choosing fabric for next project
 

Hi everyone.

As some of you know I am quite new to quilting so I would like to understand if my chose make sense or if you have any suggestion about how to choose colors for a new project.

I have to say that I am quite slow in the project part... I double, triple think and at the moment I am not still pretty sure about the pattern that I will use...) I have a rugh idea in my head of what feeling I want to accomplish but still not how) .I just want to do something with these fabrics/colors. Do you think they fit together? How do you decide for fabrics?

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I don't really understand the values of color. I think that the purple one on the left is dark, the stripes one light and the purple batik the blue one should be medium light and the colorful one should be medium dark in my opinion.

If I see them in black and white ( I saw some of you do that...I liked the idea) they look all quite dark except the stripe one.
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Do you think I am lacking of lights?

I would like to use the stripe as a background of the block so I will probably have the light color coming up a lot balancing the entire thing.

Do you think they fit together? How do you decide for fabrics?

About the pattern I am still not sure because I would like to try something less squared...so maybe try some rounded shapes...but I am not sure to be ready ... Any advices would be largely appreciated :-)

Stripes can be your friend and be awesome especially if you play w/ intentional directionality, however they can also be a NIGHTMARE. Unless I had a real purpose and plan for them I would be cautious w/ them. I love the paisley it screams to be fussy cut. Not sure how I feel about the paisley and the square print??

Now that you name it I can see that the parseley doesn't fit in. Maybe I can change it with a black fabric with white minipois

Choosing fabric is always hard for me. I know I spend way too much time worrying about it. I can't even decide if I should select fabric first or the pattern.

I have learned that the only way I can decide on fabric is to make one block and see if I like it. Depending on your block, I think your fabric could look good together. You have light, medium, and dark....and that is good.

Just play with it and see what you think. You could even cut tiny pieces and lay them on a piece of paper in the block shapes you are thinking of. (Now, if you don't plan on a pattern that uses a block...and a lot of my quilts fit that category, you could just cut one inch strips of the various fabrics and lay them together to see how they look. And, then again, maybe you are one of those lucky folks who can tell if fabric goes together just by putting them side by side....)

Not much help, am I....sorry. I do think your fabrics could be good together, I wouldn't even worry about the stripes...if they are a bit crooked, and that is the only real problem with stripes, that never bothers me.

Looking at your fabric again, I might leave the fabric with blocks out and concentrate on the others....but maybe not. Just play with it all a bit and then go for it! Quilting is supposed to be fun, not real stressful, and stressing over fabric too long is not any fun.

Good luck. :)

Dina

I love the paisley. I would probably find the blue batik more difficult to use.

To me, it looks as if you have 1 dark (the paisley), 3 medium, and 1 light (the stripe), which does provide sufficient contrast.

What pattern do you plan to use? I think this collection would work with some patterns better than with others. A lot depends on how much of each fabric is used and also on the placement of the fabrics. For example, I probably wouldn't want the two fabrics on the right next to each other as major block components; however, they would work fine in different parts of a block.

Edit: Oops. See you do mention pattern. I think this combo would look great with the stripes as a background fabric and the others as, say, circles.

I love all those colors together. I never plan ahead, I just "Go For It." It is what it is. If I like it - well that's all that counts. Just me.

What I'm interested in is where is Chiang Mai?

I love the stripe fabric for binding

I think your fabrics look great together, you just need some more. Can you pull a few more to go with this collection? Don't analyze what is in each fabric or try to match colors exactly, go more for how the fabrics 'feel' together.

Yes, you only have one 'light' there. Some patterns rely on contrast between lights and darks, and others don't. It depends on the pattern you will use... pick a pattern and then get the fabrics that are needed to round out your palette.

Also, you can judge your color values by squinting as you look at the fabrics. While squinting you will see the fabrics in darks and lights. The values are more clearly seen.

Hi sewellie Chiang mai is in Thailand. In the north part ...the one without sea unfortunately :-) . I am Italian and I moved here 4 years ago.
That's why and how I came across the forum. It is not easy to me to learn in a class ( there are few but in thai language...and my thai skills are not good enough) so I thought that the web can be a great resource to find pals with same interest.

Here I don't go to buy fabric pre-cut and pre-choose...that's why I have to do "fabric-family" by myself...and I have to learn how :-)

.i am hopeless at matching fabric families or just what go. To me the red and bright blue don't look right. I would like more purples and paler blue.

I think it might be easier if you selected a pattern first then decide which of these work and which don't. I think all the fabrics contrast well together. The modern and the paisley definitely can be used together.

To me fabric colours can be personal choice, I made a textbook blend of colours quilt for a friend with shades of cream, beige, green and brown, but because they were not colours I would choose it didn't 'Sing' to me. However it was absolutely perfect for my friend. I tend to pick a pattern first and then apply my own interpretation of colours, what I like may not suit you and vice versa.

It depends on the pattern I have in mind. I would choose between the paisley or square dots. then pull my color choices from there.

For me, the process usually starts with a pattern, and the pattern guides the choice of fabrics.

I found Jinny Beyer's method of choosing fabric helpful (which she talks about in her book on hand quilting). She says, make sure you have several shades of each color you want to work with, have a color that is darker than all the others, have a color that is brighter than all the others, and include some neutrals. Going by that, I would say, maybe add a black to your colors as the neutral, and some lighter shades of blue and purple.

I really like the 4 "above", but would leave out the "polka-dot" red. Lovely fabric! Glad you found "us"!

You do realize that most of us are women and you are going to get as many answers as there are stars in the universe.

I make a lot of charity quilts for teenagers and babies and I love your wild colors of squares and I would pick mostly tonals from that print. I don't think that the strip or the paisley have anything to add to the mix. It helps a lot if you have a pattern chosen first. I could see print used with Warm Wishes with different colors used. If you are a newbie, choice a simple pattern that you have confidence in making.

This is basically what I do also as I seem to be a bit color challenged too. I find a printed fabric I like then use the colors in that fabric to choose fabrics that go together. There are times I don't even end up using the original print but at least I now have fabrics that go together ..... most of the time!!!

And by the way, welcome to the board. It's great that you found us since you don't have people around you to share your quilting with. Lots of great info and advice here. Everyone seems to be willing to share their experiences and ideas. Good luck with your quilting!

Thanks for the hints! Now I will think about the pattern so I can finalize my color choice..maybe add a couple of colors or taking off something..I will try a small project to see if it works. But now I know a little bit more info about how to choose.
Thanks a lot to share your experience !

Thanks a lot! I love the pattern you showed me and I will probably do it as a babyquilt as soon as I will do another one.
I would like to do a wall hanging and maybe dare to try some curves or some applique, but I will try on small samples before taking the final decision...so, if I am not ready I can wait a little bit.
I love that fabric too!! It was love at the first sight and I choose the other accordingly. The light blue has the exact same color of the little blu squares...and the purple is less dark than it seems on picture.

P.s. My husband laughed when I read him the first sentence...I think he agrees with you ;-)

I like the four on the top together. But the red one with the squares somehow seems wrong to me. Kinda like the pattern is fighting with the paisley. I would pull one of them out and replace it with one or two others. If it were me... If I used the paisley, I'd add in a solid navy or black (whatever that dark color is in the paisley) and maybe a tiny tiny bit of yellow (I think that's the other color in the pattern???) and even some white to compliment. If I added the red, i think I'd put in a darker shade of blue.

The main thing for picking for me is I try not to mix sharp shapes with a hard outline with soft, blurry outlines. For that reason, I wouldn't put the flowery purple with the squares. But that's what I like, and others mix and match. Also, be prepared for fabrics that you would not think go together to be fine once the quilt is together. That's what I call a pleasant surprise. I think it's because there are so many other factors like ratio. So you never know! And if you don't like it, you can always cut it up for potholders!

I would take out either the paisley or the square print. I, also, take a long time picking out my fabrics. I will lay them out together where I can see them and look at them for several days until they feel right. A lot of times I don't pick out my borders until I get the top put together.

Welcome to the board. You will learn so much just by reading the comments. So many have such wonderful talent and are so willing to share. Sharon

Whatever you decide, I hope you have fun with it! Enjoy the process and if you wouldn't put certain combinations together again, it can still be beautiful.

If you are new to quilting, I hope you have discovered the free patterns available online from various fabric companies and online stores such as Connecting Threads, and, of course, Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorials. I'm sure others can add many more sites to check.

I was buying some fabric at Joanns one day and had my quilt magazine with me. I was getting it cut and the young girl at the table ask me what I was going to do with the fabric. I showed her the picture of the quilt I was making. She said "but that quilt is blue and red and you are buying green and yellow. Can you change the colors if you want to?"

I don't have a problem with your color choice - but I do have a couple concerns. As stated, stripes can be great and terrible at the same time. Make sure you plan a bit and have them going the same way. One idea is to cut them diagonally for a neat effect, just be careful because it is a bias cut. The other concern is the pink with small squares. This will depend on the block you decide to create. I would use this in a very small way. Like the idea of the small center square of a log cabin or the size of a cornerstone in sashing (I don't mean to use them like that, just trying to give you an idea of the small use of that fabric). BUT, having said that, one of the important things about fabric choice is that you like the fabrics. It keeps the process fun. We have all made odd choices of fabric combos, but that is how we learn.

The best way I have found when beginning a project is to pick a main focus fabric, then pull fabrics that work with the colors, usually using the little dots on the selvedge is a good way to pick colors, so you know they will work. Try to use a light, medium and dark; most people have more medium fabrics and few very dark fabrics. I think you're off to a good start with these. I might pull in the white/beige color in the print on the left as a background, as that is fairly neutral. I hope this has helped you.

I do think all your colors go together, I think it is only the patterns on the fabrics some are questioning. I love scrappy quilts so perhaps am more tolerant of mixing patterns. I wouldn't hesitate to use your fabrics together.
I do agree that the pattern you finally decide on will have a lot to do with your final choices. I admire your willingness to try new things. Just don't be discouraged if it doesn't come easily at first. Try try again!!

Have you thought of pinwheels? So many ways to mix and match blades with backgrounds. I would add that cantaloupe color in the multi squares to this batch, plus a very pale pink as a neutral, a royal blue, and a raspberry tone on tone that matches the background of the squares print. Remember light and dark are relative to what they're next to. A pastel is Darker than a white but lighter than, say, Jewel tones. Hope that helps. I try to avoid stripes but sometimes they are perfect playmates.

At the end I started my small project! I took off the paisley because it didn't fit in. I put in a big accent of light orange. Maybe it is not "conventional" but I think it express what I want to "communicate" with this project.
I am working on my vision of the I Ching...so I like the idea of contrasting colors. I still have to applique the tao to the main part and to applique small string of the same black on each segment following the I Ching model (http://www.professionalfengshui.com/...09/i-ching.gif )

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I know it looks all croocked but I still have to trim it and press..and the picture is taken from my wall ( I should have pin it properly)

What do you think? I tried for the first time curve cut and applique ( at the moment I only appliqued the 2 circles in the tao, but I will applique the Tao itself so...at least I made exercise...

I think it will make a perfect wall hanging and shows your vision well. I am very impressed with how your points all came together when you sewed your triangles. I have been quilting a few years and barely get my points so nice. Well done!!!