I was wondering, how does everyone come up with such complimentary colors in your quilts? I like earth tones, so everything I pick are kinda dark. My wife says I can't match colors :? The material I've found has hues of brown/tan, some yellows, some lite blues in sky. I look at some of the wonderful quilts you all have made and posted pics of on here and wonder how you know what colors go good together.
Oh, another question please. How many yards of material does it take to make a queen size quilt?
Thank you,
Jack

Going to the fabric shop & placing the bolts next to each other with the pattern picture in hand is the best way to assemble the colors. Never depend on your memory when going to purchase a particular color.

Fabric requirements for a queen size quilt depends on the pattern used.

I throw them in a pile and grab whatever comes out?

Honestly you just have to look at the fabric side by side with an idea of how you want to use it in your pattern. Remember that black tends to become a background and brights/lights will look closer to the eye. Other than that... do what seems right to you. I once made a quilt with orange, blue and purple. I didn't think they went together. But it turned out really nicely. So feel free to take a chance on any color choices.

Jack I go with what I like and if it doenst go together sure hate it and then some......

But I paint a lot of show cars and I have a good sense of what works with what. but since there is no rules in quilting I just go for it!!

Billy

If you pick a focus fabric in your earth toned background that has a few other colors in it, you can then pick some fabrics in the other colors. They don't have to match exactly, but they should blend well together. They can be prints, plain, marble, etc. Keep the pattern you want to use in mind. If there's a color that is really overpowering, you can use small amounts and it will give it some punch.

Look at some of the collections on the fabric manufacturers websites. You will get an idea of what looks good together.

Good luck!

I usually pick out a focus fabric first. That's the one you would buy even if it was your lunch money! Then I match the colors in it. You can't always match perfectly, but it's easy to find something that blends.

I agree with go with what you like, but if you feel color challenged there are two tricks that might help...

1. Buy the all the fabric for a quilt from one fabric line. After all the manufacturer do make an effort to coordinate the look, so take advantage of it. This where charm packs/layer cakes/fat quarter packs/ etc. come in handy.

2. Another trick is a trip to the paint store-- yep the paint store. Those free paint chip brochures have wonderful professionally coordinated color combinations. Pick up a few of those and march off to the fabric store and let those guide your fabric purchases.


I am sure others will chime in with some of the tricks they use to pick fabric.

Jack I look at a color wheel when I'm not sure. Look at the main color of your focus fabric and then look at the total opposite of the color wheel. Sometimes this works for me.

I have learned alot about colors by buying jelly rolls, layer cakes and the whatnot.

I see how other people put colors together and then I try my own thing.

If your focus fabric has the little colored dots on the selvage, I have heard that it is the test ink runs for the fabric, so if you pick out some of those colors, they should blend nicely. I have looked at them a few times when I had fabric that had the dots on the selvage, and it seemed to me that this method might help if one was stuck when picking coordinating colors.

I start with my focus fabric first then add colors from that fabric. I never want to overwhelm my focus fabric, just compliment it.

another help is the little color dots on the salvage of fabric is a dot of every color used in that print, so you can use those as a guide to help coordinate...
i used to really have a hard time picking colors, especially color runs where you need to go from dark to light say in 14 steps...i used to take the pattern or magazine what ever to either one of my sons or my nephew and say...i want to make this and i want to use...blues...(as an example) i need 10-15 fabrics...which ever one of the boys i handed it to would go in the back room where all the fabric is and a few minutes later would walk out with an arm load...drop it on the table in front of me and say, "there ya go, have fun" and they would go out the door. i don't think i ever had to change a single fabric they came up with...sometimes i would have a color run set out and be trying to figure out what was wrong...something just not right, one of those boys would walk over remove a fabric and say...that doesn't belong ... and they would be right. i kind of took it as a given that the guys were just naturally good at the whole color thing...sorry Jack; maybe you really are but are over thinking it? or maybe just not letting your self go...
all 3 boys are no longer here to help me, 2 moved to Florida, the youngest joined the Navy...so i am on my own again...hubby can help a little but i guess i did learn from them a bit because i am much better at it now than i ever used to be; infact when my oldest son receives his next quilt i think he will be quite amazed with how well i did without his help :)
and as far as it goes with the amount of fabric to make a queen size quilt...it really depends on the quilt pattern...anywhere between 5&11 yards (maybe more, maybe less)i have a king that took 15 yards of fabric, plus the backing...i have big block quilts that only took 4 or 5...it is all dependant on how many pieces you are going to cut the fabric into i think...look through some books and magazines with quilts that interest you and are in the same (style?) of what you like to make and start adding up the yardage called for...seems like alot, and it is but it is oh so worth it! how about a picture of the earth tone quilts you have made? we love to see them and many here could offer some advice on color changes once we see what you are doing :)

Until I picked up a book on color theory the other day, I didn't even know what a complementary color was. At my house the joke is I am "color challenged". I saw a color wheel the other day and wasn't sure if I should be frustrated with it or just knuckle down and work my way through the color lessons in the book. :lol:

I take a "color consultant" aka anyone other than me along to give a thumbs up.

Actually, I don't know if it is true, but I have heard that if a person is "color blind", they are much better at picking out fabric. I am not color blind, so I am not good at picking out fabric! LOL

Thank you for the responses. Actually, I've not made a quilt yet, just getting into the learning mode. Tomorrow I go into town to check on a quilting class. But am ready to get the material and start cutting. I need to get a belt for the ol treadle singer machine that my grandmother used, then will be ready to start putting the blocks together. I think. As for the pattern, thought I'd start with the D9P and have a border around every 9block.
Jack

Well Jack I taught myself how to quilt and never been to a class yet. Its really not hard at all you just do what feels right and enjoy the process of learning. And with it done on a treadle it makes it even more better.

Billy

That is a great pattern to start with! I am always amazed at the transformation when I cut and resew the 9 patch. It goes from nice to spectacular very quickly!

Another comment on the fabric selecting. It also looks nicer if you select different sized prints. Some busy, some more plain. It gives the quilt more interest. I have one in the works that was a kit my hubby liked. It's got several of the exact same prints in different colors, they are rather plain looking. The whole center of the top looks really blah to me. I was able to calculate out the back side and come up with enough floral for borders. I hope it does the trick. I put it aside because my heart isn't in it. I need to finish it up one day. I might add some applique to hopefully bring it back to life.

Here's a couple of color wheel sites that are fun to play with:

http://www.quiltopia.com/colorwheel.html

http://colorschemedesigner.com/previ.../index-en.html

Thank you Katie, that is a good idea on the size of prints. Have been looking at all the fabric on thousands of bolts dot com and the ones I liked and placed in my cart do have different size prints; although I had not really thought of that, just picked ones I liked. And the suggestion about using a darker color for a background makes sense. A friend loaned me a book and I found that what I called a border around every 9 block is called sashing. So the sashing will be a darker color; either a brown leaf type, or I found one I like with small sunflowers, but that may make it too busy. I know my wife is always telling different items I pick out to go together for wall paper, Christmas paper, etc. is "too busy". But so far she has not wanted to look at the samples of fabric online I have found that I like. I may just have to buy the fabric and wait for it to come to get her input. But I will keep in mind to combine smaller prints with larger prints.
Thank you for the color wheel sites, they are very helpful. And the quiltopia site has a page to build your block, that is helpful.
Checked into a quilt class today in town; she is looking at September to have a class. I'm not sure how fast I'll be, but I'd like to have this done for Christmas.
Jack

Also, marbles, blenders, tonals, etc. They add a little design but read more as solids. Fusions, Elementals, Essentials are a few. You can browse online and get an idea of what some of them look like. Fusions has some leafy looking and floral tonals.

I TEND TO THINK ALL FABRICS GO TOGETHER

AS FOR QUEEN SIZE QUILT - I BUY 108" BACKING 2 1/2 YARDS
YOU CAN FIGURE OUT FROM THAT HOW MUCH TOP FABRIC YOU'LL NEED + SOME AS YOU'LL HAVE ALOT OF SEAM ALLOWANCES

I bought this doohickey that came with a red and green plastic to look through. It also came with a bunch of color cards with color combo suggestions on it. I just got it so I haven't had a chance to play with it but the main reason I got it is because I want to use up my stash, most of which is not from certain lines.

Get a 3 in 1 color tool from C&T Publishing. I think that is the ``doohickey`` Gale is mentioning.

you may think it's strange but when I'm going through magazines or flyers I rip out pictures that I like. They pay a lot for those advertising agencies to come up with colours so I take the ones that I like, and a pattern that I like and try to match the colours I use to be similar and the same ratios as the photograph. Paint stores are GREAT for it. They have suggested colours that go well together and then I just go from there. As an example, look at the cover of Martha Stewart living this month. it's a light blue with punches of orange and white SO I'd use that blue colour as a main with the orange and white as accents.

PS: Food magazines are great for colour choices. Everyone likes to look at food!

And eat it too :thumbup:

Try focusing on color values. Light, medium and dark.

Love your username, koipuddle.

I pick out a print I want to use and I try to match colors from that and I try to use at least 3 differnt types of fabric to go with it. Splotchy, solid and print for example.
I love matchy matchy. I have some older fabrics and the newer colors don't always match. I have learned to love the scrappy quilts and have made several of those. What appeals to you will be just right.

Also be sure to choose light and medium fabric in the colors you want for contrast. Hang up the pieces or step away and squint (take your glasses off) to see if they go together without any colors taking over.

Jack: Email me privately. I want to talk to you about the color issue.

One thing with prints is, they appear very different depending on the distance you are away from the quilt. If you're looking at them from up close, say 2 - 3' they look like one color and you see the print, but from across the room = 15' away, they'll appear as a totally different color. I make Art Quilts and all my quilts are displayed on a wall, so this is something I struggle with. As I'm choosing fabrics, I have to remind myself to preview the fabric from a distance back, not just on my table by my sewing machine. I made a quilt that had lots of metallic gold and copper in the prints and those metallics disappeared when seen from across the room.

This tool is to cancel out the actual color and concentrate on the value of the fabric hue. Red is for all colors and the green you use for red fabric. When you hold the plastic over the fabric, you'll immediately see if it's a light, medium or dark value. If you fold your fabric and stack it so an inch of each fabric peeks out, you'll be able to sort your assortment into what you'll need much easier.

Veeeerrry carefully!

I wouldn't have thought about using paint chips the that's a great idea and it's portable so you can take it with you.

Even tho I have the purcased red plastic viewers, I prefer the red plastic ring binder sheet holders. After I've pulled my selection, I always pull extra just for choice, I lay them out on top of each other with about 2" in view. I lay the red sheet over them and I know immediately which to let go. Try it, you might like it, I do.

Jack, go to the website "ColorMeBeautiful" and search there. That is based on what color pallette goes with your skin, but they put them in categories of spring, summer, autumn and winter. Spring and autumn colors compliment each other as do summer and winter. It's a good place to get ideas.

For anyone interested in color and fabric/fiber arts there is a wonderful book by Maria Pegler. "Color Mastery for Quilters" (I think that's the name.)
It has lessons that go step by step to build color confidence and help you learn what all the theory really says in relation to fabric/fiber not paint. <G> Great book for those who are color challenged as well as those who don't feel they are. Good information for improving for everyone.

Pati, in Phx (not associated, but love the book)

Use a color wheel. http://www.colormatters.com/colortheory.html explains it very well.

I also like to use those lovely color strips from the paint section that give you 5 shades of the same color...really helps to see which will work best with your focus color.

The general size for a queen bed quilt is 86 x 93, give or take a few inches. Each pattern is different in it's fabric requirements. In general, for a queen quilt, I would guestimate 7 yards of fabric for the top (I'm basing this on a quilt I am currently quilting that is 100 x 100 and I bought 9 yards of material for the backing).

Jack you are a fairly typical male I think. My husband is all about earth tones too. If I don't contribute to his wardrobe he would only own brown, tan, green, yellow, orange or blue clothes. Nothing else. Not even black or white. He never noticed - until we pointed out to him that he bought each of us something brown for Christmas one year. He said "Well, I know brown goes with anything". Bless his heart! He's paying more attention to quilting now though and will actually tell me when something doesn't look right and he's usually correct.

Sounds like you're getting a lot of help here. I wish you well on your first quilt. The key is to enjoy the process. Your color coordination will get better as your stash builds. It's very rewarding. Have fun!

I go to the quilt store and match many many bolts. I even lay them on the floor out of the way of other customers so I can get a good look.

Yardage depends on the pattern of the quilt you will make.

Send some pictures of your quilts and let us see your color choices.

Jack---Love your koi pond! Nobody said it yet, so I will: if you live near a Local Quilt Shop (LQS on here) or maybe more than one....go wandering through it/them and see what catches your eye. If not, find a catalog with lots of bedding and clothes and again, see what catches your eye. Then take that color scheme and stretch it a bit...make sure you have some lights, mediums and darks.