In this second post (take a look at the first instalment about Colour Theory and quilting), I will be focusing on giving you tips on how to create a personal colour palette that you can then apply when making a quilt :)
In my case, I think I have such a clear idea of which "my colours" are, that it has become counterproductive! I always end up choosing the same colours when buying fabrics for making my own clothes, getting yarn for knitting a new jumper, creating a sample for one of my quilt patterns, decorating my house or dressing up daily.
What I have been trying to do lately is to step out of my comfort zone more often and for example sewing a sample for a quilt using "my colours" and then making a second sample with colours I wouldn't usually go for.
To finish this introduction, I am going to share with you my "colour palette", although it is more colours that I love together, which are mainly made cool tints low in saturation except maybe for the mustard. Take a look below.
Your own personal palette
Tips for the perfect fabric pull for your next quilt
Now, it's your turn! Follow these tips and suggestions to create your own personal colour palette and to find fabrics for your next quilt project.
- Use photographs or pictures for inspiration. Gather ideas by saving images on Instagram or Pinterest with colours that inspire you.
This is how one of my colour inspo folders on Pinterest looks
- Create paper swatch cards or buy a fabric swatch card from your favourite brand of solids (mine is 'Pure Solids' from Art Gallery Fabrics).
- Draw your own colour wheel or buy one to better understand colours and all the possible combinations.
I bought these on Amazon
- Play with colour palette generators like Pantone Studio or Coolors.Co.
- Explore mixing light and dark colours.
- Practice with your fabric stash and take a picture in black and white to check how saturated your finished quilt is and if the placement of your colours looks correct.
- Keep it simple when starting and take risks as time goes by and you feel more confident, stepping out of your comfort zone.
*Last, if you want to get rid of all this hassle, you can also buy a fabric bundle, already curated and colour coordinated by your favourite fabric shop or designer. You can never go wrong with that.
Fableism fabric bundle at Floyd the Fox
Next time I will talk about fabrics used for quilting and how to choose the best wadding / batting for your quilt.
I hope you found this post interesting :) Thank you for reading and I will see you back here soon.
Happy quilting!
Ana
xxx