Are you eager to start a new quilting project? Before you begin a quilt, you need to pick out the right fabrics. It’s not as simple as choosing fabrics in favorite colors. Follow the steps below to make the best selections for your project.

How to Choose Quilting Fabrics

1. Consider Its Purpose

Quilts are highly personal art pieces. Considering purpose will help you focus your attention. Are you gifting it to a loved one? Think about the colors and themes they’d like. If you’re keeping it, will it be draped over the sofa, hung on a wall, or spread over a bed? Consider the color scheme of the room where your quilt will be seen.

2. Pick a Color Scheme

Coming up with a color scheme can be challenging, particularly if you’re starting from scratch. Pick out a multicolored pattern to aid your selections. With a multicolored fabric, you can pick out a few colors in the pattern to form a palette. If your inspiration starts with a single hue, you can broaden your range of fabrics with monochromatic, analogous, complementary, or triadic colors.

3. Vary Your Scale

When choosing prints and patterns, vary the scale. Large-scale pieces are bold, but too many on one quilt may be overwhelming. Create contrast by mixing large-, medium-, and small-scale pieces to balance your design and keep it looking neat while maintaining visual interest.

4. Choose High-Quality Cotton

When you shop for quilting fabric, choose high-quality cotton. Cotton is durable, breathable, and warm. It’s a favorite of quilters for these three reasons and also because it’s available in a variety of patterns, colors, and prints.

5. Buy a Bundle of Precuts

You don’t need yards and yards of fabric for one quilt. Unless you plan to use a fabric for more than one project, buy a fat quarter stack instead. Precut bundles of color-coordinated fabrics give you conveniently sized pieces to work with.

If you need quality fabrics for your sewing and quilting projects, the friendly team at Olive Juice Quilts is eager to help you find the right supplies. Serving Onalaska and La Crosse, WI, they carry a diverse range of fun and beautiful fabrics, patterns, and sewing and quilting accessories. Need some basic pointers, or looking to polish your skills? They also offer sewing and quilting classes. To learn more about their products or classes, call (608) 782-3257. Visit their website to browse available fabrics.