Design Your Own Fabric in 5 Days (Even if You’re Not an "Artist")
Do you ever walk down the aisle of the fabric store and get frustrated because you can’t find a design or color scheme that will work for your quilting or sewing project?
Or have you always wanted to see your designs on fabric but don’t know where to start?
I’ve got a solution for you!
I’ve created a beginner friendly program called the From Doodles to Dollars® Coaching Week. Let me tell you more about it…because I’ll teach you the one skill you need to create your own fabrics, wrapping papers and more!
If you’ve been watching from the sidelines, curious about how to turn your doodles into income, but not quite sure what the first step actually looks like, keep reading.
Today I want to pull back the curtain and walk you through exactly what happens inside my From Doodles to Dollars® Coaching Week — day by day, step by step — so there are no surprises and no mysteries. Just a clear picture of what you're walking into.
Because here's what I believe: When you can see the path, the path feels possible.
First, What Even Is This?
The From Doodles to Dollars® Coaching Week is my hands-on introductory program where I teach you how to turn a simple doodle or sketch into a beautifully repeating pattern using Adobe Illustrator.
Why might you want to learn this skill? If you’ve ever been frustrated walking down the aisles of the fabric store unable to find exactly what you need for your quilting or sewing project - this is for you.
If you’ve always wanted to see your designs on fabric but didn’t know where to start - this is for you.
If you’ve buried your creativity inside you because someone said you weren’t talented enough to pursue it - this is for you!
Let’s get into it.
The Doodles Coaching Week runs April 13 through 24, with a much appreciated weekend break.
We actually kick things off a little early with a Welcome Party on Sunday evening, April 12th — a chance to meet your fellow students, get your questions answered before Lesson 1, and get excited about the week ahead.
By the end of the sessions, you'll have created your very first (or next) seamless repeating pattern. The kind that can go on fabric, wrapping paper, wallpaper, greeting cards, or any product you can dream up.
That's not a promise I make lightly. I've taught this program many times, and I've watched thousands of women — many of whom had never opened Illustrator before — cross that finish line.
The investment? Just $37. I priced it this way on purpose because I don't want cost to be the thing that keeps someone from discovering what's possible for them.
What You'll Need
Before we get into the daily breakdown, let me ease one of the biggest worries right away — the tech.
You need a desktop computer or a laptop (Mac or PC — not an iPad), a free trial of Adobe Illustrator (I'll show you exactly how to get it), and a smartphone or scanner to get your doodles or sketches onto your desktop. That's it.
You don't need to have used Illustrator before. You don't need a fancy drawing tablet. You don't need art school training. You need a pen, a piece of paper, and the willingness to try something new. You can even use my doodles if you're pressed for time or want to save yourself a step and make it even easier to follow along.
I learned Adobe Illustrator in my late 50s after spending 30 years in corporate America in totally non-creative jobs. If I can do it, you absolutely can too.
Day by Day: Here's What Happens
Monday, April 13: Lesson 1 — Sketch and Import
This is where we open Adobe Illustrator — and I promise, we keep it very simple.
I know what you might be thinking right now. Illustrator sounds intimidating. It has hundreds of tools and menus and panels. But here's the thing: you only need to learn a tiny fraction of the program to create beautiful patterns. We focus on just the essentials, and I walk you through every single click.
We'll take one of your simple sketches — a flower, a leaf, a heart, whatever speaks to you — and bring it into Illustrator. Step by step. No skipping ahead, no assuming you already know something. We go at a pace that works for beginners, and I'm right there with you the whole time.
Tuesday, April 14: Lesson 2 — Image Trace and Color
This is the day my students tell me they start squealing with delight. We take the sketch you imported in Lesson 1, trace it digitally to turn it into a clean vector shape, and then add color to it. You'll learn three different ways to add color, so you can find the method that feels most natural to you.
There's something magical about watching a simple black-and-white doodle come to life with color. It's the moment where most women start to think, "Oh... I can actually do this."
Wednesday, April 15: Lesson 3 — Create Your Repeat
This is when the magic happens. This is the day you take your colored design and turn it into a seamlessly repeating pattern.
I teach what I call my "3 Golden Rules" for creating a perfectly repeating pattern. It works every time. When you see your design tile seamlessly repeating — no gaps, no awkward overlaps, just your art repeating beautifully in every direction — the feeling is hard to describe. It's part pride, part surprise, part "I cannot believe I just did that."
This is the moment that changes everything. Because now you're not just someone who doodles. You're someone who creates patterns. There's a big difference.
Thursday, April 16: Live Masterclass — 7 Ways to Monetize Your Designs
In this special live masterclass I walk you through the seven different ways you can actually earn income from your designs. From print-on-demand and licensing to Etsy shops, teaching, commissions, and more.
This session connects the dots between the skill you just learned and the real-world opportunities waiting for you. It's the "now what?" answered in full. I'll show you what's possible.
Friday, April 17, 20 & 22: Bonus Troubleshooting Sessions — aka Using Me as Your Private Tutor
These three sessions are bonuses to ensure you accomplish the goal: creating your first repeating pattern using Adobe Illustrator.
If you get stuck — and there's no shame in getting stuck, it happens to everyone — we work through it together. This isn't a program where you're left alone to figure it out. I'm right there with you.
These are by far the most celebrated sessions because you can literally send me your exact Illustrator design and I'll open it on screen and show you, step by step, how to fix it. Sounds amazing, right? Because it is!
Thursday, April 23: Closing Celebration and Prizes
We wrap up the Coaching Week with a Closing Celebration where we announce prizes and take stock of everything you've created.
There is something really special about crossing a finish line together. Women arrive at this session with patterns they genuinely cannot believe they made. And the prizes are a fun little bonus on top of that.
One important thing to note: access to the replays ends on Friday, April 24th at 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern. So if there are sessions you want to revisit, make sure you do so before they disappear.
What's Included Beyond the Trainings
The lessons are the backbone, but there's more packed into this little $37 investment than most programs charging ten times as much.
You get access to a private Facebook group where you'll post your homework. Yes, that's right! There is homework so I can see your progress. In this private pop-up group, you can ask questions, we'll celebrate wins, and you'll connect with other creatives who are on the same journey.
You also get downloadable step-by-step instruction sheets for every lesson. I know we all learn differently. Some people love watching me take each step in real time. Others want detailed written directions they can reference when watching the replays. My students tell me these guides are beautiful and incredibly helpful, and I've put a lot of love into creating them.
And here's the one that surprises people most: those troubleshooting sessions I just described. One of the things my students consistently rave about is the level of personal support you get in this program. You essentially have access to me as your private tutor! There's something powerful about learning from someone who understands exactly where you are — the excitement, the nervousness, all of it.
Who This Is For
The Doodles Coaching Week is for you if you've always loved creating but don’t know how to turn your art into something more. If you doodled on every notebook in school. If you've always wanted to see your designs on fabric or wrapping paper but felt overwhelmed by the technology. If someone once told you that you couldn't make money at art and you believed them — but part of you has always wondered if they were wrong.
It's also for you if you've already taken some classes but never finished, or if you've been a creative hobbyist and want to explore whether this could become a whole new part of your business.
You don't need to have any experience with design software. You don't need to be "good at art." You need to be willing to try, willing to be imperfect, and willing to show up with an open heart and a beginner's mindset.
What Happens After
Here's something I want to be upfront about, because I think transparency matters. The From Doodles to Dollars® Coaching Week is designed to be a complete experience on its own. By the end of it, you'll have a real, finished pattern that you can put on products.
It's also the starting point for women who want to go deeper. Many of my Doodles students go on to join my Pattern Design Academy®, where we spend 9 weeks diving into advanced techniques, designing in collections, building portfolios, and exploring the business side of the industry. But that's not a requirement. It's your choice.
The Doodles Coaching Week stands on its own, and some of my students have done incredible things with just what they learned in it.
The point is this: you get to decide your own path. My job is to help you take the first step.
The Door Is Open
The From Doodles to Dollars® Coaching Week starts April 13. It's only $37 to join, and I'd love to support you. If you've been watching, wondering, waiting for the right time — this is a really low-risk way to find out if surface pattern design is your thing. $37. Step-by-step support. Your first design to put on fabric, wrapping paper and more.
Claim your space today!
Xo,
Anne
It’s Never Too Late to Create®
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MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation. I grew up in Paris on the Place St. Sulpice and walked to school through the Luxembourg gardens. And that was only the beginning… Learn more by watching the video on my About page.
