How do you choose a pleasing color combination? Someone told me to use the colored squares along the selvege of my theme fabric to match colors. I always seem to throw in a few that I wish I hadn't later. :roll:

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Your not the only one. I go print crazy. I guess you are supposed to look at a color wheel. I keep saying I will only use 3 fabrics...... but its all so pretty. :D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

I like to pick out what I call my focus fabric. This will have the most colors and the largest overall print.
I then take that bolt and hold it up to the fabrics to check out whether or not I can find other fabrics that are pleasing to my eye.
I look for at least 2 fabrics of each; light, medium and dark values.
I also try to include small, medium and larger size prints.
I stack these bolts sideways on the handle side of my cart.
I then step back and see which ones speak to me.
I also like to buy enough of one of the fabrics, usually the focus fabric to use for the backing.
I always buy extra fabric for my stash. If I have 10 or 12 different fabrics that all have harmonizing colors then I can make entirely different quilts, but have only shopped once.
I learned the hard way to never buy just 1 fabric at a time. Those pieces always seem to be my orphan fabrics.
Joyce

I just joined today and have to tell you...... I am great putting two and maybe three fabrics together, but tell me I need more than that and I become color illiterate. I really do have a hard time with more than three. I went out and bought the color thingy, it is two pieces of clear plastic, one red and one green, it is supposed to help. Haven't had the opportunity to try it yet tho and won't til after Christmas. Good luck with your color choosing.

Donna

The first three colors are the easiest to choose on any project. For the rest, I learned, while working part time in a fabric retail outlet, these guidelines to help speed up the choices:

Choose prints, plaids, medley colors that related to those main three--don't expect to have all three in each, just one or two--that can be the same, darker or lighter in color intensity.

If you need three more than the basic choices, lay out four or five, then eliminate that one or two that obviously don't add spice to the originals. The more colors you need beyond the original choices the more "leeway" is expected, but contrast (dark vs. light, bright vs. light) become more important.

You might be able to make all selections in one shopping trip, but do not expect to do so. Staple a tiny piece of each choice to a card to carry with you to the second or even a third shop. Purchase one more piece/color than you really need for the project. You may be surprised which of all your choices you may end up using.

Don't spend a lot of time agonizing over selections. Your natural first rections will be good. You will have a "feel" when a blue (or a cool tone) is needed within a selection, or when two prints are "too busy"

Ask another customer to choose which of two she prefers...but she will confirm your thinking

I usually buy my fabric a a local quilt shop (the salespeople are all quilters) and the employees love to help pick color combinations. It's helpful to have someone else's input and they sometimes suggest fabric that I hadn't even noticed.

I like the sample card Idea I always get to the fabric store and say gee it would be helpful if I had brought some color samples. I tend to grab alot of the same color schemes that don't always match. If you know what I mean? :? . I am building a pretty good stash of a variety of fabrics tho. It has taken me five years to find the perfect backing for the quilt top I made five yrs ago. hoping to finish that before Christmas! :-o

Norah,
I took a 'color' class at a local quilt shop early on. It really did help. They used a book by Gai Perry, Color From the Heart, to teach the class. We made 5 different quilts during the class. One thing I learned while looking for a specific green, "All greens go together!" The teacher was adament about this. Same for red, blue, etc. Don't limit yourself.
It was suggested that you add a little yellow and/or turquoise for a bit of spark to your quilt. It's amazing how those two colors can really jazz up a bland project.
Later I also signed up for some drawing classes for the same reason. I just felt that I wanted to see what others had to say about color.
Finally, I think your 'color style' will develope as you make more and more quilts. I used to ask others for their opinion but find I do it less and less now. I know what I want and what I like.
Oh, one other project from the color class that really helped was to chose a picture or an item that you really like and then use the colors you see there to build your color pallet for a quilt.
I own a color wheel and it does help also.
Bottom line, just keep experimenting. There is no such thing as a bad color combination. Do you remember the saying "blue and green should never be seen?" Blue and green make a beautiful combination in my opinion. Thank goodness we got over that 'rule'!!!! :lol:

To keep from buying something I don't really need, I have snipped off a corner of each of the fabric I have and glued them to paper - then I take it to the fabric store and get what I need. It also helps me when I put together colors.

Sometimes the prints are overwhelming in appearance and, since I can't picture a small piece, I bring a manilla folder that I have cut several 2" squares into, place the fabric I'm considering side by side on the table, place the "holey" folder over it and get a fairly clear picture of what it would look like.

Did this with blues for the bluebonnets I'm getting ready to start. By the way, looks like San Antonio is going to lose a bunch of Hancock Fabrics - and they told me that Joann's is cutting back on their fabrics, too. Anyone know the scoop on this?

wow, you guys just inspire me so much. I personally have a fear of the color wheel. I totally understand what the colors are and why their in those spots, but picking colors just scares me to death.
Most of what I make is gifts for this person or that, I'm always so freaked out if the colors work, will they laugh at my choices. I make a lot for the neices and nephews, with them being so young I can usually pull if off with novelty fabrics for them. But the adults are what worries me.
I don't have any background in art, actually drawing and painting scare me as well. Maybe it's more of a mental block??
When I don't buy enough fabric or go looking for something to go with whatever I need, I safety pin the sample to the zipper on my purse, that way it's in my way and I don't forget about it. I can usually get really distracted in the fabric store. All that clearence just begging to come home, fabrics I just know someday would be perfect for God only knows what...

My feelings, exactly. And I have a whole travel trailer full of them. I can't even get in there. I already have the perfect fabric.... somewhere. So I go buy more.

I am soooo. jealous :mrgreen: of your sewing travel trailer, that's just what I was looking for. Something to put in the back yard and turn into a little retreat. Maybe with a hot tub of my own :) I'm so desperate for sewing space I've got my eye on the dog house! Looks pretty cozy from here :D

As for choosing color's I kinda afraid of my lack of fear. I don't want to be the only one who can stand the noise one of my "creations" might make.

Norah, I have to agree with the Flying V Goddess. I sketch out my quilts on graph paper if I am not at home to put them into EQ5. Both of these are good ideas for finalizing your plans without cutting and regretting. I have a box of 100 colored pencils and a spiral bound graph pad I take with me whenever I feel a quilt idea coming on.

I think half the fun of making a quilt is taking the time to find exactly what pleases your eye, and letting your creativity take its time. "Let the quilt tell you what it needs" is what I have heard over and over. I spent almost a year collecting the fabrics for my "Leaving California" falling leaves quilt, and it was so worth it! Whenever I look at it, every fabric is exactly what it needed, and that makes it so much more worth the time I spent planning and sewing.

Relax and enjoy being a creative person, and don't rush yourself!

Wendy

I had posted in another thread this morning about Joanns and their fabric. An employee told me the other day, they were told that until they get rid of their clearance fabric, they won't receive any new calicos. I think this is ridicolous that this corporation does things like this. We'll just go somewhere else to find fabric.

Running out of places

Luckily there are lots of online and in town options for fabric shopping. I have rarely found good quality quilting fabric at Hancock's or Joanns. Maybe its not so bad that Hancock's and Joann are giving up?

Keep that rosy outlook! As for me, the more choices, the better. Maybe we will be forced to beat the bushes for other places to shop and find a real jewel somewhere. My best find was the garment district in Los Angeles. I went there with my son. All of the shops are holes in the wall, just filled with fabrics from all over the world, and very reasonable. I only went to 4 stores and spent over $100 for bags of fabric. Maybe I'll get to go again someday.

Well I've been helping them get rid of their clearance fabric so they should be ready for new stuff any time now :lol: I'm having that same problem finding the exact right fabric for the baby quilt I want to make. Being this is for a baby born in January though I don't feel as if I can afford a year to look for the perfect fabric. Tho I still will keep my eye out. I'm going to have to change the plans so the baby can have the blanket while he's still a baby.

I loved all the choices when I was in San Francisco. Tho I haven't been back since 86. The fabric was so cheap then I have wondered if it still is! I have a friend in Santa Maria who has invited me to come visit. Thats not too far from LA.

since i live in georgia, i guess i'd better start raiding the cotton fields right before the harvest so i can spin, weave and dye my own. pretty soon, that and mugging people for their shirts will be the only way to get fabric for a price i can pay without passing out or getting a second mortgage.

Oh yea I almost forgot! Mugging people for their shirts. Or the next best thing. Didn't quilters of old use left over fabric or should I say recycled fabric? Thrift stores, are the answer :roll: :thumbup: I do have a good size collection of great fabric from discarded garments. Usually like new and very colorful when the style didn't catch on for whatever reason.

You can always mottle your own fabric. I buy many different colors of the Country Classic Solids at JoAnns when it is on sale, and then lay the piece of fabric in the bathtub, or outside on a sheet of plastic if it is too big, then I use a spray bottle with regular chlorine bleach in it and spray it. Some colors only require 30 seconds to get the desired color, some longer, then rinse completely with cold water and pop in the dryer.

I have a queen size quilt top done for my daughter which required lots of different colors, and did it that way, so even using the same base color, the shades came out different. This is the top just in the design stage, trying not to put any of the same colors together, still up on my design wall. Just need to quilt it now

Wow - cool quilt. I never heard of your mottling method but sounds good! Thanks for sharing.

thanks. I read it in one of my quilting magazines, so thought I would try it. If you do a solid black, the mottled color (at least on mine) was orange, would be great for Halloween.

This was actually a scrap quilt, but called for over 5 yds of the black solid, ended up having to go to a JoAnns other than my usual one, cause it was right after Halloween when I was looking for the black solid, and the local ones were temporarily out of stock, so bought a full bolt of it and was able to use a 50% off coupon, so made it worthwhile.

I read an article that said you can dilute bleach with water and dab or paint or spray. You can lay out leaves designs or whatever. When you like the look, dip in white vinegar , is supposed to stop bleach action. I have NOT tried this.

I have a pile of old shirts I got cheap at garage sales, nice buttons and bright colors. A good addition to scrap quilts.

I also want to get some interesting t- shirts at grage sales, to go with some I have to try a t-shirt quilt.

I also have a few flat sheets and flannel sheets , picked up at thrift stores, garage sales, and spring sales at stores.

The rest of my fabric I get at walmart and joanns, and I once in a while get some at a garage sale

So if there is a will to quilt, there is a way

One last thing I told family give me gift cirtificates to Joanns and walmart...for birthdays and mothers day ect

Vinegar is used to fix a dye. I Never heard that it would stop the action of bleach but I wouldn't personally rely on that method until I tried it on a small sample. I think the best sure way to stop bleach action is to wash it out. And maybe toss in a splash of vinegar with the soap. The Idea of using bleach to mottle fabric is brilliant however. Now why didn't I think of that? I'm seemingly always do that by accident it just seems to make sense to use it as a controlled method now that you mention it!

So far I just look for what I like and pick up complimentary colors or things I like. With the Hawaiian patches I've gone bolt happy and start piling them up till I find the combinations that says happy, happy, joy, joy. With the patch works I've tried to evenly distribute solids and prints and varying the values, though try to keep it simple as that's what I like.

I do appreciate the great work of a master such as Jinny Beyer, but at this point I don't have the resources to buy and store tons of fabric. Besides a quilt doesn’t need to be overly complex to be stunning. I’ve seen things done with two colors that can boggle the mind. What will be fun is when I get several quilts along and have a lot of scraps, then I'll be able to have a field day of creativity with color.

Your quilt is stunning. I just love the bright colors. I had never thought about mottleing fabric with bleach. I'm going to have to give that a try. I really like the mottled fabrics and they are hard to come by at my WM since they have cut back on most of the fabric. JoAnns is over an hour away so I don't get to go there as much as I'd like. Thanks for the great suggestion.

Thanks. The book calls the quilt "Stained Glass Diamonds" I have a Super Walmart right around the corner from me, but they discontinued the fabric, they don't even sell spools of thread anymore, but they do sell sewing machines.

Nice quilt, mary! Would you consider posting a picture under the picture page? Most of our members love looking at others work.

Sure, need to find one of the quilt top completed first, or take one if I haven't already. And thank you.

My Quilting Bug is sure getting worked up lately. Mary, your Quilt top is so contributing to my quilting fever :D . As are all the new BOM's. I just saw an episode of "Sewing with Nancy". The one about landscape quilting. She always gets me fired up. I say she just makes me ill!, With envy over her talent!! I guess It's time get to it. And turn my envy into some creativity. :lol:

I'm working on a spiderweb quilt right now, for my neighbor, the wife of the log cabin quilt recipient. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer back in March, and they now have their house up for sale (too big and too much work for just the 2 of them) and we have been neighbors for almost 15 years, so wanted to make one for each of them.

Even with the hot nights down here, he gets chilled sitting on the front porch, so he has been using the quilt, and I even made a matching pillow for him.

The treatments do seem to be helping though, so that's a great thing.

I enjoyed reading the comments about choosing colors. This was my main problem till I decided that what pleases me is most important. Also about Hancocks. I live in central Florida and they have closd all but one store here. Our JoAnn store has downsized and even Walmart has closed out fabric in several stores. I have started to buy fabric on the internet. Found several great places and the choices are wonderful.

Honestly, your quilts will turn out best if you just buy fabrics you LIKE in combination.

The really important part of choosing fabrics is CONTRAST. You want each fabric to show and each piece of the quilt block to be distinct. Sometimes you want bold contrast and sometimes you want a softer look. It's fun to play with the Electric Quilt software to get an idea of how things look in different combinations and fabric placements. We used to have to do that all on graph paper with colored pencils! :lol:

I agree Cathe. I'm learning to plot my quilts on the internet also. I have saved myself what could have been a disaster more than once.

Is the Electric quilt software a free download or something to buy. If it's free I want IT!!!!! :D

I agree with you cathy I love conflict, I mean contrast, in a quilt. :-o