In patchwork and quilting we try to stick to 100% cotton fabrics and preferably of the same weight. I tend to use only 100% Craft Cotton, the reason we do this is that when we wash the finished quilt, the fabrics should hopefully all shrink and behave the same, it can ruin a quilt if one fabric shrinks and the others do not. It is also a good idea to carry out a colour test on your fabrics if you can, before you sew them up. Some cotton fabrics may ‘bleed’ into other fabrics and again this could ruin your quilt. A colour test is easily done: heat the water to your normal washing temperature ie. 30 degrees and add detergent. Place in a transparent container, place a 2 inch square of fabric into the mixture and leave it for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes place the container over a piece of white paper to check if the water is discoloured. In patchwork we try to avoid large printed fabrics because when they are cut the effect will be lost. However this is not always the case, and it may be the effect you're looking for! Or you may wish to “fussy cut” the fabric. This is where you cut a shape from the fabric to isolate part of the printed design. This can be wasteful of the fabric, but can have some stunning results in your quilt.Choosing colours for your quilt is what people find the most difficult part and there are numerous workshops on matching colours, & tones on youtube, here is one I found: (https://youtu.be/sZHaS8ST1SU). A good investment is a colour wheel to see who colours work together. A quick and easy method can be to purchase a bundle of fat quarters where the fabrics have been put together for you. Although this can be an expensive way to purchase fabric in the long run, it can help if you're struggling. When I refer to light fabrics, I mean your pastel tones, whites and creams.
Medium fabrics are the brights and dull shades that are mixed with grey or a little white. They sit in the middle of the colour wheel
Darks are the colours that are almost blacks on the colour wheel, Navy, Dark browns, Deep Reds, Deep Yellows and Deep Oranges etc.
A good tip when selecting colours, lay them out and take a photo either in black and white or change the photo to black and white. Then you will only see the tone of the colours and this will look very different. If you are looking at colours and they don't go together and you are unable to see why. Check the tone and you may find that the tones are all the same and they need to be mixed up too. Don't panic though stick with colours you love and have fun. Working with colour is a skill and it will improve the more you do it. Remember there are no quilting police and if you love it then that's all that matters.
