Recently a good Instagram friend asked how I go about combining fabrics for my quilts and quilted pillow covers. I had to ponder that for a while. I didn’t really know how to answer her.
I don’t have an equation I follow. I looked back through lots of pictures of my favorite combinations, and I found a few consistencies in all of my stacks and best loved patchwork.
If I had to narrow down a few principals that appear to remain the same, here’s what I found. Remember, this is what works for ME. Follow your own tastes when creating your own quilt. Maybe as you read through, it will give you the encouragement that choosing fabrics is really about the loves and preferences of the one sewing the quilt. That’s YOU.
So be sure to choose and purchase what YOU love.
Alas, here’s what I love to put together when creating and sewing quilts.
1. I almost never use fabrics from the same line. I enjoying coordinating and contrasting fabrics. I do not tend to enjoy matching fabrics.
2. I always love EVERY fabric I buy and create with. I don’t buy fillers just to have plenty of solids or ginghams or stripes around. Now I do have all three of those in my stash, but they are in my stash because I liked them as an individual fabric. In other words, I don’t add fabrics into my quilts just because the fabrics coordinate well. I only ever use fabrics in my quilts that I am drawn to as an individual fabric.
3. I tend to enjoy negative space in quilts. I have learned that if every fabric has lots of pattern, I tend to get overwhelmed. You will see Kona white in almost every quilt I create. If you don’t see solid white, you’ll find a denim or linen or something blank.
4. The fabrics I choose to work with are fabrics that I LIKE. I do not try to mimic or imitate the quilts of others. As an early quilter, I used others for inspiration, but I always ended up with an in-cohesive quilt. When I’m combining my own personal tastes with preferences inspired by other quilters, I end up with a bit of everything.
One of the greatest quilting challenges I’m facing right now is sewing a quilt for my dear sister. Her tastes are different than mine, and I’m trying to sew a quilt that combines her tastes with my preferences. It’s really hard for me!
5. I may be fooling myself, but when I look back at my quilts, I see very little primary color. Don’t get me wrong. I see lots of color, but mostly hues varied away from the primaries. I don’t use true red or true blue or true yellow. Instead I see shades of pink, turquoise, and mustard yellow. See the difference?
6. I use a variety of types of prints. I combine florals, stripes, plus signs, hexagons, berries, and much more together. I never have an all floral fabric quilt, or I never use all striped fabric in one quilt. In my mind, nothing is off limits combined with another print as long as I like both the fabrics.
7. I thrive on the ‘scrappy’ look. I don’t like matchy matchy. I don’t try to coordinate or match colors. I like contrast and variation.
Friends, it took me a few years to really understand what kinds of fabrics I liked. Some fabrics I bought and by the time I got them home, I didn’t like them anymore. I didn’t quite know what I was after. Remember that learning to do anything well is a process and will take time and money and patience. I still sometimes end up with fabric combinations that end up sitting unfinished in my closet because I can’t get motivated to finish them.
Last year I experimented with using an off white egg shell color as the base of a quilt instead of a my go-to Kona cotton white. What a mistake for my tastes! I finished the quilt and immediately put it in storage. I felt so defeated. I told my husband it was such a waste of time to try branching out.
BUT, if I hadn’t tried using egg shell white, I never would have known I didn’t like it.
If I can encourage you, start small with fabric. Don’t buy a bunch at once. If you are like me and find it overwhelming shuffling through hundreds of fabric options at larger retailers, maybe start with a small fabric shop. Your local fabric shop, perhaps? Or, find a small Etsy store or blogger where you find yourself liking a lot of their fabrics. This will help relieve you of shuffling through hundreds and hundreds of fabrics at once. That can become so overwhelming…for some of us.
If you are an Instagram user, maybe shop the hashtag #thegreatfabricdestash. Find some yardage for around $8.00 a yard that you like. That’s a great price for high quality fabric.
Pick out a few fat quarters or half yards and find a small project to do from start to finish.
Here are a few small shops you may enjoy browsing for inspiration. All of these shops have a very distinct style, in my opinion, and maybe you’ll find yourself enjoying what they stock.
Morgan Kelly Quilts
Polka Dot Secrets
Sew Organic Fabrics
Sojo Fabric
Handmade is Heartmade
My favorite quilt blogger of all times is Red Pepper Quilts. Scroll through some of her finished quilts, and you are sure to be amazed at some of her fabric combinations.
How do you do it? Share with me how you go about putting together colors and patterns and textures. What have you found to work for you?
Hi Kelli thanks for the insight. I am a new quilter and I have a ton of fabric and I am overwhelmed going through it all. I have piles here and there and in the end spent hours looking at it with no decision made, real waste of time and frustration. It is more practical to go to a smaller shop with less of a selection because you can become overwhelmed very quickly. Anyways thanks for the info it was a good read and no offense seen in your posts just your opinion on what works for you and suggestions of what we might do. Thanks
I’m so thankful it was helpful, Rhonda!
My mom wants to make my sister a quilt for her birthday next month. I like how you said that it is important to love every single fabric you use in a quilt and not use fillers just because they coordinate. I will recommend that my mom find a fabric provider that has a variety of fabrics to offer that my mom loves.
Thanks for your comment Charlotte. I’m glad you were able to walk away with something to pass on. 🙂
Irene sounds a little hypocritical :/
Thanks so much for explaining how you choose your fabrics. I am not a fan of the coordinating fabric selections. Your tips have helped me so much.
I’m so thankful Angie!
I was taken aback by Irene’e comments to you. I don’t think it sounds like you were saying not to shop somewhere, just that it you find some places overwhelming another smaller place might be easier. A newbie can often get overwhelmed by too many options, and may not be aware of other places to look. Quite helpful information for that person!
Thank you for being willing to graciously share what works for you.
Hi Sonja! I was always overwhelmed walking into huge fabric stores. I didn’t know designers, and I really didn’t know what I liked best. It was best for me to start with browsing small online shops and stores to feel like I could get a handle on something I liked. It worked for me! Thanks for stopping by and leaving some encouragement. 🙂
I am a beginning quilter and struggling with selecting fabric combos I love. I find your suggestions here quite helpful! (And not at all offensive in where to look for fabric.) I love your fabric combinations and all the bright colors. You have a real gift in design! Thanks for sharing your insights!
Hi Mary! Thanks for your sweet comment! Combining fabrics is for sure my favorite part of the quilting process. I’m glad these suggestions are helpful and maybe inspiring. 🙂
What does the tulle do for the quilt?
Hi Angela, I have no idea. 🙂 I’ve never used it before.
Kelli, I liked your post, nice job. I usually would never take the time to post something I “don’t like” about the blog but I really mean this in the spirit of helping. It reads a bit rude to tell people “do not shop at Joanns or Fabric.com” etc… People should, and they will, shop where they can afford to shop. Now you may be working with an income or are being provided for at a level that myself and others are not. Just something to think about. I shop wherever I see something that I like, and I stay away from Etsy as much as possible. It’s over priced and many shops are just too “precious” for me. Most importantly, I would never buy a single thing from someone or some shop that had just told me “where not to shop”. A little humility would go a long way.
Hi Irene, I’m so sorry you saw so much pride in this post. It appears as though I should re-word some things. 🙁 I frequently shop at JoAnn’s and Fabric.com and think they are both wonderful places to purchase fabric. I must have written some things poorly. I appreciate your insight and word of caution to always practice humility.
I find that less expensive fabric costs me more in the long run. When thread counts differ greatly they do not cleve to one another as well,
Considering that I get months of entertainment, artistic expression and a beautiful product, I’ll stick to quality fabric
Thank you for this piece of experience.
Shout out to the girl giving you a challenge!! Woop woop!! 😉
🙂