Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Fabric Requirements

If you're quilting along with us, I bet you're wondering how much fabric you'll need. Our plan is to show you how to make at least 14 blocks (plus a few bonus blocks along the way).

When picking fabrics, a good thing to keep in mind is contrast: these blocks look great when you pair a lighter fabric with a darker fabric. Medium tones feel very safe but add some lights and darks and see what you think.

If you want to make all of these blocks, you'll need about 2.5 yards of fabric. This is only for the blocks themselves, not for sashing, binding or backing. All of the blocks can be created using only two fabrics but most look better when you use more than two. Jennifer's favorite LQS quilt lady suggested she use six different fabrics.

The more fabrics you have, the less of each you'll need. If you're afraid of making mistakes or if you think you'll use one fabric more than the others, be sure to have some extra.

Also, keep in mind that you might want to use some of your block fabric on the back of your quilt or for binding or something. This quilt-along is more of a "do what you feel" sort of thing which makes estimating fabric more difficult. I'm using fabric that I know I can re-order if necessary but I also have a good idea of what I want my quilt to look like and how big it'll be. That makes estimating much easier.

Jennifer has already started posting pictures of modern quilt layouts and we'll continue that in hopes one inspires you. And if you have any questions about your ideas or fabric requirements, feel free to comment or send us an email.

modifytradition (at) gmail (dot) com
blog comments powered by Disqus