What is "Blendable Fabric"?
 

I saw a section at my LQS that was labeled "blendables" for 100% cotton quilting fabric. I asked what it meant, but the salesperson had no idea other than to say that they weren't batiks or solids or flannels or novelty prints (since other sections had those labels). As I've searched online, I have seen this term sometimes used to describe cotton fabrics. At first I thought maybe they were going to be gradient fabrics, but they weren't.

So what is the difference between "blendables" and "small prints" -- or is there one?

My sister and I consider a blender as something that is not a solid but not a print. There are no flowers or other items just a mottled look that goes with your prints and makes the quilt no so "busy". I love them. They can do so much for your quilt. I sometimes use them as borders or sashing, so that it breaks up the busy look, and gives the eyes someplace to rest.

The common term is blender, not blendables, at least in my part of the country. There was a post on this a couple of weeks ago with some photos that will help you. A blender fabric is used to make a transition between primary focus fabrics. They are usually in similar or complementary colors to the focus fabric but much more subtle in terms of print or hue. Many blenders are small prints in one color with slight variations in the hue or shade of that color so may look almost like a solid but aren't. Batiks are also used as blenders because they can have several colors that tie other fabrics together. A small print can be a blender but blenders don't have to be small prints.

What I was told also was blender. That is neither here nor there. It transitions.

Thank you all so much. I hadn't heard the term "blender" either, but now I know the right word for it if I see it at another store. Makes sense how you would use them. Strangely, they don't have any print fabrics (except for holidays) so I guess I'll have to shop for that somewhere else & then can see about getting my blenders to match it at this store.

thanks again!

My understanding ....

Blenders are those fabrics that "read" as solid.
It has nothing pulls your eye to it, letting it read as a solid.
It might be a small print, such as a yellow/orange mix, or a TOT.
Chameleon like, they often show different colours, depending on what you "blend" them with

Yes, my take ... maybe others will not agree.

Bree, hopefully this will help. It is hard to describe a blender, so here is a photo of a few I just pulled from my stash. You can see they can be any color, but have slight variations but are not solids.
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Thanks, Jeanne, for taking the time to snap that photo. They had probably a hundred bolts of blender fabrics at the LQS, so I saw plenty of examples, I just couldn't figure out what it was exactly that differentiated them from other categories. All the descriptions have helped. Now I know that if I am looking for a fabric that will look solid from the other side of the room, but has a visible pattern or texture on it up close, then I want to ask for a blender fabric. :) Learned something new.

Forgot to mention that I also see them referred to as "tone on tone" fabrics!

Moda marbles and Robert Kaufman Fusions are two good examples of blenders.