anaheim again. lol I'd have to drive so I could bring back stuff. lol Have I mentioned I LOVE fabric? lol

[Bruce Bergman]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

In typical fashion (pun intended) I think Disney under-estimates the potential for a crafts store like we're discussing here.

And of course you know the corrolary to that: It might catch someones ear at the Executive level, and they assign it to an 'Assistant to the Secretary to the Junior-Vice-President' to do a feasibility study and possibly open a pilot test...

And if that flunky decides it's not worth trying and failing at (and jeopardizing his career) he'll submarine the idea right off, rather than give it an honest chance. It's just like a Push Poll, they can write the survey to come up with the results they wanted to get - or even sway public opinion their way through how they ask the question. Then they can say "it surveyed badly."

You and I might think it's an idea worthy of an honest tryout, but you have to convince Disney that it's a good idea. That bar is set a whole lot higher.

The pilot project could be getting some specialty fabrics printed, take some of the Costuming stuff they aleready have made for internal use and put it on there also, and do an online store. That would gauge interest without a huge investment - and they are the main copyright holder, so that's done and clearances on the rest (joint and outside ones like Roger Rabbit and Winnie The Pooh) should be a snap.

And when that works (as I suspect) then they could have the online store as the bulk of the effort and the Disneyland and WDW storefront venues (as well as Disney Stores) for a 'touch and feel' availability.

The storefronts would have a small supply for the 2-yard sales, and for large orders they just have it drop-shipped from the online store.

--<< Bruce >>--

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

Any notion as to what name will fit - Sew we can be ready.

[HulaMinnie]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

I would love to see this happen!

[SpcMtn77]

Re: Merch Idea: Park-Themed Print Fabrics

I think it's a great idea...I know there may be some logistical issues initially, but the great minds at Disney could surely overcome them to make a fabric store a reality. I'd shop there!!! I love how a store like this could be functional and popular, while maintaining the integrity of an authentic early Main Street.