Coordinating Your Quilting Fabric

By Desiree Edwin

Color coordination, color theory, color matching - these terms can frighten an unwary quilter, but they don't have to. Sure, they sound like something you tried to ignore in your Art Theory 101 class, but when it comes to picking out the right quilting fabric, they have a very immediate and useful meaning. It doesn't have to be just theory anymore.

Quilting fabric comes in so many wonderful, brilliant colors and prints that it can almost be overwhelming. That one with green background and golden flowers catches your eye, and then the pink with the dark blue tribal pattern turns out to be irresistible. Would they go together? What's a quilter to do? There's a veritable world of possibilities in front of you, and unfortunately, not all possibilities work and play well with others.

The easiest way to go about it is to make yourself settle on a single print for your main quilting fabric. This print should have a few colors in it so that it will have some texture and visual appeal. Every piece of fabric you choose from here on out needs to be "pulled" from this main swatch. If you've settled on the green and gold, you have to put the pink and blue aside (or at least save it for another project), and buy more fabrics that use green and gold.

Beyond pulling colors you should also try to buy a range of hues. When you use quilting fabric that ranges from light to medium to dark colors you'll be able to add some depth to your quilt. The same goes for other prints. Choose a variety and include patterns that are small, medium, and large. When all these elements come together you can create a quilt that is a joy to behold.
See what happened there? You managed the color coordination required for a classy quilt without having to take a single art class.

Quilting is my passion. If you want to read more tips and insights from me about quilting fabric, you can visit this article.
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