1. Should the fabric in a scrappy quilt be somewhat color coordinated?
it can be- some people really can not put together a quilt that is not coordinated- it's called (Controlled Scrappy)
it is not necessary though== there are wonderful scrap quilts that are not color coordinated at all.
2. Should she just pick fabrics she likes? YES
3. Would a black or mostly black border be a good or bad idea?
black adds alot of DRAMA to a quilt- it will make colors jump right out- white works too- but if she likes black go for it- it can make a quilt very (rich) looking
4. Should there be a balance between bright fabrics and pastels?
color really has nothing to do with a scrappy quilt--
what makes a scrappy quilt work-or not is VALUE!
you need a good mixture of lights, mediums, darks in order to have a successful scrappy quilt.
I told her I was pretty sure that anything goes in a scrappy quilt, but I would ask my experts. You are right - anything goes with a scrappy! the more variety the better.
Are there any hints you can give me about selecting fabric for a scrappy quilt, whether it be scraps or new fabric??
try to have a good variety of textures along with the values- large, medium and small prints also give the quilt movement/excitment....variety...
sort fabrics by value
Also, I think someone mentioned an online fabric store that somehow allowed you to place fabrics next to each other to see how they look? That might be handy for her....and for me.
fabric.com offers a design wall...there are a few other shops that also have them- you can select fabrics- send them to the design wall- then go (play) with them....i love fabric.com- been shopping with them for over 10 years- they have free shipping at $35 and i can always spend $35 :thumbup:
have fun with it---remember- a scrappy is a stress reliever- where scrappy's are in the works- the kiss system works best (keep it simple silly) :-D