Choosing Great Fabrics for your Projects

As a beginner, it can be scary to venture out of your comfort zone when choosing fabric. Here are a few tips to help you break through your personal barriers to color, texture and scale.

• Choose an assortment of fabrics for each color value

If your pattern calls for three to five fabrics, choose a color family for each of those fabrics rather than a single fabric. You quilt will come to life if you move towards a less planned approach. For the “red” in your quilt, you could have 5 or 6 similar value reds that will all “read” as the same color, but will keep your eye interested.

• Vary the scale of prints in your quilt

Include some medium and large scale prints in your projects. A large scale print when cut up will help move your eye across your quilt. These fabrics also work well to transition between colors.

• Use fabrics that transition between color areas for a blended look

If you are creating a quilt that needs to “blend” or “transition” gently between colors, look for a variety of transitional fabrics that include both colors in the area you want to blend. These fabrics help your eye move over the space without a definite break in color. On the other hand, if your quilt has areas that need to be set off in a dramatic way, use highly contrasted fabrics in those areas.

• Experiment with new colors and prints

Don’t be afraid to experiment with new color combinations or fabrics that are out of your comfort zone. Try to add at least one fabric that stretches you into new territory!

Keep in mind when shopping for quilting fabric that your choices for a quilt do not all need to come from the same “family” of fabrics. It can be interested to combine a print with a batik, or a stripe. Keep the scale of your prints varied.

If you are having a hard time with color combinations, try combining colors you might find in nature, or pull out the color wheel to help. It’s a good bet to base your quilt on a complementary, adjacent, monochromatic or primary scheme.

Fabric and color terms

VALUE: is the lightness or darkness of color. It is important to use a variety of values in a quilt to create contrast and add sparkle. Quilts made of all one value of fabric will come across as dull and lifeless. A useful tool to use to determine the value of a fabric is called a Ruby Beholder (a piece of red plexiglass that you view the fabric through). Or, simply stand back and squint at a line-up of fabrics and see which one appears to pop out or be out of place.

INTENSITY OF COLOR: is the brightness or dullness of the color. Try to keep to the same palette within a quilt. There are of course always exceptions to the rule and occasionally it will work to throw in a muted fabric next to a bright.

PRINTS: will add texture, interest and enhance your ability to blend fabrics in a pleasing way. Try to use a variety of print scales within your project. Mini-prints and calicos are small enough to “read” as solids in many quilts. Medium to large scale prints are great for blending the colors from the fabrics on either side. When you cut up a large scale print to use in your quilt, it will help to move the eye around with more random color placement.

TRANSITIONAL FABRICS: are fabrics used to bridge the gap when moving from one color to another or one value to another. These are used when a gently blended flow is needed. Transitional fabrics usually are multi-color, blending the prints from fabrics on either side of them.

STRIPES AND PLAIDS: can be incorporated into many designs successfully. You can “fussy cut” them or rotary cut (if you don’t worry about them being straight!). Strips are great in borders. Plaids can be really fun in block quilts - try a whole collection of plaids in a quilt! Try a diagonal stripe as a binding.

DIRECTIONAL PRINTS: are one way prints. You’ll need to be careful in their use (especially if it will drive you crazy to see a print upside down in a project.

Have fun and experiment!