Quilting Tips for Secondary Design

Are you interested in creating a quilt that has secondary design? I love designing quilts that display a different look when viewing it in a different way. When I go to a quilt show, that’s one of the things I do when standing in front of a displayed quilt. There are several ways to achieve this when creating a quilt so I decided to share some tips. Let’s get started!

What is Secondary Design?

First, let’s talk about what secondary design actually is. When you look at a quilt and you not only see the block designs but you see another design emerge as you continue to study it, that’s secondary design. Sometimes it’s intentional… and sometimes the designer just gets lucky and two blocks they decide to place next to each other combine to make another design.

There are several ways to achieve this. It can be done within a block and with one block quilts, where the elements of the block create a new design when several of them are joined into a quilt top. Also, in quilts that feature two or more blocks, joining two different blocks into rows can cause a new design to appear where those blocks meet. Finally, there’s adding a sashing between the blocks to create a new design, a scrappy background and even borders. I’ll cover all these here.

Within a Block

Tip #1: One of the easiest ways to create a secondary design within a block is with fabric color. Placing a certain color in different parts of alternating blocks can cause a different design to be emphasized. Here’s an example:

Notice how changing the blue and green fabric placement creates two different star blocks even thought the basic block design is the same. On the left, the center is a black square and the corner HSTs are multi-colored while the star points are one uniform color. It makes the 8 pointed star more prominent. The block on the right is the same block, but the corner HSTs are just two colors, the center and large star points are blue and the smaller star point is green, creating a friendship star design.

Tip #2: Changing background color can create a secondary design when the blocks are joined. Here are two blocks from my latest quilt, Town Square, showing this.

Both blocks are the same design but one has a light tan print background and one has a dark black print background. Look what happens when I join many of them together. Can you spot the secondary design that emerges because of this color change?

Here is one circled in the photo below:

Keep studying the quilt and see if you can pick out more. There are a few others.

Interplay Between Blocks

This is the next way to create secondary design. You can do it in one block quilts and two (or more) block quilts. I’ll show you here.

Tip #1: To create a secondary design with one block, choose a block that has movement within it. When those blocks are joined, that element helps create another design. Here’s an example from my quilt, Star Struck:

The block is a combination of a star with some strips and stitch & flip corners to complete it. When joining the blocks, I turned them so the stitch & flip corners alternated in which direction they pointed in each row. If you look at the block columns in the quilt, the corners create an illusion of flying geese “flying” across the quilt.

Tip #2: If the one block has a stationary or more uniform design, create a secondary design with a consistent color in all the blocks. Here’s an example of that in my quilt, Star Wheels:

The black elements of the blocks create a connecting grid when they are joined. But you have to look really closely to see another interesting design emerge. I’ll help you out with the circled area in the photo below:

Tip #3: This tip applies to quilts with two distinct blocks. The key to get a new design to emerge is to chose one block with a distinct directional pattern that, when pieced into a quilt top, will cause the viewer’s eye to see the secondary design. Sometimes they create the design when joined in straight rows and sometimes they look better when they are joined into rows with the blocks on point.

Here’s one example with my quilt Strips & Stars:

The star block on the left has a different kind of movement than the log cabin block in the center. When you put those two blocks together in a quilt, alternating between them and flipping every other the log cabin block in the rows, you get a unique, dark stripe design that runs diagonally.

Also, where the star blocks touch, the checkerboard corners create another secondary design crisscrossing across the quilt. I love these types of blocks that create several secondary designs.

Secondary Design through Sashing and Borders

Tip #1: Using a simple sashing in my quilt Sun Catcher, I have created an interesting secondary design. The sashing is made up of strips and squares to join the blocks. The best blocks to do this with are the ones that have a design that ties into the sashing.

The block in Sun Catcher has a ring of black squares framing the center star. The placement of the black square in the sashing serves to connect the blocks making a kind of a crisscross design across the quilt top.

Tip #2: Create a block-like design using sashing. This example below in Starfire shows how the sashing creates a star design that looks like it’s another planned block.

The strips of the sashing have stitch and flip corners that, when joined with a square at the block corners, make a star that mimics the one in the featured block.

Tip #3: Finally, here is an example how a border can create and interesting design in two of my quilts, Sister’s Reunion and Twilight Desert:

In Sister’s Reunion on the left, the inner brown geese border creates a radiating frame around the quilt center. On the right, a similar concept with the radiating inner border created with flying geese with scraps instead of one consistent color creates an interesting secondary design on the outside of the quilt.

So that’s it for this week’s tips. Try searching out secondary design in quilts the next time you are at a show. And if you’re lucky enough to see it when the designer is there, ask them about it. Was it intentional or was it a great surprise to them when they completed the quilt?

Share you comments and questions below and I will enter you into a drawing for my quilt pattern, Starfire. The drawing will be on Monday, June 1st. **We have a winner! Congrats, Mary!***

Happy Quilting!
Deanne