Where to Start
When learning how to make a patchwork quilt, selecting your fabric can be one of the greatest parts, or the most harrowing. A common phrase that I hear in the patchwork shop where I work is "I'll know what I like when I see it". Considering there are more than twelve thousand bolts of fabric in the store, they might be looking for a a long time.
What I advise is that you ponder it before you go looking to avoid getting overwhelmed. For example, What's your favourite color? Do you like florals? Geometrical designs? Batiks? Plains (like Amish colors or soft colors? This will help to offer you a starting point and the sales helper will be in a position to guide you to the best fabrics for you.
Selecting Fabrics
When you're beginning quilting, I recommend that you begin by choosing a patterned fabric in your favourite color. That way, you will love working on the quilt, and you'll love it for a very long time after it's finished. Then you can select some complementary fabrics to go with it. Perhaps the best way is to select other fabrics in the same Range. Generally manufacturers design a "Range" of coordinating patterns and colours around the same theme, including small and big patterns and one or two colors. If you select your fabrics from the same Range, you know they can all work in together in your quilt.
When choosing fabrics, choose a variety of small, medium and larger prints for contrast. Also remember that depth of colour is important. If you select a mixture of light, medium and dark prints you'll have good contrast and the quilt you have chosen to make will have life e.g. wholly of pale pink, mid sized floral fabrics might be very uninteresting. Add in some deeper shades, maybe some green, and maybe some spots or stripes, and suddenly you have got a quilt that's fascinating.
When selecting fabrics, select a range of little, medium and large prints for contrast. Also remember that depth of color is critical. If you choose a mix of light, medium and dark prints you will have good contrast and the quilt you've chosen to make will have life e.g. A quilt made entirely of pale pink, medium-sized floral fabrics may be terribly boring. Add in some deeper shades, perhaps some green, and perhaps some spots or stripes, and all of a sudden you have a quilt that is interesting.
These are safe options that you can be certain will work. However if you'd like to be more adventurous, learn all about the color wheel and try some different color combinations e.g. A "Complementary colour scheme" incorporates colours that are directly opposite one another on the color wheel like purple and yellow, or blue and orange. Quilts made of these colours can look stunning and colourful.
These are safe options you can be sure will work. However if you want to be more bold, learn about the colour wheel and try some different colour combos e.g. A "Complementary color scheme" incorporates colors that are directly opposite each other on the colour wheel such as purple and yellow, or blue and orange. Quilts made from these colors can look amazing and colorful.
When you're choosing colors, make sure you "audition" them. Take the bolts off the shelf and test them together, take one away and see if it looks better or worse, put in a darker one, or an accent color. Take away any which don't "go together". The ones that don't match may be because they have got a cream background rather than white, or because it's an orange-red instead of a blue based red.
When learning how to make a patchwork quilt, selecting your fabric can be one of the greatest parts, or the most harrowing. A common phrase that I hear in the patchwork shop where I work is "I'll know what I like when I see it". Considering there are more than twelve thousand bolts of fabric in the store, they might be looking for a a long time.
What I advise is that you ponder it before you go looking to avoid getting overwhelmed. For example, What's your favourite color? Do you like florals? Geometrical designs? Batiks? Plains (like Amish colors or soft colors? This will help to offer you a starting point and the sales helper will be in a position to guide you to the best fabrics for you.
Selecting Fabrics
When you're beginning quilting, I recommend that you begin by choosing a patterned fabric in your favourite color. That way, you will love working on the quilt, and you'll love it for a very long time after it's finished. Then you can select some complementary fabrics to go with it. Perhaps the best way is to select other fabrics in the same Range. Generally manufacturers design a "Range" of coordinating patterns and colours around the same theme, including small and big patterns and one or two colors. If you select your fabrics from the same Range, you know they can all work in together in your quilt.
When choosing fabrics, choose a variety of small, medium and larger prints for contrast. Also remember that depth of colour is important. If you select a mixture of light, medium and dark prints you'll have good contrast and the quilt you have chosen to make will have life e.g. wholly of pale pink, mid sized floral fabrics might be very uninteresting. Add in some deeper shades, maybe some green, and maybe some spots or stripes, and suddenly you have got a quilt that's fascinating.
When selecting fabrics, select a range of little, medium and large prints for contrast. Also remember that depth of color is critical. If you choose a mix of light, medium and dark prints you will have good contrast and the quilt you've chosen to make will have life e.g. A quilt made entirely of pale pink, medium-sized floral fabrics may be terribly boring. Add in some deeper shades, perhaps some green, and perhaps some spots or stripes, and all of a sudden you have a quilt that is interesting.
These are safe options that you can be certain will work. However if you'd like to be more adventurous, learn all about the color wheel and try some different color combinations e.g. A "Complementary colour scheme" incorporates colours that are directly opposite one another on the color wheel like purple and yellow, or blue and orange. Quilts made of these colours can look stunning and colourful.
These are safe options you can be sure will work. However if you want to be more bold, learn about the colour wheel and try some different colour combos e.g. A "Complementary color scheme" incorporates colors that are directly opposite each other on the colour wheel such as purple and yellow, or blue and orange. Quilts made from these colors can look amazing and colorful.
When you're choosing colors, make sure you "audition" them. Take the bolts off the shelf and test them together, take one away and see if it looks better or worse, put in a darker one, or an accent color. Take away any which don't "go together". The ones that don't match may be because they have got a cream background rather than white, or because it's an orange-red instead of a blue based red.
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To get more great tips about how to make a patchwork quilt, check out Maree Galt's patchwork quilt site now!
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