Selecting Fabric for Your Blocks
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Understanding Quilt Block Patterns
Last time we looked at two color quilt blocks and saw how different the block can look just by changing the dark fabric to light and the light fabric to dark.
Just as a reminder, here is the block we looked at - Cross and Crowns:
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Now let's take a look at how to decide what fabric to use when we want to use more than two colors.
Without getting too technical, one way to evaluate colors is by looking at "value." Value is simply how dark or light a fabric is. Most of the time, it is easy to to create categories of “light,” “medium,” and “dark.”
Be aware that these are relative categories. A fabric that may be considered “light” compared to others in the fabric store, may be a “medium” in your quilt. Using a combination of light, medium and dark fabrics in your quilt adds variety and interest. If all of the fabrics have the same value, they will blend together, making your design less distinguishable.
For example, this fabric selection includes 5 different colors, and a range from light (on the left) to dark (on the right).
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These fabrics range from light to dark and are in the brown family. |
In the fabric selections below, I have taken the same fabrics and simply limited the range. Notice how a medium fabric became a "light" simply because it was placed with a different group of fabrics.
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| This selection includes only 3 of the fabrics, and the one on the left is the "dark" in this group. | This selection includes only 3 of the fabrics, and the one on the left, which is also in the group on the left, has now become the "light" fabric in the group. |
For this example, I chose fabrics that are pretty obvious to categorize, because I have used a wide range of "value" (from dark to light). Deciding whether your fabric is light, medium, or dark when the range is more narrow becomes a little more difficult.
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| In this quilt, most of the colors are in the medium to dark range. The orange, green, and light lavender fabrics would be considered the "lights." |
The range of values you use in your quilt can determine how "lively" your quilt is. If the range is limited, the quilt tends to be more quiet, while quilts with a wide range of value have some spark to them.
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| This quilt has a wide range of value - the lights are very light, and the darks are very dark. You can see that it has some spark and action to it. Not what I would call a "calming" quilt. | The range of colors in this tiny quilt is somewhat more limited. What you will notice is that the block in the upper left corner stands out from the rest of the quilt because of the contrast. This was an experiment, and not something I would create for a finished quilt. |
Experimentation is the best way to understand the value of color and how it changes the look of your quilt. If you have a quilt that just "doesn't look right," often it is because it needs that little spark of either a really light fabric or a really dark fabric. Try one or the other, and see how it changes your quilt. If you like it, keep it. If you don't, try something else.
In some ways, I wish it were easier, but color, value and the look of your quilt is so much a matter of personal taste, it is difficult to make rules that will please everybody.
These resources from Joen Wolfrom are the best when it comes to understanding color. The 3 in 1 Color Tool has a value finder in it that makes it easier to figure out the value of a fabric. We will touch on that next week.
The QuiltBlockLibrary.com offers a variety of Four Patch, Five Patch, Seven Patch, and Nine Patch Patterns, with suggested color variations. While it is not necessary to stick with the suggested colors, maintaining the placement of dark, light and medium fabrics will allow you to retain the design of the quilt block.
Peaceful Piecing!
www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com
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