Fabric Prints Are Fun to Work With!

When picking out fabric, most of the time we’re focused on color. It is important to be happy with the colors and how they play together. But what about prints? Fabrics come with all kinds of prints: large, small, sparsely covered, densely covered, directional and non-directional. So what is a quilter to do when picking out fabrics? I’ll cover my tips in this post this week.

My Project in the Works

Here’s what I’m working on now:

One thing I can say is if you like to do scrap quilts like me, matching prints aren’t as important as in a quilt that’s not scrappy. But, let’s concentrate on my setting triangles for this quilt. Notice I actually picked a stripe! You can use a stripe, or other directional print, for setting triangles in an on-point set quilt (see info on setting triangles in last week’s post) because they can be arranged in a way that has the stripes going all in the same direction (as you can see by the photo on the right).

Next, I added a border to this quilt. I used the dark brown stripe in the setting triangles to match with the brown in the border fabric. I decided on a non directional print since the print in the triangles is very uniform and directional.

I also decided to add appliqué to this quilt. Some quilters might think they can’t use prints in their appliqué fabrics. Not me! Here’s the fabrics I picked for the flowers, stems and leaves. I like to choose different prints for interest.

So now that you’ve seen a preview of my current project, lets move on to a more general discussion of prints.

Fabric Prints

The size of prints in a fabric will make a difference in the look of a block or quilt top. I like to plan where to place different size prints in a quilt based on if I want them to attract more attention to that area or fade in the background.

Like in my quilt top above, the setting triangles and borders are from fabrics with different kinds of prints. In person, the border print fabric is more subtle than the striped fabric used for the setting triangles so it kind of fades into the background.

Generally, if I want to emphasize a border, I would choose a larger, bolder print. If I want a part of a block or the quilt to be more of a backdrop, I use a smaller, subtle print. Smaller prints can make a fabric “read” as a solid. That is a good thing if you don’t want that fabric to clash with others in your quilt.

Here’s an example of three fabrics of the same color with different types of prints:

The fabric on top is an example of a fabric with a small, dense print. It would read more as a solid than the other two. The print in the middle is more noticeable because its bigger and spread out more. Finally, the print on the bottom is a type that is considered directional since the stripes only go in one direction on the fabric. 

Here’s another example with an array of fabrics in pink:

Another example of how print scale makes a difference. The two fabrics on the left have prints about the same size, but the print on the fabric in the center appears more noticeable because of how it’s dispersed. Both fabrics though could be used with other prints and not take too much attention away. 

Of course, the fabric on the right shows a print that is really large and prominent. For my tastes, I would use the fabric on the right for a border or block units, but not a background. If you chose to use it in a block, it would need to be paired with a solid or a very small print fabric for a background fabric so as not to clash with it or distract from it. Here’s what I am talking about:

Working with Prints

Now that I have talked about prints, let’s see them at work. Below are two block that use prints differently:

For the star block on the left, I combined a larger print pink fabric with a smaller more subtle purple print in the smaller inset star. In fact, the purple almost reads solid. The star block on the right is the opposite. The more noticeable print in is used in the smaller star and the green print for the larger star reads more solid. 

This is my favorite way to pair prints. I like to consider scale so that the block’s design doesn’t disappear, which I think would happen if both prints in the block were too busy.

Here’s another example with more than two fabrics:

These examples bring the backgrounds into the equation. The background of the block on the left is dark with a subtle print, so the tan print I chose for the points of the star has a larger, more prominent print. Notice the purple fabric in the center has a bit of a larger print too, but since it’s of a smaller scale than the tan print, it doesn’t clash.

For the block on the right, since the background has a large, noticeable print, the tan print I chose has a more subtle print that fades into the background. I also chose a subtle print for the green fabric in the center to keep the whole block in balance.

Prints and Background Fabric

You can venture out from the typical background of a solid light tan or white. For instance, if you want to really have fun, try using a different light tan print in each of your blocks like I did with this scrap quilt, Seaside Cottage:

If your quilt calls for 2 yards of a tan print for background of blocks, consider buying 4 half yards or 8 quarter yards of coordinating tans to make up that 2 yards. Then you can use different backgrounds with the variety of color print pairings for blocks to make a scrappy background.

Or, have a lot of fun by actually changing from a light background print to a dark background print like I did with my quilt, Bloomin’ Days.

Here’s a little exercise you can do when picking out backgrounds and fabrics for a block or entire quilt. You can use smaller cut of fabric in the quilt shop (like fat quarters) or stack bolts to do this. Here’s three examples:

Which fabric would you pick for the background?

Here’s my opinion:

The background fabric on the left is a large, bold print that will probably clash with the prints in the color print fabrics. If you decide to use this background fabric, it will be the “star” in your quilt with such a bold print so make sure that is your intention. I would choose a different set of color prints with smaller scale prints to go with that background. This tan fabric would make a fun border if there was a thinner, subtle inner border (or sashing) between it and the blocks.

The middle photo has background fabric that works a bit better with the color prints because of a more subtle print even though it’s still prominent. The background is still a little more busy but, depending on the block design, it could work with the color prints without clashing. 

Finally, the background fabric in the last photo has a smaller print has a tone on tone color scheme and the smaller scale of the print so it reads more as a solid than a print. Because of this, it does not clash with any of the prints of the color fabrics and truly acts as a background. Definitely the safest of the choices.

So there you go! That’s my “lesson” on fabric prints. They are fun to work with and you don’t have to fear mixing and matching them as long as you do it the right way.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne