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Don’t Shy Away from Fabric Prints!

There are many types of fabrics with prints. I talked about a few last week, focusing mostly on the size of the print. This week, I want to delve deeper in to fabric prints and tips on using them. As a scrap quilter, there are times where I have so  many fabrics in a block or quilt that I don’t pay attention to how they play off each other. Basically, I enjoy the chaos! I know not all quilters are like  me, so that’s why I have these tips. Let’s get started!

Fabric Prints General Info

I talked about this a little last week so here’s a review.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. 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.

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:

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.

My main tip is to balance the prints in blocks, even if making a scrap quilt. I think that creates a beautiful block without overpowering the design.

Directional Prints and How to Identify Them

Now these are the types of prints a lot of quilters shy away from. I’m here to offer some tips to help relieve some of the anxiety. Let’s start with the basics.

A fabric has a directional print, sometimes referred to as a “one-way” print, when there is a clear up or down to the pattern on the fabric. Here are a couple of examples of these fabrics:

Both fabrics above have a print that goes in one direction. It’s a bit more obvious in the fabric on the right since the line of print is prominent compared to the one in the fabric on the left. Compare these fabrics to the ones below:

These prints are not considered directional because the prints are evenly scattered across the fabric and look the same no matter which direction you look. There is no “one-way” to the print. This is what I  call a symmetrical print.

The reason why you want to identify if a print is directional is because when you cut fabric into pieces for your blocks, the fabric with a directional print can effect the way your block will look. Like I said above, in a scrap quilt it might not matter to you since you have a lot of different fabrics in one block. But if you are making a quilt with a small variety of fabrics in each block, individual fabrics will be more noticeable and you might not like how it makes your block look.

There can be one-way, two-way, three-way and even four-way directional print designs. If I use a directional fabric and want the design to all go in the same direction within the block, I try to stick with a directional fabric that isn’t too complicated. Also, directional prints need to be handles differently based on whether the unit you are making is all straight seams or bias seams.

Directional Prints and Straight Seams

Using these fabrics takes planning when you are cutting the pieces for your unit or block. The first example I will show you is a unit made up of a square and bordering strips. This the easiest to do because you are working with straight seams. Here’s the fabric I chose for this example:

I purposely chose one fabric with a nondirectional print (the pink) to go with the tan fabric with the directional print to make this example easier. That is actually a good tip to remember. If you use a fabric with a directional print in a block, pair it with a non-directional one or a solid. That way you only have to worry about the print on one fabric instead of several.

As you can see, the lines on the tan fabric run in one direction. So here’s what happens when I cut 1 1/2″ strips from this fabric to border a square of the pink fabric:

Since I cut all the border pieces from the tan print from the same 1 1/2″ strips, the longer strips on the top and bottom have the print moving in the opposite direction as the side strips. To make them all go in the same direction, I need to cut the 1 1/2 x 2 1/2″ side strips from a 2 1/2″ strip instead of a 1 1/2″ strip.

So here are the pieces now. You can see that the stripe of the fabric all runs in the same direction:

As you can see, using a directional print takes a little more planning ahead of time to get the print to run in the same direction. 

Here are the two blocks finished. The one with the prints going in two directions (left, below) is not bad looking, but the other one, to the right, looks more uniform if that’s what you are going for.

Directional Prints and Bias Seams

Handling directional prints when you are stitching bias seams, as you do with half-square triangle (HST) squares and flying geese, is a bit different than above. Here’s my tips for these types of units.

Below are the pieces to make 4 HSTs. Lay them out as shown and then lay the tan print face down on the color print. Stitch diagonally a scant 1/4″ on each side of the diagonal center from the same direction on both square sets (see where my finger is pointing).

Once you cut the units apart and press open you have 4 HSTs where, no matter how they are arranged, the directional tan print will not go in the same direction (the print on the blue fabric is also a directional but I’m choosing to focus only on the tan fabric for this example).

That doesn’t necessarily look bad, but here’s what to do to make the stripes in the tan fabric go in the same direction. First, repeat the above step but stitch one set of squares diagonally in the opposite direction of the other (where my finger is pointed in the first two photos):

So now when you cut the units apart, press them open and arrange them like the HSTs above, the directional print is running in the same direction. 

Now I put the two concepts together, straight and bias seams, in the churn dash block below.  All the stripes are going in the same direction by using the steps I’ve covered.

Some Final Tips

TIP #1: If you are making a block and want to use a directional print, decide up front if you want to have the print run in the same direction through out. That way you can figure out how to cut the fabric pieces and stitch them together to achieve this. This will save you a lot of “un-sewing” headaches. And also save you a lot of fabric.

TIP #2: If you choose to use directional prints, I recommend only using one of those fabrics within a block or unit. For example, if your block has three different fabric with prints, use only one that has a directional print  (the others can be solids or non-directional prints) especially if you want to have the print run in one direction.

That’s it for this week. I hope I didn’t scare you away from directional prints with this post! My aim is to make you more comfortable working with them. 

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

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

Color Terms and Combining Fabrics

The posts of the last two weeks were all about scrap quilting. Since I received some questions on color prints, choosing fabrics, and combining fabrics, I decided to write a post on color and combining fabrics in quilts. This will come in handy if you are making a “planned” scrap quilt, like I demonstrated last week. So let’s talk color!

Color Basics – Creating Contrast

One of the basic things you want to think about along with color is the contrast between fabrics you choose. Color and contrast actually go hand in hand. If you want your block designs to boldly stand out, you want fabrics that highly contrast with each other. If you want your quilt to read quieter, chose fabrics that have less contrast with each other.

Contrast is achieved by considering the value, tint, shade, etc. of the each color you choose. For example, pink is a tint of red where maroon is a shade of red. This photo below shows that:

To understand color better, here is explanations for those terms above and more. The most basic is hue. That is the base color. Blue, yellow, green, etc. are color hues. Value is the lightness or darkness of a hue. Here are three terms to know when referring to value:

  • Shade is taking the hue, for instance blue, and adding black to it to make it darker, for a dark blue.
  • Tint is taking the blue hue and adding white to make it lighter, making a light blue.
  • Tone is adding grey to a hue to make it less intense. Most colors around us in the world are tones of a pure color.

If you hear a quilter talk about “chroma” or “intensity” they are referring to the purity of a color, or how close it is to the pure hue. Here’s an example:

The blue fabric on the left is closest to the true hue whereas the blue fabric on the right is a shade of the true hue (black added). So, the intensity or chroma is higher in the fabric on the left. That fabric will be more noticeable in a quilt than the one on the right. 

So now you can see that creating contrast is simply using the different values (shade, tint or tone) of a hue to create contrast.

Two other important terms are: warm colors and cool colors. Cool colors are generally the purples, blues and greens where warm colors are generally oranges, reds and yellows. Mixing warm and cool colors is another way to create contrast.

Color Basics – The Color Wheel

Understanding the color wheel will also help you in choosing fabrics. Here’s mine:

The easiest thing to remember is the primary colors: yellow, red, and blue. These are the three basic colors that can be combined to make the other colors shown on the wheel above.

Secondary colors are those that are made by combining two primary colors equally. For example, yellow and red make orange.

Finally, tertiary or intermediate colors are made by combining a primary and a secondary color. For example, combine red and orange to make a red/orange color.

The color wheel comes in handy when you are interested in creating contrast as well. Colors located across from each other on the wheel have high contrast. That’s referred to as complementary. Using those in a quilt will create a design that is vibrant because of the contrast. Colors near each other on the wheel are considered analogous colors and will have less contrast. The quilt made from these will be “quieter”. Although you can create a little contrast by mixing in hues of different shades, tints and tones.

Here’s an example with fabrics:

The stack on the left is made up of fabrics that are complementary and the stack on the right is made up of fabrics that are analogous. Blocks from the stack on the left will be more vibrant than from those on the right.

Here’s another example:

Starting with the fabrics on the left. I used all colors that were analogous. The stack in the center shows how I created a bit of contrast by adding a tinted blue and green in place of the ones in the first stack. Finally, I took out two of the analogous colors and replaced them with complementary and warm fabrics of red and yellow, to create even more contrast.

Combining Fabrics

Tip#1: Background fabrics. The background can play a role in the contrast in your quilt. When choosing a background fabric, consider print size as well as how it will play with your color prints.

 I wanted the design of this quilt on the left (below) to be very subtle and the colors very subdued. Less contrast between the color prints and background. The quilt on the right is a similar pattern with high contrast between the color prints and the lighter background.

Here is an example of how fabric color, a block design, or an appliqué pattern is intensified by simply changing the background fabric from light tan to black.

Tip #2: Prints. Let’s look at some of the blocks from my Scrappy North Stars quilt to see how prints can be mixed and matched for different effects. Here’s the quilt:

Here are two blocks from the quilt:

For the block on the left, I used fabrics with prints about the same size in the block pieces, including the background. For the block on the right, not only did I use a lighter background fabric, I also alternated in print size depending on where the pieces fell in the block. 

Next up is my quilt, Sister’s Reunion:

Here are two blocks from this quilt:

The fabrics in the block on the left both have a larger, busier print than the fabrics in the block on the right. See what a difference prints in fabrics can make? I think the star design in the block on the right stands out more because of the difference.

 I hope you enjoyed this explanation of some color basics and that it will help you on your next fabric shopping trip. Whether you want high or low contrast, you can play with the colors, fabric prints, and background fabrics to achieve the desired look.

Feel free to comment or ask any questions in the comment section below.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

2024 Block of the Week – Block 6

Welcome back to the BOW! Before I introduce block 6, I have heard from some participants that you were having a bit of trouble piecing block 4. Because of this, I have written up an alternate piecing plan for block 4 that you can find here. I think you will find this a simpler way to piece the block. Hope that helps!

Now onto this week’s post. If you are just joining the BOW sew along, here’s a link to last weeks post: Block 5. If you click that link, it will take you to the block 5 blog post from last week with a link to block 4, which will lead you to the other block links. Like for the last 5 blocks, this week’s block has traditional roots. I love using traditional blocks to keep them going even in today’s quilts. So let’s go!

Block of the Week

Block 6:

The name of this block is Old Maid’s Puzzle. Oh look… it has half-square triangle squares! Don’t you love those by now? For the block instructions, go here: 2024 BOW Block 6.

A little block history. Like a lot of traditional blocks, this one has a lot of alternate names. A few of them are: Jacks on Six, Double X and Cat’s Cradle. It was published as Old Maid’s Puzzle in an 1895 issue of American Farmer’s Magazine. They had a section of the magazine called “The Farm House” which was the section written for the ladies. You can also find this block design in Amish quilts under the name of Bachelor’s History. Hmmm… wouldn’t be fun to go back in time to ask these women how they came up with these various block names? It was popularized as Old Maid’s Puzzle by Nancy Cabot in the Chicago Tribune in the 1930s.

Tip of the Week

This week, I want to talk about fabrics and directional prints. In scrap quilts when I am using a lot of different fabrics in each block, I don’t often pay attention to which direction a print is going. However, if you are only using a few fabrics in a block or quilt, you might want to pay attention. Here’s some tips on this.

Directional Prints

First, what is a directional print? A fabric has a directional print, sometimes referred to as a “one-way” print, when there is a clear up or down to the pattern on the fabric. Here are a couple of examples of that.

As you can see above, the pattern goes in one direction. It’s especially evident in the fabric on the left. Compare these fabrics to the ones below.

The design on the above fabrics are considered not directional because which ever way you turn the fabric, it looks the same. You can see it clearly in the fabric on the right. The “starburst” design is symmetrical and looks the same no matter which direction you turn it.

There can be one-way, two-way, three-way and even four-way directional print designs. If I use a directional fabric and want the design to all go in the same direction within the block, I try to stick with a directional fabric that isn’t too complicated.

Using Directional Prints

Since this block uses a lot of HSTs, I will cover how to use directional prints when making HSTs, if  you want them to be uniform.

Below are the pieces to make 4 HSTs. Here’s the traditional technique not considering directional prints.

Lay them out as shown and then lay the tan print face down on the color print. Stitch diagonally a scant 1/4″ on each side of the diagonal center line beginning from the same direction on both square sets (see where my finger is pointing).

Once you cut the units apart and press open you will get 4 HSTs where, no matter how they are arranged, the directional tan print will not go in the same direction. 

Now, here’s what you do if you want the tan fabric directional print to go in the same direction in the unit, follow the above steps, BUT stitch each set of squares starting in the opposite corner (see where my finger is pointing in last two photos).

Once you stitch the seams (first photo), cut the units apart, press and arrange them in the pinwheel, the directional print is all moving in the same direction.

Yay! If you keep rearranging them, you’ll notice the directional print always goes in the same direction.

So with a bit of planning you can get all your directional prints in a block going in the same direction, if that’s something you want. Like I said earlier, if you’re making a scrap quilt and using a lot of different fabrics for a block, you may not care.

Make it Scrappy!

Here’s a scrappy version of the block if you are doing scrappy.

Remember to comment or ask questions below to be entered into a drawing for the fat quarter pack below:

That’s it until  next week!

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Working with Fabric Prints

I’ve done a few posts this year on picking out fabrics for your quilts based on color, but what about prints? Picking out the right print for your blocks makes a difference on how your quilt looks just like picking the right colors. Fabric prints sometimes present more of a challenge to quilters than picking out fabric colors. My goal in this post is to demonstrate how prints “play” with each other which will help you when shopping for fabrics for your next quilt.

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. If I want to emphasize a border, I choose a larger print. If I want a part of a block or the quilt to be more of a backdrop, I use a smaller 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.

Now that I’ve written out an explanation, here are some examples to demonstrate. Here are three fabrics of the same color with different types of prints:

The orange fabric on the top has a small, concentrated print and is the type that can read as a solid in your quilt, meaning it won’t clash with other prints. The fabric in the center has a print scale that is a little bigger and more noticeable. You may want to pair it with a fabric that is solid or one that has a small, fine print to calm it down. Finally, the bottom fabric has a prominent print and it’s also directional, which poses other challenges that I’ll cover next week.

Now, here’s another example with some pink fabrics:

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:

That tan background fabric will let the pink large print fabric be the star of the block. I would choose other color prints with the same scale print for additional blocks, using the same quiet background for a stunning quilt.

Fabric Prints at Work

Here’s some examples of what I have been talking about using some blocks from actual quilts I have made.

Notice how I paired the fabrics for each block above. On the left, since the smaller star has a print that reads more like a solid, I was able to pair it with larger print for the framing star. I did the opposite with the block on the right. I think if both the fabrics used in the blocks had large, busy prints it would overwhelm the design of the block.

Here are another set of blocks for demonstration:

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.

So let’s play. Which background would you choose for the following fabrics? I have paired them with three different tan prints with very different scale prints.

Here’s my thoughts.

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.

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 that’s it for this week. Join me next week for a chat on using directional prints.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Color is Key – Part 2

Last week in my Color is Key post, I covered picking out fabrics based on color and contrast and gave you some brief color theory tips. This week, I want to talk about what to do before heading to the quilt shop and what to do when you’re there to put these tips into action. I will also talk about fabric prints and background fabrics. So, let’s get started.

Before Shopping

Tip#1: The first step is reading over your pattern and finding all the fabrics you need to gather from your stash or purchase. After I do that, I first look through my stash to see what I have and “audition” them by laying them out like this:

By laying the fabrics out like this, I can see if they all “play” together well. Stand back and look at your collection and see if a fabric stands out like a sore thumb. You can then remove that one and replace it with another. Do that until you like your collection.

One of my favorite things to do is “shop” my stash before going to the quilt shop when I’m starting a new project!

Tip #2: If you are interested in changing up the colors from those of the pattern’s sample quilt, make sure to do this before shopping. You can actually test out different colors using scraps from your stash. Choose the fabric colors you are thinking about and make a few test blocks.

By doing this before shopping, you will know which colors look good in the blocks you are going to make for the quilt.

Another way to find new color combinations is to copy or draw a picture of the quilt block that makes up the quilt and use colored pencils to decide on a color way you prefer.

At the Quilt Shop

So you have determined you need fabric, either to fill what is not in your stash or you have to buy it all. Here’s some tips for that.

Tip #1: You can do the same thing at the quilt shop that you did at home with fabric from your stash – “audition”.

You can do this with full bolts (like above) or fat quarters, if that’s all you need. Find a well lit area of the shop to stack or lay the fabrics together. Most fabric shops will have staff that can assist you in finding a space to do this… they want to sell fabric!

Tip #2: If you have a fabric you absolutely love, whether it’s one that’s from your stash or one you find at the shop, here’s a tip on finding fabrics that will go with it. I’ve shared this tip before so it may be a repeat to some of you but for new readers, look at the selvage of the fabric you have chosen. You will often see something like this:

See those dots of color? Those are the colors that went into making this piece of fabric. You can take that piece of fabric around the shop and use those dots to find a green, orange, red and blue that will go well with this fabric. This is often used by quilters when they’ve chosen a “focus” fabric. That’s the fabric they build from to create the color scheme for their whole quilt.

Tip #3: If you are buying fabric, buy a little more fabric than the pattern requires. I actually recommend at least 1/8 yard more. I automatically figure in extra fabric when writing my patterns but you can add a little extra fabric to my requirements too if it makes you feel comfortable. Here are the reasons I recommend that extra fabric:

  • When squaring up the fabric, it’s possible to lose some of the length if the fabric was wound a bit wonky onto the bolt.
  •  If you like to pre-wash your the fabric, there could be shrinkage.
  •  Finally …. cutting errors. We all have them!

Background Fabric

A lot of time, advice for choosing fabric focuses mainly on choosing the color print fabrics for your quilt blocks but doesn’t offer any advice on background fabrics, either for the blocks or the whole quilt. Here’s a few tips.

Tip #1: Do you want a light or dark background for your quilt? Here are a couple of my quilts showing the difference:

You don’t always have to use light tan fabrics for your backgrounds. For the quilt on the right, Sunset Sky, I used grey for the blocks and then a black print for the sashing for the overall background. You can also mix light and dark within the same pattern for more interest like I did in my pattern, Marbles & Jacks.

Tip #2: Block backgrounds can be played with too. Not only do you want the color prints in your block to pop, you don’t want the prints of the background fabrics to clash with them. Here’s an example in photos to illustrate this. 

Here are fabrics that I want in my blocks:

Now below are these three fabrics paired with three different background choices.

The background on the left has a large, bold print that I feel will clash with the prints in the color print fabrics. If you want to use this background, I recommend choosing color prints with less prominent prints. Recognize that the background fabric will be the “star” in your quilt with such a bold print so make sure that is your intention.

The middle photo has background fabric that is a little better with a more subtle and blended print and, finally, the background fabric in the last photo has a smaller print that’s even more subtle so it does not clash with the large prints of the color fabrics. That’s probably the background fabric that would be my first choice for my blocks, although the middle fabric is a close second.

Here’s an example in two blocks that shows how the print sizes on the fabrics play together.

On the left, the prints of the background fabric and the color prints are about the same size so no particular fabric stands out. To create more contrast, for the block on the right I chose color print fabrics with different size prints. I also made the middle color print darker to create more contrast so the larger print on the purple fabric doesn’t completely overwhelm the block.

Finally, you can just have a lot of fun by making your block backgrounds scrappy, like in my quilt Seaside Cottage:

That’s the fun of a scrap quilt!

That’s it for this week! Leave a comment or ask a questions below and be entered into a drawing for the Seaside Cottage quilt pattern. The drawing will be on Monday, January 22nd. Good luck! **We have a winner! Congrats, Donna Logan!**

Happy Quilting,
Deanne

Using Fabrics with Directional Prints

A lot of quilters shy away from fabrics with directional prints. My advice is not to! As a scrap quilter I use a lot of different fabrics in a block and a quilt. There are times that I don’t care what print is on a piece of fabric and what direction it goes in because in a scrap quilt, the “chaos” of all those fabrics together is the point. But, if you are wanting a more uniform looking block and quilt, there are ways to use directional prints to make them look more uniform. So let’s talk about it!

Directional Prints and Straight Seams

Using these fabrics takes planning when you are cutting the pieces for your unit or block. The first example I will show you is a unit made up of a square and bordering strips. This the easiest to do because you are working with straight seams. Here’s the fabric I chose for this example:

I purposely chose one fabric with a nondirectional print (the pink) to go with the tan fabric with the directional print to make this example easier. As you can see, the lines on the tan fabric run in one direction. So here’s what happens when I cut 1 1/2″ strips from this fabric to border a square of the pink fabric:

As you can see, since I cut all the border pieces for the pink square from the same 1 1/2″ strips, the longer strips on the top and bottom have the print moving in the opposite direction as the side strips. To make them all go in the same direction, I need to cut the 1 1/2 x 2 1/2″ side strips from a 2 1/2″ strip instead of a 1 1/2″ strip.

Here’s the last photo a little bigger so you can see how the print is now going in the same direction in all the border strips:

So, it will take a little planning, and maybe a little more fabric if the pattern doesn’t have specific cutting instructions for prints, to make this work. Now here are the two blocks finished. The one with the prints going in two directions (left, below) is not bad looking, but the other one, to the right, looks more uniform if that’s what you are going for.

Directional Prints and Bias Seams

So now how do you handle directional prints when you are stitching bias seams as you do with half-square triangle (HST) squares and flying geese? Here’s my tips for that.

Below are the pieces to make 4 HSTs. Lay them out as shown and then lay the tan print face down on the color print. Stitch diagonally a scant 1/4″ on each side of the diagonal center from the same direction on both square sets (see where my finger is pointing).

Once you cut the units apart and press open, you will get 4 HSTs where, no matter how they are arranged, the directional tan print will not go in the same direction (the print on the blue fabric is also a directional but I’m choosing to focus only on the tan fabric for this example).

That doesn’t necessarily look bad, but here’s the steps on what to do to make the stripes in the tan fabric go in the same direction. First, repeat the above step but stitch one set of squares diagonally in the opposite direction of the other (where my finger is pointed in the last two photos):

Below are the photos of the stitched squares (left) and then the HSTs cut apart and arranged.

The stripes on the tan fabric are now going in the same direction. Now I put the two concepts together in the churn dash block below. It has both straight and bias seams. All the stripes are going in the same direction by using the steps I’ve covered.

Another block unit that requires a bias seam is a flying geese unit. The steps are a little different from the HSTs, but not much. You just need to pay attention while stitching your pieces together.

The secret to using directional fabrics for flying geese is that the directional print will go in the opposite direction from how it was placed for stitching. For example,  if you position the directional print horizontally, the print will run vertical after stitching and pressing the corner open. The photos below show this:

To finish the flying geese unit, I need to lay the next square face down on the other side of the rectangle with the print going horizontal so when done, the print will then be vertical like the first side (finished geese on right, below).

The hitch comes if you are piecing these flying geese into a star block with the grey fabric in the center, print going in one direction. If you make all 4 flying geese with the print going vertical… this will happen:

Two of the flying geese in the sides will have the stripe going in the wrong direction. To remedy this, make two flying geese units with the stripes going vertical and two with the stripes going horizontal.

So in the photo below, you will notice that the stripes go in the same direction on both geese units as they do in the center square:

Here are all four geese units stitched into a star block:

Well, that’s all for this week! Leave a comment below or ask any questions you may have. I will enter you into a drawing for my quilt pattern, Star Wheels, that will give you lots of practice with directional prints if you choose!

The drawing will be on Monday, June 12th. Good luck! ***We have a winner! Congrats, Elaine A.!***

Happy Quilting,
Deanne

Fabric Prints – The Challenge and The Fun!

Fabric prints can present a challenge to many quilters, but can also be fun to play with. I thought about that this week while I was going through my fabric stash picking out fabrics for my next project. At times I come across a piece of fabric with an unusual print and wonder… why did I buy that? and how will I use it? I’m going to talk about fabric prints in this post,  including how to use them to their advantage in your quilt. Let’s get started.

Fabric Prints

The prints in a fabric make a difference. I like to pick prints based on where on the quilt I’d like to draw attention. If I want to emphasize a border, I choose a larger print. If I want a part of a block or the quilt to be more of a backdrop, I use a smaller print. That’s sort of a simplistic explanation so I will show some examples coming up.

Here are three fabrics of the same color with different types of prints

Three pink fabrics, but with very different looks based on the print scale and size. The fabric on the left has a small print, printed closely all over the fabric. The center fabric as a print that is a little larger but it’s more spread out, which makes it a bit less prominent. Finally, the fabric on the right has a very large print. 

I would not use these fabrics the same in making a quilt. The fabric on the far right will definitely be the “star” where ever you put it in the quilt. It would make a great border. 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:

Which fabric would you pair with that pink print? Of course, the one on the left makes the most sense because it fades into the background and won’t upstage the pink fabric at all. The one on the right doesn’t look bad though. The grey looks good with pink and the print is a different scale. This would tone down the effect of the pink fabric and if that’s your goal, that would be a good choice.

Here’s an example using blocks from one of my quilts.

Where does your eye go in each block? The block on the left is very harmonious. My eye may be drawn more to the dark blue star points because it has a more subtle, spaced print and it’s not a light shade. But that might be it. Now, the block on the right as more print contrast. The big print on the purple fabric helps to draw your eye outward. See what a print difference can do?

Finally, a background fabric print can make a big difference.

The background fabric on the left is a large, bold print that I feel will probably clash with the prints in the color print fabrics. Recognize that this background fabric will be the “star” in your quilt with such a bold print so make sure that is your intention.

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.

Finally, the background fabric in the last photo has a smaller print that’s more subtle due to the tone on tone color scheme and the smaller scale of the print.  Because of this, it does not clash with any of the prints of the color fabrics and truly acts as a background.

Directional Prints

Sometimes, a fabric will have a print that goes in a single direction. You’ll hear these fabrics referred to as “directional prints”. Directional print fabrics can present a challenge and, many times, quilters will shy away from using them. But don’t be afraid of using these types of fabric. It can actually be fun to play with directional prints.

How do you identify a directional print? A fabric has a directional print, sometimes referred to as a “one-way” print, when there is a clear up or down to the pattern on the fabric. Here are a couple of examples of directional prints:

Notice in the fabrics above, the print runs in one direction so it would look different in a quilt block based on how it was pieced into it. Compare the two above fabrics with the two below:

The design on the above fabrics are considered not directional because which ever way you turn the fabric, the print looks the same. You can see it clearly in the fabric on the left. The “starburst” design is symmetrical and looks the same no matter which direction you turn it.

There can be one-way, two-way, three-way and even four-way directional print designs. If I use a directional fabric and want the design to all go in the same direction within the block, I try to stick with a directional fabric that isn’t too complicated.

So that’s it for this week. Next week, I’ll share tips on how to use directional prints when making some simple block units. Leave a comment or ask questions below. See you next week!

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Coordination and Quilting Go Together

Like PB & J, coordination and quilting go together. What is coordination? One of the definitions you will find in the dictionary is: the organization of the different elements of a complex body or activity so as to enable them to work together effectively. Well that sounds like something we do when quilting all the time! Whether it’s fabrics, blocks, borders or a combination of all those things, coordination makes the quilt sing. Even scrap quilts! Let’s get started talking about this.

Block & Border Choice

One of the times to consider coordination in quilting is in choosing the blocks for your quilt. Also, if it’s a one block quilt, coordinating an interesting border can be used to set off the blocks in the quilt. Consider these three quilts below:

These are all one block quilts. But by doing interesting settings with the blocks and borders, they are unique in their own way. The quilt on the left, Marbles & Jacks, achieves an interesting look from the change in background color. I coordinated it by having the star in the center of the block opposite from the block’s background color.

Follow the Stars in the center is all the same block too! By just rotating the blocks in different directions, I created an interesting pattern with the black checkerboard accent.  This creates another thing that comes from coordination… a secondary design. 

Finally with an on point block setting, like in Homestead Hearth on the right, plain blocks and then a pieced border from the same fabrics as the blocks is another type of coordination. The plain blocks between the pieced blocks and the border help to set off your colorful blocks and the pieced border frames everything and draws you eye back to the blocks.

Secondary Design

More so than in a one block quilt, coordinating blocks in a two block quilt is a fun way to achieve a the secondary design I mentioned above. To get a secondary design, you need to choose two blocks that will make another design appear when they are pieced into a quilt top. My quilt Twinkling Log Cabin is a good example of this. Here are the two blocks that make up the quilt:

So here’s the quilt with the blocks put together. If you stand back from it and concentrate on the light portions of the log cabin blocks, star designs will seem to appear to your eye.

Also, if you don’t know there are the two blocks on point that make up the quilt before it is shown to you, the quilt looks like it has nine large center blocks with an interesting pieced border like below:

Looking at it that way makes you see a completely different quilt. Now that’s some interesting coordination!

Fabric Coordination

Another time to consider coordination is when you choose the fabrics. Color and contrast are not the only things to consider. We often look at the colors of the quilt on the cover of the pattern and work to find something close (or sometimes the exact fabric). You won’t always be able to find the exact fabric used in the sample because fabric companies often elect not to reprint a certain fabric. This is when you want to consider the print and scale of the prints, as well as the colors, in the original because the print can be as important in re-creating the quilt.

Here’s an example. The fabric on the left is the original fabric in a quilt I wanted to reproduce. However, that fabric was not to be found anywhere, so I chose the fabric on the right.

I managed to find a fabric about the same shade and with a print similar in scale. The print isn’t quite as tight as the original, but they read close.

Coordination also comes in to play when you are choosing the fabrics to make blocks. If you have a larger scale print in one of the fabrics and want that to stand out, choose fabrics with smaller scale prints so they read more as solids. Here’s an example:

Imagine if this fabric above was the fabric for your blocks, in different colors but with the same print. Now I need a background fabric. Here’s a couple of my choices:

Which one would you choose? I would go with the fabric on the left since the print is more subtle. Some of the print is the same size as in the focus fabric, but since it’s spread out more and the print is lighter, they will work well together. The fabric on the right should be used with a focus fabric with a more subtle print that reads more like a solid, in my opinion.  You might disagree… that’s what makes quilting so fun!

My basic advice is to coordinate the prints so they don’t battle with each other. Here is another example. The focus fabric on top is pretty wild, so any other fabric in the block needs to have prints that are more mild. Especially if you want that top fabric to stand out.

Here are two blocks in one of my quilts side by side. Study the print sizes in each block and you can see how print coordination can change where your eye goes.

In the block on the left, most of the prints are the same scale except for the dark blue. The scale is bigger and spread out more so that helps make that fabric more of the focus of the block. The block on the right is a little more “alive”. The dark brown smaller print for the star makes it stand out, but the large print in the purple fabric also draws your eye.

So, I hope this little lesson in coordination in quilting is more clear than mud. LOL! These are just “rules” I have followed throughout my years of quilting. You can adopt these or not. It’s up to you! The main thing is to have fun coordinating blocks, borders and fabrics and making a unique creation!

Leave a comment below with your questions or thoughts. I will have a drawing for a copy of my Twinkling Log Cabin quilt pattern on December 12th from those who comment. **We have a winner! Congrats, Lynn Hyman!**

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

The Essential Quilting Tool – Fabric!

I’ve been cutting out several projects and this is what the edge of my cutting table looks like:

Oops! Looks like it’s time for me to do some sorting and organizing again. Does this happen to you? Since I’ve been looking at this pile all week, I figured I would do a blog post about the essential quilting tool… fabric! Besides the pattern, that’s where it all starts. If you don’t have fabric, you don’t have a quilt. Well, at least not a traditional quilt! Here’s my random musings on fabric stashes, my thoughts on choosing background fabrics and some ideas on color and print contrast.

Fabric Storage

As a scrap quilter, I like to have a stash of fabrics of many different sizes, from strips up to half yards. Of course I do often buy fabrics in 1 and 2 yard cuts for backgrounds, but I have been known to scrap piece my backgrounds too. Here’s how I store my smaller cuts of fabric in one of my cabinets:

Most of them are actually in there when not stacked on my counter. I have the tubs labels with size and color. This makes it easy for me to “shop” my stash. As those of you who are familiar with my quilt patterns know, I collect a stash and chose fabrics for my projects from there instead of shopping specific lines. So, when people ask me “what fabric is that in this quilt?” Sometimes I do not know unless I still have some left and I can refer to the printing on the selvage.

So now on to how I fill these tubs:

I will often shop the pre-cuts when I am in a quilt shop to stock my tubs but, if I really like a particular color print fabric, I buy a one yard cut. Then it’s time to cut it up into my own “pre-cuts”. I cut that yard piece in half for two half yards.

In the last photo, you will see I have folded up one of the half yards to store away in my tub of red 1/2 yards.

Next, I cut the remaining half yard in half on the fold to make two fat quarters. Like with the half yards, I fold up one of the fat quarters and store it in the fat quarter red bin.

Finally, I cut the remaining fat quarter in half to make two fat eights. Because fat eights are so small when folded and are hard to store that way, I roll those as I show below (photo on right).

Now, if I don’t want two fat eights of that particular color, I will cut that last fat eight into 2 1/2″ and 1 1/2″ strips. That’s what I will be doing with that mess on my cutting table… cutting it into strips.

And how do I store strips? In these tubs below that are shallow and divided with acid free cardboard.

I like these shallow tubs because they are easy to stack and store in one of my cabinets. As you can see, they are labeled with the color and size strips inside.

The reason I keep only 2 1/2″ and 1 1/2″ strips is because those are the sizes I use the most, especially for scrappy blocks and for bindings. However, you can use these shallow tubs for any size strips you collect. These can even be set up to store charm squares and even layer cakes, if you collect those.

Choosing Fabric for Backgrounds and Playing with Contrast

Something I don’t see covered a lot when people talk about how to choose fabric, is how to choose the fabrics for your background. Whether it’s for sashing, borders or for the background in the blocks themselves, the fabric you choose can make a big difference.

Here’s some things to consider. First, dark background or a light background? Here’s an example of the same quilt pattern made up with the two different backgrounds:

With the lighter background, the whole motif is more subdued and subtle. When you choose a black or dark background, that gives you the opportunity to choose colors for the appliqué motif that are brighter and will “pop” off the background. It makes the quilt more vibrant. Amazing that you can change the look of the same quilt with just the background choice.

Another consideration is the print on the background fabric. If you want the background fabric to fade into the background, you choose a subtle, small print. If you want a bold background, you can choose one with a larger print. However, when choosing prints for your background, you need to consider the prints on the other fabrics in the block.

Here’s an example. I chose these three fabrics for a block:

Now I paired them with 3 different backgrounds of various print size:

The background on the left has a large, bold print that I feel will clash with the prints in the color print fabrics. If you want to use this background, I recommend choosing color prints with less prominent prints. Recognize that the background fabric will be the “star” in your quilt with such a bold print so make sure that is your intention.

The middle photo has background fabric that is a little better with a more subtle and blended print and, finally, the background fabric in the last photo has a smaller print that’s even more subtle so it does not clash with the large prints of the color fabrics. That’s probably the background fabric I would choose for my blocks.

Here’s an example in two blocks that shows how the print sizes on the fabrics play together.

In the photo on the left, the prints on the background fabric and the color prints are about the same size so no particular fabric stands out. To create more contrast, for the block on the right I chose color print fabrics with different size prints. I also made the middle color print darker to create more contrast so the larger print on the purple fabric doesn’t completely overwhelm the block.

How about changing the background within the quilt by having blocks with contrasting backgrounds? Here’s an example:

I alternated between a light background and a dark background for the blocks. And I also changed the star points within the blocks to the opposite of the block’s background. Lots of interesting contrast in my quilt, Marbles & Jacks!

So, that’s some of my random thoughts on fabric as the essential quilting tool. Share your thoughts below in the comments for a chance to win the Marbles & Jacks pattern above. The drawing will be on Monday, November 7th. **We have a winner! Congrats, Debbie!**

Happy Quilting!
Deanne