What are youor favorite blender fabrics?
 

I am sure that some of you have a go to brand for your blender/backgroound fabrics - I know I do for a couple. I love the tone-on-tone fabrics becaues of the movement. Sometimes I think I am in a rut so I thought I would get ideas from the rest of you.

If I want a light blender,/background I audition a lot of fabrics and usually wind up using Fairy Frost Snow. I like the subtle moovement that it gives the background.

If I want a blue, I had a 10 yard piece of Moda MarblesRoyal blue that I bought years ago and am now down to inches. The new version of the fabric is not quite the same shade but is ok.

The black that I have used most is Kona black but it is thinner and I am open to suggestions (the Moda Marbles black that I have seen in person has too much gray).

I really like Moda Grunge. I'm not really into girly, flowery, vine-y, swirly, backgrounds.

When I need a blender fabric, I usually reach for Moda Marble Fabrics It works with whatever fabric your quilt has, whether your quilt has flowery, geometrics, or any type of fabric design in it.

I don't look for a particular brand but I am always on the look out for fabrics that can be used for blenders especially if they are sale ones. When I used to shop hops, I would sometimes pick a theme and that is what I looked for at the every stop on the hop. One year it was polk-a-dots as my niece wanted a that in her quilt. Another year it was purples, then black and white, and blenders is also good!

I am total grunge girl! Its my go to for blenders when using regular quilt fabrics, always well made and the colors are divine.

Mods Grunge is definitely my go-to.

I am a tone on tone user. Everything from white on white to white on cream or very light tan One that I particularly like is call Flirt Doodle Cream. There is just enough white on the very light cream to make it not look just white or just cream and the pattern is so subtle that it does not appear flowery. I use the Moda Marble if I want bolder colors. I have used cheddar, yellow, turquoise, dark blue and a middle "summer" blue, oh and purple with pleasing results.

I use whatever colors I have and will look good with the other colors. I don't buy any name brand fabrics.

I make donation quilts for foster care children in my county. Once they leave here I don't know what happens to them.

One of my favorite "blender" lines is Hopscotch by RJR Fabrics. Here's a link: https://www.rjrfabrics.com/hopscotch....html?view=all For backgrounds, I like "Deconstructed Dandelions" in vanilla bean, cloud or black.

Edyta Sitar makes some beautiful background fabrics. Laundry Basket Quilts: https://www.rjrfabrics.com/hopscotch....html?view=all

Another grunge girl here. I love the colors and the variation in the fabric. It’s easy to tell the front from the back. I purchased about 12 colors of grunge for the next project on my EMB machine

I used to grab all of Connecting Threads blenders but they kept discontinuing the colors and the fabric started to get real fraying so quit. Found Maywood's blenders were very similar in shades of CT's so started grabbing them. Of course you can't go wrong with tone on tone whites, whites on beige or beige on white so buy those by the bolt. Haven't been buying fabrics since late 2018 so haven't been keeping up with what's out there of late. Have way too much to use up before I can start collecting again and by then I'll be way too old or can't afford how high the prices for fabrics have gotten up to.

I really like Northcott's Toscana line of blenders. Some subtle mottling - I use them almost exclusively if I don't have what I need in my stash.

I mostly like whatever is the right color and on sale. lol

I agree, Grunge is great. Can you believe I avoided it for a while because the name was a turn-off? The first time I bought some, I was sold.

I don't buy many blenders. My preference is for small print fabrics, which usually means reproduction fabrics. The only time I end up with blenders is when I'm buying fabric for the Bonnie Hunter winter mystery, because I am usually focusing on color when buying for that quilt.

I love the Northcutt blenders. One of the lines is Gradations. They fray a little more than some fabrics, but the sheen and color is worth the bother. My favorite solid black is Northcutt, too. I don't currently have a black blender. Quilted Twins had a Northcutt one I liked, but it sold out before I ordered.

Maywood Shadow Play and Grunge

Ditto. I love tone on tone. I like the added texture it gives. I don't do subtle very well, so I've often used prints as blenders; polka-dots, stripes.
I don't know that i have a go to brand/ style, but i would agree with others that grunge is a FABULOUS looking fabric for blenders.

I’m probably going to sound like an idiot here, but what exactly is a blender? From some of the answers I saw here, I’m guessing it’s an “almost solid” or “tone on tone”?

If that is the case, other than white or black, why would you have a favorite line of fabric? Wouldn’t it depend on the color needed for your project?

SuzSLO, I would say 'almost solid' or 'tone on tone' is correct.

Different manufacturers produce their own signature blenders -- there are scroll types, mottled types, textured solids, etc., which is nice because you know what look you're getting when you order a Grunge, a Toscana, a LB favorite, etc. Most of them come in a variety of colors. We naturally settle into ones we like the look of and that work well, but in the end, I find that it does come down to which one is the color I want..

You are partially correct.... Blenders are usually tone on tone, or have tiny prints that don't stand out. They're usually used for backgrounds or to compliment the louder, more vivid prints in a quilt, and in my opinion because they add texture, they're much better than plain solids, which to me look flat and boring.
Yes, color depends on what's going on in the project, but most blender lines are printed in a rainbow of colors. My favorite is Grunge because as I stated earlier, I'm not a fan of girly, swirly, flowery prints. Grunge is definitely not girly, but it has a lot of texture. I know that if I look specifically for Grunge prints, it's highly likely I will find a color that will compliment and enhance my project, and add texture and visual interest. There are a couple of shops near me that carry almost every color of Grunge.

Pecking & Joe’sMom: Thanks for your reply. My quilts tend to be scrappy, so blenders aren’t high on my list of stock-up fabrics. But I can see how having favorites can be helpful particularly when ordering online. Do any of the companies sell swatch cards of their blender lines?

I'm not sure, I've only purchased my blenders from quilt shops. You'd probably have to look up Moda Grunge or whatever line you're interested in online to see if they have swatch cards. I've only ever heard of Kona offering swatches.

I'm going to sound like a skipping record, but I too am another grunge girl. Like Joe'smom said, it took me a long time to warm up to the line, but the movement it provides is amazing. I was sold after the first quilt I used it in.

And yet another vote for grunge! It reads as a solid, but gives interest a regular solid just doesn’t have. Of course there are lots of grunge fabrics, some with big polka dots and other styles, but I keep going back to the more plain ones for basic blenders.

Yes Grunge is a great line of fabric, but find that DitDot from In the Beginning by Jason Yenter works well, too.

I tend to use tone-on-tones and will adapt to each quilt's requirements, but really like the Robert Kaufman fusions 5573 range.

oh for pete's sake. i finally figure out how to add a pictures, but now it's huge-mungous. (i may try and figure that out and edit later, but at least it's pretty fabric)

well, anyway...I've used all these as "blenders." I tend to have bright bold quilts, and i suppose it depends on the rest of the quilt, but i would totally use any of these as sashing / borders. etc. Some are more tone on tone than others, but to me, these would be significantly smaller prints than the main fabrics I would use, so I think scale plays a part as well.
.https://scontent.ffcm1-2.fna.fbcdn.n...dw&oe=6344F925

some other bold color with prints. I also tend to buy fabric that speaks to me, even if I don't have a specific project in mind, which results in these fabrics being, honestly, some of my more "subtle" fabrics. :shock:
https://scontent.ffcm1-2.fna.fbcdn.n...pA&oe=6344ED2A


again, depending on the "main fabrics" or blocks used, the soft florals can make a nice blender too
https://scontent.ffcm1-2.fna.fbcdn.n...tg&oe=6345E119

I could never warm up to the grunge fabrics. It reminds me of old fabric with worn places of color fade outs. I have a few different color 1/2 yard pieces that I received as samples. I couldn't bring myself to use them...

I instead use the light and not overly busy, barely there, marbles, or I use tone on tone, depending on what the quilt design/subject leans to. For backgrounds I go more for solids, using a white, bone, cream, black, or a tone on tone, especially the white tone on tone.

Naominjeri: Love your blenders! Probably the only ones I might not use (though they are gorgeous) are the large scale florals. I would either need to use them only in large pieces or use them a whole bunch so the eye puts the design back together.

I appreciate this thread as I'm apparently not spending enough time in the Grunge isle of my LQS - will definitely work to incorporate more Grunge into my projects.

Naominjeri - I love your blenders, too!

Thanks!! I love all the info. I need to look a grunge when I go to a fabric store (haven't been since Covid - sigh).

I use anything that reads as solid-ish and will work with the other fabrics I'm using. I have used Grunge as well as various prints that are low key enough to stay in the background of whatever quilt I'm working on. Mostly, I keep a lot of batiks in my stash and they can work very well as blenders depending on what other fabrics I'm using in my quilt- a fabric that might be too bold to use as a blender in one quilt could easily work as a blender in another quilt

Rob