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It's the fabric that makes the quilt! Here are some
pointers for picking out the perfect fabric for your creation!
Colour choices will either make or break a quilt. When choosing a colour
scheme for your quilt some things should be kept in mind.
First, in order to effectively choose colours, you must understand how
colours work together to add depth and texture to your quilt.
Colour has three properties:
 | 1. Hue- the shade or tint of a colour
(example: red, blue etc.) |
| 2. Value- the lightness or darkness of a hue (color). Value is best used to
establish depth in a block. For example, by putting a red against a slightly
darker or lighter red you can create an illusion of depth and movement. |
| 3. Intensity- the brightness or dullness of a hue (color). Pure
hues (red, yellow, and blue) are high-intensity colors. Dull hues are low-intensity
colors (yellow-green, red-orange, blue-green etc.). |
And an additional point for quilters to take into
consideration:
| 4. Visual Temperature- the
warmth/coolness of a colour. Warm colours (yellow, orange, red) will advance
a block or make it look like it is moving towards you. While cool colours
(blue, violet, green) tend to recede into a quilt block. |
A helpful tool to use when choosing colour is the colour
wheel. Although it doesn't show every colour, it gives us the foundation needed
for picking a good colour scheme. On the colour wheel below you will see
there are three different categories of colour:
| Primary Colours - hues
which can be mixed to create all other colours. (Red, Blue, and Yellow) |
| Secondary Colours- created
by mixing two primary colours. Each Secondary Colour on the Colour Wheel is
bound by two primaries. These primaries are mixed to get the Secondary
Color. (Green, Orange, and Violet) |
| Tertiary or intermediate colours-
created by mixing a secondary color with a primary color. (red-orange,
red-violet, blue-violet , blue-green, yellow-green, yellow-orange) |
A colour wheel is also great for enabling us to gauge how
colours will harmonize and what the Complimentary
Colours are.
| Complimentary or contrasting
Colors- colors that are directly opposite one another on
the colour wheel. Violet & yellow, Blue & orange, and red &
green are complimentary to one another. Colour Complements are colour
opposites which contrast each other in the most extreme way possible. |
Using the colour wheel we can now decide on what type of
colour scheme we want for our quilt. Whether it be Monochromatic,
Neutral, Analogous,
or Split Complement, the colour wheel will
help in choosing the right colours.
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Monochromatic-
a one-colour combination.
Here we see a monochromatic quilt using hues of red. |
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Neutral- a
combination of black, white, and gray colours only. |
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Analogous-
three to five colours that sit side by side on the colour wheel are used.
(example: yellow, orange, and red) |
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Split Complement-
a main colour is chosen and then go directly across the colour wheel to
find the Complimentary Colour and split the Complimentary
Colour to get the two colours that make it up. (example: main colour:
red-orange; complementary colour to red-orange is blue-green. Split
blue-green. The colours of the quilt will be red-orange, blue, and
green.) |
Once you have decided what colour scheme you want
now it's time to dive into your stash or go off to the fabric store to pick out
your fabrics. Pick out your "Focus" fabric first. This is the fabric
that will be most dominant, with all other fabrics working around this one. Now
start picking out the colours that are found in the fabric and lay them out on
the table. Next, start picking out fabrics that are slightly darker or lighter
than those found in the focus fabric and place on the table as well. Step back
and see how it looks together, substitute any fabrics that don't fit in with
different choices until you have a scheme that makes you happy. The possibilities
are endless!
Some other techniques:
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Find a multi-coloured fabric you really like
and pick colours from the fabric. You don't have to use that piece,
but the colours will probably look great together |
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Trace the actual quilt block pieces on a piece of Bristol
board. Cut out, do not include seam allowances. The piece of Bristol
board with the cut outs is your viewing window when you visit the fabric
store. Hold your Bristol board template up to fabrics to see how they will
look or lay out the fabrics under the template in the desired order to see
how the block will look with your choices. |
| Try to use 100% cotton material, it's easy to
work with, holds a crease well, and is available in a wide range of colours.
Also, 100% cotton material doesn't pucker a much as a Poly/Cotton blend when
washed. |
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Have a theme in mind when shopping. |
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Have a variety of fabric with different
prints. They will create
movement within your quilt. |
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Toss in a fabric surprise! A piece of
something you wouldn't normally choose. |
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Bright colours are great to incorporate in a
quilt, but remember a little goes a long way! |
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Try out different colour combinations you
wouldn't normally use together. You never know, you may find that one
combination that zings! |
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Don't get caught up in what other people
want, choose what you like. It's your quilt! |
| Make a sample block if you're unsure of
your fabric choices. |
| Let your creativity run wild! |
             
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