Solids - How do you use them?
 

Still a newbie - do more research than quilting! I've been avoiding solids, they seem so impersonal yet I know they must have a place. How do you use them? Are there certain places you think they are better than prints? I know some prints "read as solids" from a distance yet up close they have personality. Please give me food for thought on this journey.
Thanks!

I'm still relatively new myself, but I like wild colors and fabric patterns so I use solids to give the eye a place to "rest" after taking in all the wildness. I was doing a split rail quilt in my "learn to quilt" class and, since I was mixing the fabrics together from 2 precut jelly roll packs, the patterns would have been way too busy and chaotic if I'd put the blocks directly against one another. Would have ruined the entire effort in my eyes (and I could tell my quilting teacher was trying to figure out how to mention that might be an issue as soon as she saw my fabrics... bless her heart lol) Instead, I threw sashing with a solid color in between the blocks and that worked out great. So sashing and backgrounds are good places to use solids in my eyes, and I'm partial to at least one solid or "read as solid" border (usually inner border) per quilt. It helps to keep a crisp and clear distinction between the various areas/spaces of the quilt design.

Also, sometimes if I'm working with a lot of fabric patterns, I'll throw in solids as "filler" (because the solids I use are less expensive than patterned fabric) If I do that, I try to use at least 2 so that it doesn't look weird to have all my fabrics be patterned except for one. That's purely to save some dough.

There are many fabulous solid fabric quilts out there - generally modern with white/gray/black as a background fabric. I use them just as I would any fabric - if the color works, it goes into the mix. Take a look at pinterest and you will see lots of examples.

I don't use solids a lot when quilting but am very lost if I don't have a color in a solid when I do need them. One of my favorite and "keeper" quilts is made with all solids. I wanted a quilt that had an Amish flavor of all solids but with Paper Pieced Stars. The result is stunning. The solid stars came to life and 'sparkle' off the quilt. Another use for solids is in sashings between blocks. You may find them very good to offset your blocks so the block is not occluded by to much color patterns surrounding the blocks.
Happy quilting.

I like solids...they leave a lot of places for FMQ and it really can make the quilt. I like the carpenter's star pattern, it's fast and very easy, and solids work well in it as long as you get a good definition between light, medium and dark.

http://www.quiltfrog.com/fourhour.html

I like using solids. The past few years I’ve been veering away from fabrics that read as solids. I like the crispness of a solid. Lately the Moda grunge “solids “ seem to be my go-to. They’re a bit more interesting than a plain solid.

I also use solids to calm down a pattern or design. It's a matter of taste, but I try to avoid total chaos. Needs to be somewhat restful even though I do like lots of color.

Sometimes the pattern is bold enough that solids work very well. I like mixing some solid colors in with the prints. If I am looking for a specific color, and I've got it in my stash in a solid, that's what I'll use. I've never given it much thought, as long as the selection I pull looks good together.

Thank you all! I'm convinced - sashing, background, HST's... I appreciate your helping me think through this brain block.
donna13350 thanks for the link - I never realized that that was a relatively simple pattern
So, now I have an new dilemma... what & where to buy. Will start a new thread for this.
Thanks again for your comments.

Solids are good in most quilt patterns.