PICKING FABRIC
Week One of the Front Porch Quilt Along is all about picking your fabric. I’m diving into what fabrics I am using, what I used for my first quilt, and how you can create a Front Porch quilt you’ll love.
Front Porch Quilt Fabric Requirements
USING SCRAPS – Inside the pattern I share how many pieces and what sizes you need if you want to make a scrappy quilt. * PLEASE DO NOT SHARE SIZES OF CUT FABRIC ON POSTS. THIS IS COPYRIGHTED INFORMATION.
LOW VOLUME BACKGROUND FABRICS
Picking your low volume fabrics is so much fun! When I made my ‘Front Porch’ quilt, I started with very little color and little contrast for my low volume fabrics.
The more I made blocks and cut fabric, however, I got a little more adventurous. I started adding more bold colors and designs, yet still keeping the fabric low volume. Here are some photo examples of different low volume fabrics.
What IS Low Volume fabric? I like to think of it as fabric that if you squint your eyes, it could appear one color.
However, you will notice some of my ‘low volume’ fabrics get further from that definition. I walked a fine line between low volume and NOT low volume, but in the end, I loved how that turned out.
POST YOUR FABRIC PULL
Post a photo of your fabric pull on Instagram. One of the best parts of a Quilt Along is seeing what other people are making.
To post your photo:
- Make sure your Instagram Account is public, otherwise we can’t see your photo.
- If you don’t want to make your private account public, consider opening a new Quilty Instagram account (it’s free!).
- Use the hashtags: #FrontPorchQAL #QuiltersCandy #FrontPorchQuilt
A LOOK AT MY COLOR LAYOUT
I knew when I made my ‘Front Porch’ quilt that I wanted to have darker colors at the top left, lighter colors in the middle, and then darker colors again at the bottom right.
I wanted to create a look that drew the eye from top left to top right, and I wanted the colors to feel even. I didn’t want it to feel too heavy with dark colors at the top or bottom of the quilt.
You can use this same method when choosing and placing your colors. Or you can go totally random, ombre, gradient, whatever you want to try.
I recommend printing off the coloring sheet and trying out your color placement before you commit to sewing. Get the coloring sheet above.
See the photo below? I circled where I placed the darker colors to feel even.
I went from purples in the top left to more mellow, light, pink and orange in the middle, to brown at the bottom right.
Prize for Front Porch Quilt Along Week 1
Next Monday, October 4th, I will select one winner from those who post a photo of their fabric pull.
The winner will get THREE FREE MONTHS to the QUILTERS CANDY MEMBERSHIP. Get brand new patterns from top designers in the membership and join a community of hundreds of quilters from around the world!
Already a member? Awesome! You’ll be reimbursed for the next 3 months of your membership.
WEEK ONE'S WINNER!
Congratulations to Ashlee Knight of @willowoakdesign – you are the winner of week one for the QAL!
I will get in touch and get your Fat Quarter bundle of Kismet sent your way.
Here is the photo Ashlee posted to enter to win:
NEXT WEEK
Week 2 of the Front Porch Quilt Along we will be CUTTING OUR FABRIC.
Want to see an overview of the Quilt Along? CLICK HERE.
Week 4 Front Porch QAL - Quilters Candy
[…] Week One content […]
Front Porch QAL Week 2 - Quilters Candy
[…] To see last week’s winner, CLICK HERE. […]
Cathy
Looking forward to this project! Pulling my fabrics is the hardest part!! Thanks for the pointers on the low volume fabrics.
Elizabeth Chappell
CathyYou’re welcome!! I’m excited to see what you end up with!
Erica Cameron
This is great! I’m thrilled to try and also learn some new techniques
Elizabeth Chappell
Erica CameronI’m excited for you! It’s such a fun quilt top to make.
Anonymous
Thank you