Choosing Fabric Colors & Prints
Choosing fabric colors and prints should be a fun experience. But sometimes it's confusing, even for experienced quilters. Not to worry. I'm going to teach you a basic, but effective way to select the right fabrics for your quilt.
It's worth the time to learn about fabric color. After all, you're investing time and money in your quilt. Make them sparkle with dynamic color combinations.
After reading this lesson, you might want to learn more about advanced color theory. In that case, I highly recommend Color Confidence for Quilters and Color Play: Easy Steps to Imaginative Color in Quilts.
Selecting Fabric Prints
- Choose small, medium and large-scale prints. This gives your quilt texture and movement, and it brings visual interest to the eyes.
- Choose light, medium and dark fabrics for contrast (value). Light fabrics recede, and dark fabrics pop out at you. This gives your quilt depth instead of a flat look.
HINT: For help with color value, try the color evaluators. Hold this plastic tool over your fabric, and it hides the print. That way, you only see the color value. Use the red for warm colors and the green for cool colors.
Match the Dots
Look at this photo. See the row of colored dots along the edge of the fabric? These are dye markers. Each marker represents a certain fabric color in the print. All you have to do is select fabrics that match the dots. How easy is that?
How I Select My Fabric Colors
Now I'm going to show you how I select my fabric colors. First, I choose ONE fabric that has a few colors in it.
Next, I choose matching fabrics from the colors in the main fabric.
 The sample fabrics have all the basics:
- Small, medium and large prints
- Light, medium and dark fabrics
- All fabric colors have been "pulled" from main fabric
When you're selecting fabric colors, keep the basic rules in mind. Your quilts will be so much more appealing.
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