The Rug Quilt Quilt-A-Long Pick Fabric

October 13, 2016

The Rug Quilt Quilt-A-Long Pick Fabric

It’s The Rug Quilt Quilt-A-Long. Let’s Pick fabric.

Fabric needed for this quilt along.
White – 126″ (99″ for blocks and caps, 27″ for sashing)
Use scrappy white to get rid of some of your stash. I used four different whites. For blocks, use 33″ of three different whites. For sashing, use 27″ of a different white.
Color – 30” of three different fabrics
Borders – 36″ of a focal fabric

How to pick fabric for your quilt.

This is one of my favorite parts of making a quilt. I love fabric and color! Using a good quality fabric is important. It’s worth the investment. Quilts are going to be hugged and cuddled for years and they need to hold up to the usage.

When I fall in love with a fabric I ask myself “What can I use it for?” Is it a focal fabric or is it a mixing fabric? If it is a focal fabric I will buy one or more yards. I can use it for borders and backing. If it is a mixing fabric I will buy a half yard. I find that when I only buy a fat quarter I always wish I had more.

I bring the focal fabric with me when I am shopping for my mixing fabrics. This is important because there can be many different shades of the same color. A purple fabric that has more magenta in it can look extremely different than one that has more cyan.

I stack fabrics together and squint my eyes to make them unfocused. If the fabrics blend together they will work. However, if one sticks out (like the third bolt shown below) they will also stick out in the quilt, so I take it out and replace it.

What is a focal fabric?

Its images are large and it has multiple colors. This type of print is perfect. You can design a whole quilt around one fabric. Use the color in this focal fabric to create your color pallet. I have two examples here of focal fabrics that I couldn’t walk away from. I bought them and they have been in my stash ever since and am so happy to cut them up and get them out of my stash for this Quilt-A-Long.

What is a mixing fabric?

Fabrics that don’t have drastic variations in color and will complement the other fabrics.

Pick Fabric from the colors in a focal print

Show me your color combinations on Instagram to get into the giveaways!!

Share your progress on Instagram and tag me @brownbirddesigns using #theRugQuiltALong and #trqalweek1 (each week this one will change). The more weeks you participate, the greater your chance of winning. When I reveal the next step, I will announce a new winner here on my blog. The prizes will get larger as the quilt progresses, so stick around.