Organic Cotton Calico Fabric Printing
From $26
100% cotton Pigment Inks
1.61yd Max Width
Pigment inks
4.48oz 
Quilting 
Martindale 
Hemming Available
Quick delivery to all US states
Ships in 1 - 2 days. US delivery $9.95
Delivery options
We also offer
Swatch packs and color charts available for as little as $0.95 with express delivery
Order a swatch packProduct Description
Certification
-
Martindale
-
GOTS organic FABRIC
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Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Ink
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GOTS ECOCERT Certified Ink
Care instructions
Wash at 86°F
Not sure if this is the right fabric or need some more inspiration?
Order a fabric test print $3.95How it works
Upload your design
We automatically apply your design to the product you selected
Make it perfect
Use our smart tools to get it exactly right and select the finishing options
Preview & checkout
Confirm your designs with our 3D previews and checkout with confidence
1-2 Days Production
Sit back and relax. Your product is on its way!
How our pricing works
Standard fabric sizes
Our pricing is based on the quantity and dimensions of the products you order. The more you order, the better price you’ll get. We also offer lower pricing for larger dimensions, students and wholesalers.
Finishing price list
We have a full Cut & Sew service here at Contrado, and are able to hem your fabric prints for a small additional charge per meter.
- Folded hem (black or white thread)
- Overlock hem (black or white thread)
- Cut on the line
You can choose to have your prints hemmed with either black or white thread. The hemming material allowances can be found in our Print guidelines & finishing section of our FAQs.
View our full FAQsWe offer discounts
We offer discounts on all our products, including bulk, quantity and student discounts. Enjoy great deals whether you're a small business, designer, or student.
| Volume discount | Wholesale | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Based on Sq yd | Up to 44% | Up to 25% |
|
Discounts
Quantity Discount
Create more, save more
|
Find out more | Find out more |
Delivery time & costs
Organic Cotton Calico Fabric Printing
From $26
- 100% cotton Pigment Inks
- 1.61yd Max Width
- Pigment inks
- 4.48oz
- Quilting
-
Martindale
- Hemming Available
- Quick delivery to all US states
Ships in 1 - 2 days. US delivery $9.95
Delivery options
We also offer
Swatch packs and color charts available for as little as $0.95 with express delivery
Order a swatch packHelp
More details
Organic Cotton Calico Fabric Printing
Our organic Calico fabric is made from 100% cotton, and custom printed for you. The perfect fabric choice for summer shirts, calico dresses and small embroidery projects. Why not order a printed sample and see the wonderful results for yourself.
Surface textures
Tightly woven, this Calico fabric is firm and taut. The handle is warm, very dry and slightly starched; though it softens quickly with wear.
Print detail
Organic Calico fabric has long been a favorite base for printed patterns, and with our Cotton Calico you can see why! This tightly woven natural cotton produces a soft, slightly muted print with warm undertones. Details are clear, but the visible cloth pattern adds authentic charm. Brighter colors will be more subtle due to the natural cotton fibers.
Usage
This fabric’s lack of stretch and beautiful print quality make it an ideal choice for quilting. Calico's gentle-yet-hard wearing nature also makes it a favorite material for traditional rag dolls or other small bespoke sewing and embroidery projects.
Print guidelines & finishing
Print Guideline
What's the best resolution to print in?
We print at 200dpi, which is a good combination of quality and file weight. Ideally, your image should be scaled to 100% at 200dpi; this means that no resizing of your file occurs, preventing any interpolation. Our design interface will have a quality marker next to the design that you have uploaded, this will change color using a traffic light system and display a message. The message will let you know if the resolution is too low or if you have a good quality image.
How will my image scale?
When you upload your design our system will automatically scale it to fit your chosen fabric dimensions. In the ‘Product Options’ tab, the displayed dimensions under ‘Print Size’ will show the dimensions of the piece of fabric that you are ordering. For image/design dimensions you need to see the ‘Images & Text Tools’ tab. You can see and edit the dimensions of the image under the quality information next to the thumbnail.
Which color model should I choose? RGB or CMYK?
We advise providing images in the RGB color space. Specifically using the sRGB image profile, to achieve best color results. What does this mean? In your editing software, choose RGB as the working space and assign the image profile as sRGB (full name sRGB IEC61966-2.1)
Maximum dimensions
For most of our
fabrics, there is no limit on the length of the fabric that you can order. We have a preview design window set up to 10 yds max to visualize the print, but that's not a print limit. If you'd like to order more, increase the quantity (x2 for 20 yds or x4 for 40 yds for e.g.) and then you can order as much as you'd like, with abuilt in automatic volume discount too. The maximum print width of each fabric can be found on the individual fabric pages or in our design interface.
Do I need to incorporate white space within my design if I want a border or some cutting space?
Yes, that might help you! Always incorporate any extra space or borders into your purchased fabric size. We trim squarely around fabric samples and fabric prints, leaving approximately 0.2" white space. Cutting neatly on the line has an additional fee.
What is crocking and why might it occur?
Crocking, which is fading along the creases, often after washing or heavy use, occurs when you digitally print on natural fabrics - more so when dark or dense colors are used. It can be minimized by using a cool hand wash instead of machine washing as the tumbling of the machine is the main cause of this. To avoid entirely, we would advise using a poly fabric.
Why do the colors appear lighter on organic fabrics?
Our organic fabrics do not have any coatings that the non-organic fabrics have. This means the ink absorbs into the fibers, reducing the color strength slightly (by approx. -40%). For super strong colors we recommend a non-organic natural fabric.
Do you print on fabric a customer supplies?
Unfortunately not; we like to test meticulously so that we know what gets the best results on our fabrics, and our facilities cater perfectly to them. We do however print sublimation transfer paper to order, and if you have access to a heat press you can press your own fabrics easily.
Should I save my file as a TIFF or JPEG?
For
multi-colored or very detailed files we recommend using a tiff format, but they must be flattened. For simple colors and low detail files, a jpeg is fine.
What is the situation with material shrinkage?
Just like many fabric printing processes, there is the potential for shrinkage. Depending on the fabric, please expect and allow between 2-8% shrinkage which you need to plan for in your dimensions. This percentage can vary from print run to print run and between fabrics, so we would advise
to order a little more material than you require for your project.
Can I print on both sides of the fabric?
We do not offer to print on both sides of the fabric, as a lot of our fabrics are semi-transparent or have some show through. This wouldn't work with double-sided printing. This is not a service that we offer on any of our fabrics.
Can I order labels in another fabric?
Will you cut themlike you do with the normal fabric labels?At the moment no, our labels are all printed on the same satin fabric. We may introduce more in the future, but for now, this is the best choice. The labels are all cut the same way. You can order the fabric of your choice and make the labels yourself, but we do not cut different fabric into label format.
How is your fabric printing eco-friendly?
With environmental consciousness in mind, our fabrics are all printed using completely water-based inks. This means no chemicals or solvents are used. Our heat fixing procedure fixes the colors and prints, avoiding the downsides of steaming, such as excess or contaminated water returning into the waste system. We have one facility where we conduct all the printing, production and fulfillment. Rather than roll the fabrics, or send them in a tube, we fold them before they are sent out to you. This saves over 150 tubes a week, as well as a lot of space on the delivery van. (For delicate fabrics we ensure to package appropriately).
Why are there slight color differences between my orders?
We work at improving our color profiles all the time. Though rare, it may happen that from one print run to another, and there could be slight color differences, this is normal and part of the process when we are constantly improving. It is extremely unlikely that there will be a huge difference (like orange instead of red for example). Please bear in mind such color variations can be intensified from fabric to fabric due to the varying grains and textures of the fabric. This is due to the construction of the materials as well as the print methods that have to be altered slightly for more delicate, natural textiles.
Sizing For Hemming And Shrinkage
We have a full Cut & Sew service here at
- Light Fabrics (0.59oz-2.95oz): For silks and other light fabrics, we use 0.24" - 0.32" / 6mm-8mm in the hem (2 fold), so overall width/height will be minus 0.48"-0.56""/ 12-16mm
- Medium Fabrics (2.98oz-5.90oz): For medium-weight fabrics that fray, we use 0.5 - 0.75" / 15-20mm in the hem (2 fold) so overall width/height will be minus 1.4" - 1.6" / 35-40mm
- Stiff/Heavy/No-fray fabrics: we use 0.5 - 0.75" / 15-20mm in the hem (1 fold) so overall width/height will be minus 1.5" / 35-40mm
All of these measurements are approximate and can vary. Including with shrinkage, it can mean a fairly significant difference to ordered dimensions, so please plan your print accordingly. Depending on how open the weave is, our fabric can shrink anywhere from 2% to 8% with the average being 2.5%.
How Would you Like the Edge?
We have four finishing options for your fabric order:- As it comes. We cut around your image, leaving a simply scissor cut, perhaps uneven white fabric border.
- Hem with thread. We can hem your fabric with a choice of black or white thread. Please allow 1-2
days additional production time. See below for information on how hemming affects the size of your print. We offer an overlock hem, as well as a folded hem (one or two fold depending on the fabric) however not all fabrics are suited to both hem types. If you can see both options, it means both are suitable, and you will be able to choose whichever you prefer. - Cut on the line. We will cut neatly on the edge of your design. This means that if you have a border around your design we will cut around that border, if your design takes the whole space of the fabric, then we will neatly cut around the edge of that image. Please be aware, when we cut along the line, we have to cut against the grain of the fabric. This is the standard procedure for fabric cutting. This means that with some fabrics, for example, Georgette and Mulmul, which have a slight wave in them, some fraying will occur. This is unavoidable, as the cut follows the grain of the textile.
All of our fabrics are cut manually by hand, with the utmost care and attention. If your fabric has a slightly uneven look on the edges or a touch of fraying, this does not indicate a flaw in the textile. It is not always possible to achieve a perfectly straight cut with certain fabrics, so please do
Please note: As we make everything by hand, all sizes may vary slightly.
For further information about our fabrics see our FAQs.
FAQ
What is Calico material?
Calico material is a simple plain-weave cotton fabric. Unbleached, raw Cotton Calicos are often used for making toiles and dress prototypes. Inexpensive and simple, Calico has always been a favorite for creating fabric prints and homely designs like aprons, quilts and house dresses.
Where does the name Calico come from?
Calico is one of the oldest fabrics around the world and is named after the city of Calicut, in Kerala, India, where it originated. Block printed fabrics were exported from India as early as 1630 and known as “Calicuts”, and “Calico” was soon used to refer to any Indian plain-weave cotton. Today, Calico remains one of the most popular fabrics for simple printed fabrics.
What are the two types of organic cotton calico we offer?
We offer 2 types of organic cotton calico fabric. A white bleached calico and natural calico.
Certifications
Martindale
Martindale > 20,000 revs
Fabric withstood Martindale rub test to 20,000 revolutions. What you can say to your customers: Suitable for use in medium wear applications.
Fire safety
BS 5722:1984. Flammability for nightwear
This fabric complies with the flammability performance requirements of The Nightwear (Safety) Regulations 1985. (Statutory Instrument 1985 No 2043)
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