Creating Secondary Design – There’s Many Ways!

What is Secondary Design?

When you look at a quilt and you not only see the block designs but you see another design emerge as you step back, that’s secondary design. Sometimes it’s intentional… and sometimes you just get lucky and two blocks you decide to place next to each other make another design. I like to design these types of quilts because it adds another level of interest.

There are several ways to achieve this. It can be done in one block quilts, where the elements of the block create a new design when several of them are joined into a quilt top. In quilts with two or more block styles, joining different blocks into rows can cause a new design to appear where those blocks meet. Then there’s adding a sashing between blocks to create a new design or playing with fabric so a secondary design emerges behind the blocks.

Let’s talk about each.

One Block Quilt Secondary Design

Here’s one of my quilts, Basket Weave Stars, that is constructed using one style of block. First, here is the block that makes up the quilt:

The block is made  up of a simple center star with radiating “rays” in scrappy colors. Here is the whole quilt with the blocks joined.

As you can see, a interesting crisscross weaving design appears almost like it’s behind the stars pushing them to the forefront.

The key is to choose a block that has an element that, when joined with the other blocks, will create another design. Here are two blocks below. Which do you think would do better creating a secondary design in a one block quilt?

They’re both star blocks and both will create a secondary design, but the one on the right has elements that stretch more obviously to the edges of the block that will help create a more prominent one.

They both have a crisscross design emerge and a “secret” star design emerge, but it’s more subtle on the left and more prominent on the right.

Secondary Design – Two Block Quilts

Two block quilts are the most common and usually the easiest way to create a secondary design. Often, these quilts will have a checkerboard design block as one of the blocks. Then, whether the blocks are on-point or set straight, there is a fun checkerboard design that runs through the quilt. Here are two examples. The one on the left is straight set blocks and the one on the right is on-point set blocks.

Both quilts have a secondary design created by the checkerboard blocks. In Prairie Sky on the left the blocks create a diagonal design. In Country Dance on the right, the blocks are all set on-point so the checkerboard blocks create a grid design.

Now here’s secondary design with two different blocks, neither of which is a plain checkerboard.

When you put them together in Strips & Stars, look at what designs emerge. There’s actually two!

The log cabin blocks make diagonal stripes across the quilt while the checkerboards in the star block makes a crisscross design.

In this next example, neither of the blocks have any kind of checkerboard design at all and look at the design that emerges. Here’s the blocks:

Now  here’s the quilt, Starlit Path:

There a unique crisscross design that emerges where the blocks meet.

Secondary Design – Created with Sashing

The next way to create a secondary design is with a sashing, generally with cornerstones. In this first example, with my quilt Posey Patch, I used a sashing with cornerstones and also did stitch and flip corners on the sashing strip’s ends. When everything is joined together, stars emerge.

The second way to create a design is to have the quilt sashing “play” with an element of a block in the quilt. In my quilt, Open Windows, there is a stitch and flip corner on two sides of the blocks, that work to create a monkey wrench design when the blocks and sashing are joined.

Also notice the circle pattern created because of how the blocks are turned alternating in different directions.

Secondary Design – Playing with Fabrics

Finally, a surprising way to create a subtle secondary design is with a block’s or the quilt’s background fabrics, not just block design. It can either be easily noticeable or very subtle. In the three photos below, the diagonal “stripe” created by using two different colors in a half-square triangle square block. From left to right, it goes from bold to subtle. Using a plain block like this in two different colors is an easy way to make a diagonal design using color.

I did the same thing on a larger scale on these two lap size quilts:

On the left in Liberty Star Shine,  there are two shades of red that are very close that create a really subtle stripe down the quilt. In Butterfly Garden on the right, the stripe is more noticeable because there’s more contrast in the alternating block fabrics.

That’s my study in secondary design. Let me know if you have other combinations you can think of that would make an interesting design emerge. I hope you enjoyed this and I’ll see you next week!

Happy Quilting!
Deanne