Class Notes- Fabric Choices

Making quilts is a visual art. You must "see" your fabric choices side by side in order to decide if they work well in relationship to one another. Fold up pieces of fabric, so that you are looking at about the amount that your template piece will represent. Pin it to your design wall, add several pieces and step back. Your quilt will usually tell you pretty quickly if those pieces choose to be together. Play! Experiment! What if I tried this? Go out of your box. You haven't even cut any fabric yet! When you feel good about some choices, iron the template to the back of your fabric, cut out with an approximate 1/4" seam allowance around the piece.

When you are choosing fabrics for your quilt, it can be helpful to first pick a main fabric that you absolutely love. Then work off of that fabric, choosing colors that are within or complementary to the main player.

Focal Points- Where does your eye rest? Generally, use bolder color in the foreground and for main players. Use softened tones in the background to give depth to your quilt. Light colors come forward and dark colors recede.

Color Bounce- Repeat colors or same fabrics around your quilt to move the eye around your piece.

Remember to step back and look at your design wall as you are making choices. It can be helpful to take a picture with your digital camera of your work in progress. It helps to see how the values are blending or not.

Walk away when you start to feel fatigued by the process! It can be hard to stop, but you may be more successful if you come back with fresh eyes.