Low Volume fabric prints
 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]524392[/ATTACH]Someone asked me what low volume fabrics were so here are some pics. This is just what I have dug out of my stash, I didn't know I had any. I want to make a project with low volume to see if I like it before I buy any more fabrics. A lot of times these are used in the backgrounds of blocks that have a bit more color to them. There are a ton of these fabrics out there and a lot of really cute ones. I did go to Etsy and find a fat quarter bundle to go with these and should get them this week.

They can be in colors too, but are mostly light backgrounds with light type of prints including black. Hope this is clear. You can Google or use Pinterest to look them up to get an idea.

I don't know where the phrase came from or how long it has been around as I just heard about it a couple of months back on a blog BuzzinBumble.com, she is also a member here. I know they use that phrase a lot on Craftsy.[ATTACH=CONFIG]524391[/ATTACH]

I always called them bqckground fabrics.

LOL, that is so funny, as that is what I thought they were too for the most part. This Low Volume is new to me. I find it in more places now, like I said Craftsy uses it a lot in their ads and such.

Bonnie Hunter calls them neutrals. A couple of yours look familiar.

I call them neutrals too.

The first time I ran across the phrase 'low volume' in relation to fabrics was an article in Quilting Arts (April/May 2009) by Malka Dubrawsky. In the article, she describes them as "fabrics that don't rely on bright, saturated, or intense colors. They're characterized by qualities such as simple, sometimes large-scale graphic prints; the backgrounds are mostly white or paler shades with a variety of differently textured fibers."

She now teaches classes at Craftsy which may be why the phrase is showing up there so often. The article is titled "Turn Down the Volume: Quilt Design with Quiet Fabrics" and can be downloaded as part of a free ebook (Quilt Designs) on the Quilting Arts website.

What is the difference between "shabby chic" - which I have interpreted to mean fabrics that were printed to LOOK like they are faded out - and a "low volume" print - which I interpret as a print that does not "pop"?

I have been quilting for almost 30 years and NEVER heard this description. To me, they look like modern prints. Thanks for the photo.

ditto. it seems the industry like pumping out new descriptive terms & rules along w "must have tools" to keep us quilters continuing in our love of quilty past time. wish i had kept count over the years. :D

Mary Ellen Hopkins used these neutrals as background in her blocks. She recommended that over white or muslin and she recommended using several in on quilt.