How Many Prints Are Enough in a Quilt?
 

I am a newer quilter, but have become addicted to fabric as many of you can relate to, so in the past year and a half I have quite a stash now. My only quilts so far however have been made from pre-cuts where the designer usually provides twenty different prints in the collection.

I have heard it mentioned by various YouTube personalities that the “more” the better. Since the largest majority of my stash is now in yardage (about 2000 yards of different prints), I have a pretty good selection. But I still have a problem selecting 18 or 20 different prints that work “Really Well” together. I might find ten that work really well together, but then as I go the next ten might be “can work” prints. I realize that you can make a two color quilt, and they can be very pretty. But other than those two or three color quilts, do you find that “the more prints the better.” Do using 20 different well coordinated prints usually look better than using ten?

I know there are no rules and you can use whatever you want, but that is not what I am addressing. I am addressing the asthetics of a quilt. Do you find that being able to put say 20 different prints together is usually more pleasing than using 10?

I feel like this is the drawback to precuts. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does stunt your artistic development. You have a lot of fabric, with which you can do a lot of things. My advice would be to take a step back and expand your color theory and design skills. Search on amazon for ‘quilters guide to color’ and you will find a number of great books on the subject. I don’t think the answer is quite so much 10 or 20 prints, but more, what type of aesthetic are you trying to achieve? It takes time to develop your style, and only you can answer those questions for yourself.

I'm a "the more, the merrier" girl. Love Bonnie Hunter's quilts, where she will use 4 or so colors, plus a neutral, but within those colors, she uses the full range. So reds might be almost pink through burnt oranges to fire engine red.

Are you using a pattern? That would give you how many actual colors you need, although you might use more than one fabric to get to required yardage. It's really in your taste; do you like "scrappy" or does that just look like chaos to you?

I would suggest finding a pattern for a quilt that you want to make. The instructions will tell you how many colors and how much you need of each one. You will generally have a light, a dark and some medium tones. You pick those fabrics out of your stash that go well together.

I, too, bought a lot of fabric as soon as I started quilting. (Luckily, I didn't pay a lot for it, as most came from estate sales.) Still, when I found something I wanted to make, I didn't have fabric that worked in my collection. I've donated a lot of it.

If you want to make scrappy quilts, you can use most anything. Still you need contrast.

Most of my quilts have been I spy quilts, so I can use anything for the back, cornerstones or sashing (within reason).

So, when I get the urge to buy fabric and I don't have a pattern in mind, I buy something that will work for an I Spy quilt.

bkay

Get a color wheel! I find it extremely helpful when I’m stuck or need help figuring what looks well together. There are several you can choose from, and YouTube is also a great source for using them.

You can't ask a question like that. Aesthetics are in the eye of the beholder. You can make a pleasing quilt with as few as two fabrics and with as many as a thousand. It truly depends and what your pattern is and what you like. Pick the ten fabrics you feel go really well and make your quilt with them. Google quilts in those colors and find the pattern you want. Then go for it.

to me - its all about the block and pattern. For example, Storm at Sea - pattern is different depending on what fabrics you put together. You can do a Storm at Sea with 2 colors, 5 etc. but each is completely different even though the pieces are the same. I would pick a block you like - then I would pick fabrics you like together, experiment. Also - in a word - Pinterest :-)

Short Answer: It all depends on what you are going for and the size of your stash.

Long Answer: It is hard for many quilters to move past kits and past other people's designs. I understand the lure of kits, I get a great deal of satisfaction when I have gone through my stash and prepared my fabric, cut my pieces etc., and I have it ready to sit down and sew -- it's a lovely feeling, like a present to myself :)

When you are selecting fabrics to use, keep in mind what you've learned while making those kits and what looks you want. A lot of people over coordinate their fabrics in my opinion and to my eye the results are bland and washed out -- but to someone else it is exactly what they want! Personally, I tended to buy a lot of "tiny viney" small scale prints and had to learn that I like contrast in scale as well as value and color. I have vision issues and prefer sharp contrast because it is going to look fuzzy anyway...

At this point in my quilting, almost everything I make is scrappy to some extent, but it is planned. I started about 40 years ago before the rotary revolution and don't come from a family of quilters so am self taught and didn't grow up with quilts. Judy Martin's book Scrap Quilts really changed how I viewed them (scrap quilts) and was a big influence on me when it came out because before then I hadn't seen scrap quilts that I liked, only ugly "use" quilts.
https://www.amazon.com/Scrap-Quilts-.../dp/096029709X

For me I started thinking more in terms of "values" so light, dark, medium which can be any sort of print or style or color. Or you think in terms of color groups, or style of fabric -- there are many routes to go.

My current quilt will be 42 different purple fabrics in the blocks (one per block) and then a set of half blocks and some plain fabric for the border in a 43rd fabric. It is a tessellating two-color star/pinwheel design. I'm using white-on-white fabrics for the non-purple part, each block will have the same fabric within it, as it happened to be easy to cut to where I will have no more than 4 blocks with the same fabrics, and I have a piece big enough (hopefully!) for all the border units.

But the next scrappy project will be using civil war fabrics, a different palate and style. I used to do a lot of fabric swapping around Y2K and I have a bunch of 10" squares to use, so need to do something with a lot of variety and small pieces. In that quilt each piece of fabric will be random in terms of what fabric I use, but placed in the block by value (dark corners, etc.) with the goal of having every piece of fabric in any given block unique, but using the same fabrics in more than in one block especially with different shapes and sizes. To me I find this look rather chaotic but I think will work with my available fabric better than piecing each block with 4-5 coordinated fabrics and is the right thing to do. But I've been mulling it over in my mind for some time, my natural inclination is to add fabric by different blocks rather than within each block, but I've gone all over wild before with great results.

I also do charm quilts, where each piece of fabric is unique. That's a whole 'nother kettle of fish in terms of design considerations and such. But you learn that if you throw enough fabrics together, it works. For me though, it actually works with a lot of effort and tricks I've learned through the years. If you go random, well random can result in ugly. I think most quilters want aesthetic randomness, which isn't exactly random.

Is 20 fabrics better than 10? Yes -- in a pattern designed around 20 fabrics. If you use only 10 fabrics in this pattern, you will have more repetition of prints and probably won't be happy with the result.

The more the better? I think this would apply to 'scrappy' quilts. Say I am making a pattern that calls for 4 different colors. I could use only 4 fabrics, or I could use 200 fabrics, 50 of each color. Will one quilt be better than the other? That is completely a matter of aesthetic taste. I can tell you that from across the room, the two quilts will look similar. It's up close that a large number of fabrics becomes a wonder to behold.

When I'm organizing my stash into projects, I collect the fabrics into a group and begin looking for a pattern that will work well for that group of fabrics. I would suggest you try this; if you collect a group of 10 fabrics that you love together, look for a pattern that calls for 10 fabrics. There are lots of free patterns on the various fabric manufacturer websites.

I agree that reading a few books on color/fabric selection for quilters would be helpful. Any book by the modern quilting duo Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr will have good insights on color and fabric selection, and Jinny Beyer has her own unique take on color. Her technique is to settle on a color palette for the quilt, and then choose additional fabrics by blending from one color to the next.

Considering everyone's input so far, I am examining my mind and thinking of the quilts that I have seen online, in books and magazines and I know that some of my favorites I've seen had some larger prints which were the focal point with other smaller prints to compliment. I seem to recall these designs had fewer prints. However they were particulaly stunning prints, so they were able to carry the quilt almost by itself.
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I like this look, but then again I love the use of small 2 1/2" sqares used in
something like granny quilts. In that type of quilt I think the more the merry.

I have spent a lot of time studying quilts that I like and examining what it is about it that I like most. Is it the fabric, the design or the combination of the two. Of course it is the latter I am sure.

I think I do well at coordinating, but also think I have a tendancy to coordinate too much sometimes. I guess time will tell for me when I get some of my own collections together and see my outcome.

Another thing to consider when selecting a quilt pattern, is what is your piecing style. Do you work quickly or do you take your time? Do you want to challenge yourself or are you content with your abilities? Are you a perfectionist or a "good enough" quilter? Do you care how long it takes? How big is the project? Do you get bored when you make the same block over and over again? Selecting a quilt, that doesn't match your piecing-style increases the odds of it becoming a UFO.

Your piecing style will also develop and change with experience.

That's a tough one to answer. You have gotten some good advice.
I've become addicted to pre-cuts! I want the whole line :)

I agree with all that has been said. My style is a controlled colorway, typically...maybe 3-5 colors (unless I'm going scrappy). however, I will have multiple prints of each color in the color way. And, I don't mix up fabric styles...for example, combining reproduction fabric print with modern print etc. but these are personal,preferences and pattern driven choices. That is what is so exciting about this craft....it's each crafter's creativity amd style. Stretch yourself and play...find your style and preference. I would love to roll around in your 2,000 yards of stash... Lol..

I love the selvage dot idea! I have referred to them for other things but never thought about using them for quilting combos. Thank you, Tartan.

I think you need examples to see for yourself. :)

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I made this pineapple a few years ago. I'd guess I used 25-30 different fabrics in it.

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.....and another consideration is the recipient of the quilt if it is to be gifted: In that instance you need to consider their colour preferences, and their style. You need to consider what the quilt will be used for. For example I would not consider using a predominantly white or light shaded collection of fabrics for a quilt for my brother-in-law even though I may like those shades. A gifted quilt is made for someone with their essence and life kept in mind during the selection stage.
I actually have a massive collection of those little paint colour sample cards and I find them a great help for trying to match, compliment, or expand my colour ideas for a particular quilt. Every time my DH and I go to the local big name hardware store I nip into the paint department and grab a few more colour sample cards. I even give them to intended recipients of a quilt so they can more easily show me the colours and shades they want.

OK, my HO is... what they said. I'm learning about color theory and Light/ medium/ dark values as I go. I wanted to make the 1958 Kansas City Star Dogwood blossoms quilt after I saw an unfinished top in an auction. Still wish I'd bought it, lol. So, I made the first block when I was puzzling out the pattern, and then I found the pattern in a book.

Here's a pic of that first block, so you can see what I'm talking about.
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Ok, good, pattern settled, on to fabric. Ohhh, that's a whole new hurdle. I decided if I made the whole quilt in only 2 colors, I'd get sick of sewing it, and probably end up with 2 colors I didn't want to see every day, because this is going to be a quilt for me, me, me! I bought a big lot of fabric at a local thrift store that was mostly 6 1/2" by WOF pieces, in a bunch of related fabrics. So, I've been making blocks in those fabrics, trying to chose ones that go nicely together, but provide enough contrast to show the pattern. So, some of the blocks are a light and a dark of the same color, like the lavender and purple one. Others are a print where the main color is dark, with the print in a lighter color, like the brown and blue one. It's going to be hard to get a yellow block that doesn't jump out of the quilt and smack the viewer upside da head, but I'm going to try. So, this is how I'm using my stash to learn about color theory.

Here's the current pic of the blocks I have finished so far:
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That is a beautiful pattern themadpatter, and your choice of colorways is terriffic. It looks like a challanging pattern to make (with the curves) but I do love it. I am trying to see how you did that. I see the 16 patch in the center and the 4 patches on the ends, but those quarter square blocks and white background fabric sure have me guessing. Do you remember what book you found the pattern for it in?

This I did not know! I always wondered why the dots were there.... Thanks for this useful information!

Personally I enjoy using pre-cuts because of all the colors and prints that go well together. I don't have as many of them as I do yardages that I can use for backings and borders. But when I see one I really like I'll buy it. It may sit here for a year before being used, or I'll "Rob Peter to pay Paul" using part of one collection with another. It's all good to me. Fabric that I no longer have a use for or no longer like I sell off on Facebook. I'm addicted to fabric!!

I agree that much of it is personal preference. I love scrappies but find that I prefer a control fabric--often a solid--to hold it all together. Some of today's fabrics are very busy and can result in a quilt that looks like chaos to me.

as a scrappy quilter I know there are what are disparagingly called vomit quilts...and I've made some, every fabric at hand ends up in the top. An acquired taste, not a favorite of mine.

My answer to what I 'think' you are asking, starts with how many colors in your quilt? These are my absolute favorite to make. one with 3-6 colors in the pattern, but I'll use up to 30-ish greens or oranges or whatever. When beginning it can be really jarring and I did a lot of second guessing on those first blocks.

But the overall projects as so rich... You already have enough fabric for 130-150 tops. Time to start sewing it up.

Edited to add: Welcome to the board!

I like scrappy quilts but get uneasy if they're really busy. I think it usually works best to have some contrast in scale and color value, and if that's under control it really doesn't matter how many fabrics there are per se. As some have put it, your eyes need a place to rest. Having a balance between light and dark, busy and/or bright prints and some that are quieter and more subtle will give a quilt areas of focus. I like to use a value finder. Mine is old and just red, but this page explains the idea: https://www.karencombs.com/page.php?ID=34

Depends, just depends. Sometimes, two is enough. Know what I mean? Sometimes, 8 is enough, you just have to have the quilt kinda talk to you. I think it all depends on the pattern, the colors and the quilter.

You really will learn best by doing, and learn to trust your gut. Sometimes the color is right, but the scale is off, or vice versa. For checking contrast between dark, light, and mediums so that your design stands out, take a picture
in black and white. The contrast will be easy to see without color interfering.

I generally choose a focus fabric then coordinating prints. I try to make sure I vary the scale, have some tone-on-tone or solids to help the eye rest, and then I fan them all out on the bed. If one just doesn't "feel" right, I remove it. THen a more settled feeling comes over me. I do the picture/"feel"/remove or replace routine until the settled feeling turns absolutely happy. Hard to explain because of the intangible quality of art and aesthetics, but I don't choose my fabrics based on a number unless the pattern is specific. I prefer to use colors in a range rather than a whole lot of the same fabric. And I have no patience for making the same block over and over with the very same fabrics, even though I love the result.

I think it's all a matter of personal preference. Ditzy or calico prints aren't going to read as distracting as a large scale print might. Of course, I'm making a quilt right now with four different prints in every block and every block is different. Maybe not take my advice if moderation is your aim. :D

It depends on what pattern you are using and what you are going for. I love scrappies so to me it's the "more the merrier". But if you are doing a more controlled pattern, you are probably going to want to limit the number of fabrics you use.

I really understand how you feel, pre-cuts makes it easy, always having that easy balance and the all the possible questions taken out. It's hard to begin to 'trust' your eye, and trust your color choices/aesthetic. Letting go and playing in this art/craft/form of expression is challenging for me. I'm a rule-follower by nature (unless the rule makes No sense to me, lol).

I think it's like anything new, you have to try something out - break some eggs as it were - and see what you think afterwards. All the other suggestions to keep looking at designs/finished quilts online here and elsewhere, see what makes you happy...I think that's helpful too. I pin a lot on Pinterest for a quick way to reference things I like. Good luck, and have fun!

Hi Schill,

I think you've gotten some great advice so far. IMO, I find quilts with simple piecing are great with lots of fabrics, but with more complex piecing, fewer fabrics are nicer. Of course, there are definitely exceptions to that generality.

I will say, if you have 2000 yards of fabrics, you have lots of leeway to experiment and find out what you like. That's enough fabric for 200 queen-size quilts! You can sew for the next decade without having to purchase much.

I suspect you will find that it's not the number of fabrics that matters; it's how they play together that makes a quilt a success (or a disappointment). It's taken me years to get "good" at selecting fabrics and getting the look I want in the end. If you want to branch out from precuts, the only way to do it is to actually make quilts and see how they turn out. Have fun!

I know your right. Funny I didn't anticipate these feelings while I was accumulating all these fabrics. I guess I assumed I would majically morf into the new Riley Blake. I was always good at home decorating so "I know what looks good." Hmmm.... not as confident right now.

I have a zillion pins on line of quilts that I am partial to just like you do, but as you know it's one thing to like what you see when it's completed, but it's another thing to have the right combination of fabrics to make it look as good.

It's like cooking. I know when something tastes really good, but can I chose the right ingrediants to make it without a recipie?

I think when you like a quilt you see, it is the fabric chosen as well as the pattern design that makes it appeal to you. The pattern I can duplicate. The fabric, that's a different story.

When I'm in doubt or want to make sure fabrics work well together. I put them together and then stand back, take a picture. Then I'll see if I like what's in the picture. Some times it helps to wait a little after taking the pictures then look.

I once read that any 10 fabrics may not look good together but any 50 will. I try not to overthink when I pull from my stash and just get some of every color and as much print variety as I can..... small prints, big prints, florals, geometric, etc.

‘‘Tis is a truly scrappy quilt, everything goes . It probably has 200 different fabrics in it. I had access to the quilt guilds scrap box for a few months, so I went to town .
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You won't like my particular answer - as many fabrics as you want and look good to you. My favorite quilts to make have two fabrics, one large focus print and a coordinating blender.

However, I am profoundly colorblind, which in my case means I can see the basic 8 - brights, but shades baffle me. So, unless I am making a jelly roll quilt, I use at most 5 fabrics, usually only 3 or 4.

I’ve never thought about counting how many different prints I might use in a quilt. I don’t really think it matters if there are 2, 10, 20 or 100. What matters is values ( light, medium, dark); contrast and a good assortment of size - large, medium and small prints. I know I’ve made quilts with more than 100 different fabrics that were truly spectacular

I have to ask you about your beautiful quilt. Looks like log cabin blocks, but not the usual pattern of light on one corner, dark on the other (or what ever contrast one chooses). The over all effect is very gypsy-ish and .....grounding? Any way, I was just thinking I don't like scrappy quilts and then you show this. Fascinating. What width strips are they?

This is a paper pieced pattern from Quilters Cache. I love paper piecing so I enjoyed the process. Strips were maybe 2 inches, but you would have to check. I just used what fit. This was my favorite quilt so far and my cousin who turned 60, talked me out of it. Glad he is enjoying it.

It is a Log Cabin