One of the questions I get the most is: "How do you select fabrics for your quilts?!" I thought it was about time to tackle this question. Today on the blog I'm sharing how I like to pull fabrics for my modern quilts. Let's jump in!
Who is the quilt for?
Where is this quilt going to live? Is it for a nursery? A room in your home? This is what guides 100% of the color selection for me. So, I start here.
I made this Perfect Placement Quilt for our living room and I pulled a range of grey fabrics to go with our furniture and this landscape painting we have.
If it's for a friend I'll start with a photo or colors I know they love or are in their home. We spend SO much time on making a handmade quilt as a gift - I want it to truly be something that they want to have out in their home and not hide away because it doesn't coordinate.
I made this Close Knit Quilt for the nursery in Milo's room. We didn't know if we were having a girl or a boy so I wanted simple soft neutral colors. I pulled a few from the rug you can see at the bottom.
Start with the Pattern Requirements:
Start with the fabric requirements as the main parameter - this is obvious. It can help narrow down your choices. If the pattern is Fat Quarter Friendly, Jelly Roll Friendly or any other pre-cut friendly you can choose from bundles online that shops have already made. I know this is very popular!
Honestly - a lot of times I start with what's in my stash. I don't keep a huge stash because I truly try to only buy fabrics I love. So I'll pull from there first and then sometimes coordinate based on what the pattern calls for and what I have.
The Leaded Light Quilt Pattern you see here is Fat Quarter and Jelly Roll Friendly. For this particular one I knew I wanted to stick with a FQ bundle.
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Print or Non-Directional?
Along the same lines: How many different fabrics do you need? Does the pattern lend itself to a certain selection like dark to light? Solids? Stripes? Non-directional prints? This will also help narrow things down. For example, several of my quilt patterns call out working best with solids AND from darkest to lightest in order to gain the most visual effect.
Boundaries will help you get started since there are a billion fabrics to choose from out there!
Pull Color from a Photo
If I'm really stuck on a color palette I'll pull from a photo. There are so many great solids out there so if you can grab a palette from a photo or Pinterest that can also be a handy guide.
This was a photo I took in Barcelona that I loved the colors in.
A sweet little baby quilt pulled from my fabric stash scraps using a simple neutral color palette.
Use the Quilt Backing
Another great option is to start with the backing. I like to use solids on my quilt tops and then pull a print for the back. A lot of times I'll see a print I absolutely love and start there. Coordinating solids for the top is simple from there!
