Let's talk solids and prints in quilting.
The last two weeks I've shared ideas and tips for choosing colors for your quilts. You can read them HERE and HERE. This week I want to touch on using solids and prints and how they can also affect your color choice.
I have a couple of quilts that were made with questionable fabric print choices that I want to share with you. In these instances I was so focused on getting the color right, that I ignored that little nagging voice in my head that maybe the prints weren't quite right.
It's so easy to do when choosing fabrics. When I go in with a specific color combination in mind, I am truly focused on just that, the color and not how the prints in those colors play together.
This was very true when I was choosing the fabrics for Square Illusions.
I love the colors I chose for the quilt, but the prints within the colors definitely detracted from the design, especially because they were also multicolored. I totally lost the illusion of multiple squares because of the prints in the chosen fabrics.
You can see what the PBJ testers did with their fabric choices in THIS POST and how prints were used, and used successfully in their Square Illusions quilts.
I found the same thing happened in this version of the Friendly Flight quilt. I was determined to have a blue and cream quilt, and focussed solely on getting the right hues and values of the blues, and not what the prints were going to do to is as a whole. In this instance I should have looked for more solid looking prints (i.e. blue on blue) more than mixed prints, as well as smaller motifs.
For the second version of Friendly Flight, I still used fabrics with patterns in them, but they were used more purposefully and with the overall design in mind.
How do we avoid this? Some people are just born with an eye for this type of process, I am not those people, which is why I tend to use fabrics that have prints that are color on color. Like white on white, etc. I do have a couple of tips to share, though.
1) When shopping for a specific pattern, make sure you know the size of the units you will be making. Are the HST (half-square triangles) going to finish at 2" or 4"? What size is the finished square, 12" or 16"? When you know what sizes you will be working with, you can go into the store and measure the print. Maybe even have a piece of paper cut to the size you will be making so you can see how it looks next to the print size. Some of the larger prints might surprise you, they have obviously surprised me a time or two.
2) When you begin pulling fabrics, start with solid reading fabrics first, then add in or replace the solid fabrics with prints. This can help you pull in prints that add to the overall feel of the fabrics, instead of overwhelming you with all of the beautiful prints.
3) If prints make you nervous, but you want more than solids, look for solids with texture. These can help give a gentle movement to your fabric choices, but still help build your color and print confidence. I do this for my Monthly Color Challenge.
One year I did a completely solid quilt top, but I usually choose fabrics like Benartex's basic lines Cotton Shot or Burlap, because while they are solids, they have great texture to add an extra oomph to your block, and in turn, your quilt.
4) Take a photo of your fabric choices (ask permission first) and change the photo to greyscale or black and white. This is a trick I often use to check that my values are correct, but it can also give you an idea of how the prints play together.
Lastly, it will take some practice to develop an eye for choosing prints, so just as I suggest asking your LQS (Local Quilt Shop) owner/employees for help with color choices, ask for tips/help with prints as well. They tend to have a good eye for color, and they want your quilt to beautiful, too.
Do you have any tips for choosing prints for a quilt top? Share them in the comments!
Make something Extraordinary!
Jen
Did you get my 5 Free Tips for Accurate Piecing yet? I would love to send it to you, sign up HERE!
New to Patterns By Jen?
Don't forget to sign up for the Bites of PBJ newsletter while you are here!
Find paper and digital patterns in my Etsy shop
Find fun PBJ merchandise at Teespring
Follow me on Instagram
Join the Quilt and Learn with Patterns By Jen Facebook page.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to get your comments and hear your ideas. I always respond to comments (though it may take me a few days), if you haven't heard from me it might mean you are a no reply commenter. If you haven't heard back from me, check back here, because I will reply to the comment.