I do make king sized quilts..........and picking up 3 yrds of one color certainly is not enough (about 10-12 yards generally for that size) - so I add other coordinating or contrasting fabrics to get enough........most of the patterns do not call for more than 3 yards of the main color.....and so far I have been save doing it this way......

Its hard to remember what I did when I started quilting. I think I always found a pattern I liked, then did it my way. Picked colors I liked and maybe even changed a few things along the way. Never could seem to follow a pattern from start to finish. Just follow your own instincts and your quilts will turn out wonderful.

The fabric tells me.

Both ways.

I have done it both ways, but it is frustrating to me when i see a line of fabric that i "have" to have, but i don't have a pattern in mind. i don't know how much to buy and tend to overbuy(if there is such a thing). i can usually find one eventually. sometimes i see a fabric and a pattern jumps into my mind. Just starting out, it's easier to find a pattern first and then pick out the fabric. when you become more familiar with more patterns, it will be easier to buy fabric first.

I guess I would say I'd pick the pattern first. Making sure the pattern was an easy one to begin with and maybe if you made blocks with scraps of different colors and the same pattern, you would learn how to pick the colors by looking at your seperately chosen block colors. You'd be surprised how different they can look with different colors. That would be fun to see when you finish it. Fresh eyes and a new look at color would be very interesting.

I buy my fabric. Then I decide what quilt I am going to make. Then I buy more fabric. A vicious circle. I love it!

lots of times I see a quilt at a show & just HAVE to have that pattern! Then I get fabric

Um...that would be me. I started out of necessity. We had only one income for a long time and I could only buy "just enough". I made sure to read instructions carefully and try to "see" the shapes included to decide if it was simple enough to do. I couldn't afford to have so much money tied into different projects.

We are in a bit of a better place. I've inherited a few things here and there and now have a little stash. I still decide the pattern before the fabric, the only exception is a little patriotic work I'm doing now. Instead of buying "just enough", I try to increase my yardage to 1/2 or 1 yard more than I need. Someday, I hope to make enough scraps to make a scrappy quilt.

Me ,FABRICS WIN!!! Patterns I LOVE< But I Buy Fabric anyhow so, That's what I do, I look for easy if possible haven't been at this to long and usually go on my own way to sew the quilt and quilt it, It's me!!!

I have always decided on the pattern I like and then get the material

My wierdness is connected to backing fabric. I have see fabric I HAVE to use on the back of a quilt. Then I get a pattern and fabric to make a top which will harmonize with the back. My passion is batiks.
Quilt Sister

I too am a beginner and have the same question. I also ask so now I have stash and FQ now what do I do? Where to begin is the hardest part. I amsure "we" will figure it out.

I too am a beginner. I see a pattern and buy farbic once in a while i will buy some fabric because I like it and then sometime it will work for my next quilt. I usually only do lap quilts.

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You will come to find that you do both, pick pattern first as well as pick fabric first.

I am genetically drawn to red/white, I think. So I have a lot of those fabrics, of every shape and style.
So I notice all red/white quilts regardless of pattern, and think if I would like to reproduce that.
And I think of all designs as they might look in red/white.

Otherwise, on the one hand, I might take a fancy to some pattern I see like New York Beauty or some new-to-me technique like Continuous Prairie Points, and then pick the fabrics second.

On the other hand, I might think of how I would like a particular fabric displayed, that is to say, does it need a lot of exposure as a main visual element or does it need to merely peekaboo in the design? or does it need points? or does it need curves? or does it need lines? or does it need dimensionality?

On the gripping hand, I think of a pattern I am dying to make, such as Schoolhouse which I have always loved and never yet made, and think how I might like to show it in colors and shading. Do I want it Traditional? or Updated?

But mostly, I just have a lot of all kinds of fabric and a lot of patterns and keep sewing and keep collecting more of all of it.
I just love quilts!!
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Usually get the fabric and then choose a pattern. I do have several patterns that I keep on hnad jus tincase I find the right fabric. In the beginning I would find a patterna dn then the fabric for it. this works better if you want the exact fabric but now I love the challenging of mixing all kinds of fabrics to obtain the effect I want.

Oh for the days when I only bought what I needed for a pre-selected pattern. Of course those were the days I only made clothing. Now I own more fabric than I will ever be able to put into a quilt even if I live to 200. I usually get the idea, then shop my stash and try buy only what I need to complete it. I have found that digging through my complete stash for something is a good thing to do just before a show or shop hop or any opportunity to add to it. I will still buy but hopefully, not so much.

Both. A lot of the time I look through my stash & start getting ideas of what I could make with what I have. Most of the quilts I have made have some of my stash in them. I do however occasionally see a pattern I like & buy especially for that, buying a little extra of course to add to my stash. I look through books to get ideas too & then adapt them. I've only actually followed a pattern for three quilts.

I usually have a pattern and then I find my favorite fabric to go with it. I often use the author of a book or magazine
that I enjoy using. I change pleasures all of the time and go from solid color choices (primary colors) to red,white, & blue, to blended quilts. I do agree sampler quilts help to obtain style, color values. Good luck beginners, keep it simpler and grow from there. The whole issue is enjoy yourself and don't let any quilt police interrupt your growing talent. It is always a work in progress.

Kind of like "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" I seem to do both. I'm a beginner quilter also of less than a year. At first I bought kits until I could understand the process. Now I just buy what I like whether a pattern or fabric.

It can go either way. A pattern can inspire you, or a fabric can inspire. You're lucky because you're in Richmond and have one Quilting Adventures which is of the greatest LQS in the US. Just step in the door there and you'll get inspiration. Sure wish I was closer to it.

My first quilts were twins for our bedroom. I chose the colos first and then decided on the d9p, fortunately I had my daughter to help with the math....but the next one will be a patch with leftover material - some cottons from blouses and skirts...just for fun !

If you're unsure at what kinds of fabric/colors to buy I would suggest looking at pictures of quilts and write down the ones that really excite you, then preceed to make one of your own.

I see the fabric that says-buy me-I take it into the stash pile and decide later what to make out of it

I look at what I have in fabric, as I can't buy any, and then decide what I will do. God bless.

It helps me to pick a pattern by looking at the person I'm making the quilt for. This also helps me choose the fabric.
Especially when it comes to crib/lap quilts, theres so many wonderful childrens fabric available. Look at where and how the quilt will be used may help you also. Bed quilt? should coordinate with the persons room colors. The persons personality will help with colors and pattern as well.
Good luck and have fun.

I have also put out the word to "all friends" that when they go to garage sales and/or second hand stores....I am looking for 100 percent cotton material. I pay them back, and have gotten yards and yards of pieces of colors. Then, have used them successfully in quilts. Of course, imagination and courage always work. Then, if I need 'supplemental' colors to finish, it is easy.

Wow, it goes both ways. Today I got fabric for a future quilt that needed a 6th print for. I am also collecting fabrics for 3 other quilts and don't have any idea what pattern I am using.

There are pros and cons to buying the fabric before knowing the pattern... mainly, will I buy enough? There are deals out there that are just too good to pass up and that's when I buy a few yards of each.

If you pick a pattern, you will have a better idea of what you should be shopping for. I made my daughter a queen size in teal, taupe and cream and she loved it (teal is her favorite color). The pattern was simple and I couldn't wait to wrap it for Christmas. My other daughter wants a simple Italian flag. Working on that too.

The patterns for beginners are something like a four patch square. That goes fast and it's simple. Also a strip quilts pattern. Good luck.

I recently saw the most exquisitely made lap quilt of maple leaves on beige background and the quilting was maple leaves too------BUT as the fabric was purchased abroad and found to be too little sadly resulting in a ridiculously small quilt, so whatever you do plse don't fall into this trap.

So glad to hear this...Question: when you do wake in the middle of the night do you also go ahead and start the coffee pot, sleep is usually the furtherest thing from my mind at that time :)