Pushing the Color Envelope
 

Do you have an eye for coordinating fabrics and colors in your quilts? Yes, we can always play it safe and use a charm pack or layer cake. The coordinating is done for us.

Do you push the envelope with fabric choices?

I am just ready to step out of the comfort zone when selecting fabrics for my next quilt. It has been a fun exercise for me to pick colors and designs that might not typically go together. I think mixing patterns will give the quilt a little bit of an edge.

Here is a sneak peak. Some are from a fabric collection so a little safe. There are still a few selections
to make with gray and teal blues but I'm almost there.

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I'm one of those people who plays it safe- boring!!!!!!!! I like what you've chosen and I need to be a little more adventurous :)

The four grays on the left are up for consideration.

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I guess I'm a pusher. I tell my daughter, "It will match when it's sewn together." Of course, that isn't always the case, but it does help choose fabrics.

The scrappier the better! But it's a lot hot harder choosing a set of a dozen or so fabrics than it is just throwing a hundred together. I still prefer to select fabrics from my stash, rather than use kits or collections, although I have somehow accumulated quite a few of those.

I feel like I'm cheating somehow if I use a "collection" because for me the most fun is choosing fabrics. I will use a precut collection if I really love it, which is seldom, or if I need to come up with a quick quilt. Most often I will use a print or three from a collection and then use that for my color scheme and then go to town with my stash.

I love to play with color, pattern, scale, texture, even fabric type. I am a little less likely to play with different fabric types and textures if I'm making a quilt for someone to use as a covering, but color is always something that I play with. The few times I've used a fabric collection I ended up pulling other things from my stash to "jazz it up".

Rob

I'm not color-blind, but I have difficulty with choosing colors that would "look good", although the prettiest quilt I ever made was a strip quilt where I consciously chose all of my "ugly" fabrics that I knew I would never use. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Color selections for a quilt is the hardest part for me when it comes to making a quilt. I grew up in the 50's & took Home Economics & every time we sewed something colors had to match/go together. So, if I made a skirt, the blouse had to have one of the colors in the skirt in it so it would "match". So for me to select a blue that would go next to a green is so hard for me to do. However, that being said, I love quilts that don't match in color.

I like your color selections & can't wait to see what you do with them.

I've not used kits yet. I have a couple, but they just sit. I don't buy collections. My process is that I choose a pattern, then "see" it finished. Then I find the fabrics that match my vision. Sometimes that forces me outside my comfort zone on colors or patterns of fabric. Sometimes I think to myself, "maybe you need your vision checked...what were you thinking!?"

I'm like Rob. When I use a kit or collection, I usually add some fabrics to make it more to my liking.

I find that using collections or kits can help me to work out of my comfort zone and actually be very creative for me. I like to try new things and often have a fabric grouping laying out on my table so I can look at it and decide what it needs.

I've never used a collection. I'm too cheapt to buy kits and such. Usually I pick a main fabric and work from it. I like to throw in a "zinger" in a lot of my quilts...some colour that is unexpected. It's often orange.

Watson

Definitely push the envelope here. Sometimes so far out of the box, I might get lost.

Some suggestions for color selections
Variety in print size and value
If a color sticks out too much, try giving it some friends
A fabric with a lot of value contrast within it self will draw attention. It can be used as a focus fabric and or to give contrast/variety.

The two most common ways I choose color combinations are from a focus fabric (choosing shades of hues that appear in the fabric), or by complete accident, noticing pieces of fabric thrown together on a shelf or in a drawer by chance and seeing that they look great together. I have no trouble deciding if colors looks good together, but I react to combinations more than I think them up.

I don't feel like I'm good a choosing colors either. You did really well and I LOVE the 4 grays on the left.

I have a quilting friend who can't make a decision about sashing or border fabric unless she gets approval from everyone she asks about it. Drives me nuts. I never ask someone for fabric choice advice. I'm making the quilt to suit me not them. I like modern geometric next to civil war, with 30's reproductions for borders. I usually buy three packages of precuts of very different fabric in each and mix them up. Sounds awful doesn't it? But I have about ten first place ribbons for my quilts so they aren't just a big mess of color. No national ribbons just state and local. LOL

I have never used a kit at all, barely ever used a "pattern" w/o changes of some kind, I tend to make up things as I go. Pretty sure I burned the "envelope" along w/ "the box" a long time ago. lol

I work from a main fabric a lot

I like matchy, matchy quilts. Since I started making scrappy quilts, I like the fact that anything goes. It was very hard for me to change.

I almost always buy a pattern of fabric I like in multiple colors. I tend to then make rainbow quilts that use the rainbow of colors. I am not a fan of scrappy quilts. Variety for me is using a white, grey, or black background fabric for my rainbow of colors. I am really trying hard to make some color story quilts. It is a struggle. I don't buy kits or patterns. Maybe this makes it harder too.

For me, “pushing” would be sticking to two or three colors, as I am more inclined to pull a lot of colors together. Pushing beyond would be doing a monochromatic quilt. But my latest push was an I Spy quilt because It’s so busy. I don’t love it, but trust that a kid will for the same reason!

I did a kit once but donated it once it was finished. I love playing with color and and feel like I push the envelope more times than not...

I think your colors are looking great and I like the grays to the left too...can’t wait to see what they look like in your project.

I love color! A combination of two or many, but I most definitely push the envelope! I teach a color and how to choose fabrics class. For those of you that believe you are not good with color: you probably decorate your home and purchase your own clothes, and both are coordinated and look great. You really just lose confidence when choosing quilt fabrics. Relax and trust your instincts.

Looking at your first picture, I think you should add something with a larger scale. What I see goes together "blandly".
Looking at your grays picture, I'd skip the first four and go with the fifth (larger scale flowers).

Rhonda K- those greys are beautiful. Can't wait to see what you make!

Yes, this is me too. I love scrappy so have no problem putting things together that might not "go".

I agree. It needs some large scale fabric to add interest

Your fabrics are just beautiful! I like using collections, l like using kits and l like choosing all my own fabric. I am an equal opportunity quilter. Lol:)

Do you have a pattern in mind for all these lovelies? That is a big part of how I choose fabric.

I am one of those lucky people who has a good eye for color so most of my selection is pattern size and texture. Choosing fabric is my favorite part of any project.

I buy kits but usually use the fabric from several kits to make one quilt.

I love picking fabrics with lots of color. To minimize mistakes, I recommend double checking compatibility outside in natural sunlight.

I learned to try colors that most say do not go together from my 15 year old granddaughter. We went to a quilt shop to pick fabric for her 1st quilt and she did not want help from me or the store owner. She came to the cutting table with red, pink, purple, lime green, dark blue, mustard, etc... The store owner took out the ones that she felt worked the best together and said lets look for some that will match these 3. I said good idea. My granddaughter pointed to her stash and said I want these. I wish I had a picture of her quilt--because it was one of the most beautiful pieces of art I had seen. Her choices did work together no matter what anyone else thought.

Thank you Everyone! It's great to find that you like un-matched fabrics.

This is the quilt I will attempt. I love her designs and inspirations.

https://www.laundrybasketquilts.com/...tch/p/73757036



Thanks Cashs mom,

Thank you for the suggestion of a larger scale. Would you do a tone on tone? This quilt has fairly small pieces and larger scale fabrics will cut into the design. Does that bother anyone?

sJens, so glad you let your granddaughter have her choice of fabrics, a wonderful experience for all of you!

I rarely buy a kit (only one or two ) and make it a habit not to stick to one design line cause I like to play with color. I especially like brights with a gray, navy, dark green, black or white--those to me are my neutrals. I do sometimes have to push myself to throw in oranges, pinks, reds because those just don't seem to be my "go-to" colors. One rule I follow from Jinny Beyers is to make sure to have some "dark-darks" to make the mediums and the lights actually get to play too.

I have never bought a kit and really love to push the color envelope. I love to make scrappy quilts but always have one fabric that is used throughout the quilt.

I'm basically a very conventional person, always well behind on trends, but I almost never seem to accept someone else's fabric picks without injecting something I want to do differently. I miss the mark sometimes, but if I knew ahead of time exactly how something was going to turn out, I wouldn't see any point in doing it.

I love the fabrics you are showing us here. I'm sure your quilt will be great.

I told my Grand Daughter, when I was teaching her to sew/quilt: IF God put it all together in a flower garden, on a tropical parrot or tropical fish.. then the colors go together. Only thing you have to chose is bold or calm.

She was using my 4-Patch bin and some strips. I told her that SHE is the only one who matters when she's choosing colors.

Leap into fabric choices. They come out so wonderful when you break your own rules

I agree w/ your instinct not to use large prints for this specific pattern. There are several pieces in there I would so fussy cut though w/ the right print.