my fabric selections Welcome to part one of the Chasing Chevrons quilt along!
*You can find the quilt design and intro here*
Choosing the colors and fabrics for your quilt can be so much fun. It can also be the most daunting part of making a quilt. There are lots of different ways to go about selecting your colors and fabric. Here's how I go about it:
1. Cornerstone Color ... You know those colors that hit you all of a sudden and make you want to get one of everything in that color? Right now that color is indigo for me. Love. It. Like my favorite pair of blue jeans. So I picked indigo as my cornerstone color; the one that I wanted to build upon with other colors. For this quilt, my cornerstone color is also my background fabric.
cool & warm colors
2. Contrast ... Once you have at least your cornerstone color, you need to think in terms on contrast for this quilt. This design uses negative space so color contrast is important. For example, even though I like the grey hue in my palette, I know it won't contrast well with my indigo background. I try to think of my colors in terms of light vs. dark or warm vs. cool. If you can't decide which it is then it's probably medium and in the middle.
3. Accessory Colors ... So now that I have my cornerstone color and have ruled out those that won't have enough contrast, it's time to accessorize with other colors. I typically don't bust out the color wheel because that's too predictable. Instead, look around you and find color schemes that appeal to you.
color inspiration for my quilt This used to be harder to do until Design Seeds came along. It's an amazing site. You can sort by palette or just browse through what pops up on their page. Since I knew that I was loving indigo, I went for the palette search. From there you can sort by color, theme, season, etc... Don't be afraid to step out of your color box and work with colors that aren't traditionally paired together. Seeing the pictures on Design Seeds can help you visualize the color combinations better.
don't do this! 4. Fabric ... Now that you have your color choices, it's time to pick your fabrics. Solids vs. Prints and Large scale vs. Small scale are going to be your main categories.
Just like your colors, you want good contrast. You don't want to have your background fabric be a large scale print if you are using large scale prints for your chevron blocks. Even if the colors contrast, a lot of large scale prints will make your quilt really busy and you will end up losing some of the contrast.
solid & large scale pair Pair a solid with a large scale print. Or pair a smaller scale print with a solid; you would also be pretty safe paring a small scale with another small scale if the color contrast is strong. If you choose to go the all solids route with all your fabric, just make sure the contrast is good. There are some really beautiful quilts out there made just from solids.
Once you have your fabric selections, take a picture of them together. The picture will allow you to step back and see the colors working together. An actual picture will help you catch problems with contrast among other issues...
5. Fabric quality ... Now that you have picked your fabrics, do one last check for quality. I'm not a fabric snob but you do want to buy good quilting cottons that don't feel too rough, grainy, thick or thin. If it feels "off" then it probably is. Poor quality fabric can give you nightmares through every part of the quilt making process. And then if you manage to finish the quilt and you wash it, you run the risk of it fading, tearing, or just plain falling apart. So sad!
So now you are good on your colors and fabric... how much do you need to make this quilt??
I will be giving instructions for 3 sizes: a generous lap size quilt, a twin size quilt, or just in case you are really ambitious, a queen size quilt. Because of the layout of this design, it's important to choose your quilts size now because it determines everything else throughout the quilt along.
*these requirements are approximate. If you are concerned about running out of fabric due to mistakes or cutting errors, increase the yardage a little bit. Extra fabric can always be used for part of the backing, binding, etc...*
Lap size {55"x70"} fabric requirements:
- 3.5 yards of background/solid fabric
- 1 yard of contrast fabric(s)/prints {you could easily use scraps}
- 3.50 yards of backing fabric
- 5.5 yards of background/solid fabric
- 2 yards of contrast fabric(s)/prints
- 5.5 yards of backing fabric
- 6.75 yards of background/solid fabric
- 2.25 yards of contrast fabric(s)/prints
- 7.5 yards of backing fabric
- sewing machine {maybe not a must but I highly recommend it!}
- iron & ironing board
- thread
- sharp sewing machine needles
- scissors
- seam ripper
- pins for piecing
- pins or basting spray for basting your quilt
- batting
- rulers
- rotary cutter
- wine, coffee, tea, and/or chocolate