Designing own fabric vs buying fabric

[lustforlife]

I'm a complete beginner sewer and would love to make some clothes for my one year old DD. I'm quite artistic and have recently started doing some digital drawing that I think would look good printed on fabric. Could anyone tell me if this is cost effective? Or does it work out cheaper to buy designs already out there on fabric sites? I can't get my head around the logistics!

Off the top of my head, Spoonflower is the one I think of when it comes to having your designs printed. You can also make them available for other people and make a little money too.

Spoonflower is lots of fun, and I've done my own fabric designs, but it isn't particularly cheap. The cotton is about £20 a metre with other fabrics being more expensive.