Things You'll Need:
- Fabric store
- Eyes
- Sense of adventure!
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Step 1
The first and foremost rule is that there are NO quilt police! Believe me, if there were they would have been at my house by now. These are guidelines, not hard and fast rules.
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Step 2
Choose your color scheme. Do you just love purple and orange together? Go for it! Match or contrast with your furniture. Don’t have a clue what you want? Let the fabric store inspire you!
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Step 3
Find your first fabric. Chain stores and privately-owned quilt stores can both provide acceptable fabrics for your quilt. Most quilters choose 100% cotton. For your first fabric, pick something you love – you know, the one you keep coming back to and patting. Unless you plan a quilt that is all solid fabrics, choose a print first. The one caveat is to make sure that the scale of the print suits the size of your quilt pieces. If you’re making a quilt out of 1” squares, a print of roses that are 6” across may not work. What will it look like when you cut it down to the size you need? If you pick the first fabric well, choosing the others is much easier.
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Step 4
Choose your other fabrics. Don’t be afraid to mix your prints. You do not have to use one print and three coordinating solids. Experiment! Do you want your quilt to be all of one color? If so, the pattern of the quilt block may not be distinct. 6 different pink fabrics will all look similar from a distance. When you have 3-4 fabrics you like, place them on the counter and stand back. Does it sing to you or leave you flat? Compare the scale of the prints. Do you have some small, some medium, and some large? Does the scale of the prints suit the quilt pattern? (See step # 3). Contrast between light, medium, and dark values will add depth and interest to your quilt. Geometrics, florals, tone on tone, and solids can mix well if they have some similar color or scale references. This is your chance to play. Push your comfort boundaries! You haven’t bought it yet. Just lay it all out on the counter and pull more bolts and switch and trade them until you find a combination you like.
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Step 5
Buy it! If you’re new at cutting quilt pieces, it helps to buy a bit more than you need. Say, an extra 1/8 of a yard. If you plan on cutting your pieces so that a specific pattern is on each piece (fussy cutting), you will need more than required by the pattern.
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Step 6
Don’t worry about the backing, border, or binding fabric. Some quilters choose it at this time, especially if they find the perfect thing. Other quilters wait until the top is pieced. Just remember, if you see the perfect thing, it may be gone before you’re ready to back the quilt, so you might want to get it now.
