Choosing Fabrics

When choosing fabrics for a quilt, often doubts arise. Does fabric A combine well with fabric B? Should I use solid colors or prints? How many different fabrics can I use in a quilt? My number one suggestion is: go with your instincts. It seems to me that color -- and beauty in general -- is perceived with our senses... and this case particularly through our sight. If you like the fabric you've chosen... go for it!

However, if you don't feel quite comfortable yet with your instincts, there are a few suggestions in choosing fabric for a fabulous quilt:

1. Chose a print with several colors as your focus fabric, with small to medium-sized motifs.

2. Match your other fabrics to the colors found in this print.

3. To make your quilt more interesting, you can use small amounts of black, red, or yellow, even if these colors are not found in your focus fabric. These unexpected colors can bring life to the fabrics chosen and help lead the eye along the quilt.

If you still don't feel comfortable with the concept of a focus fabric, you could simply choose two colors. Blue and white. Red and white... or other simple and popular color pairs. For a children's quilt, the use of primary colors -- red, yellow, blue -- is quite appealing.

At the end of the day, the most important question when it comes to choosing fabrics is and will always be: do you like it? If your answer is "yes," then you've done a good job!