Purple Quilt Fabric
Color makes a difference in your quilting
I recently received a call from my daughter asking for help in assembling a quilt. My interest was picked. My daughter is not a quilter. Her mother-in-law had cross stitched blocks as a gift. She wanted Brigette, (my daughter)to assemble the blocks. Not knowing how to put a quilt together, Brigette called Mom.
Some weeks later, we got together to examine the blocks. The blocks were of an Iris pattern. The flower of each Iris was stitched in a deep, rich, purple with bright green foliage. Even though, I am not a lover of cross stitched blocks, the blocks were particularly beautiful. The color contrast in the blocks was striking and being involved in piecing this quilt was going to be fun and exciting. Little did I know the challenges the next few weeks would bring.
Being the owner of an online quilt fabric business, I had lots of fabric to use in the auditioning process. The blocks were 18 inches square on a stark white background. With the size of the block in mind, I chose a strong deep purple, weighing on the purple in the Iris. I had 3 fabrics in mind and the auditioning began. Hmm, well those did not work. Some 14 purple fabrics later, I decided to try a yellow. Why yellow? The fall in the Iris had a hint of yellow in it and sometimes the hint color is a perfect color to use in the border.
Ok, the yellow did not work. All of the fabrics used thus far, either were lost in the quilt, made the quilt look flat, or appear, lifeless. This was turning out to be way more complicated than I had originally thought. So far, all of my color options had been solids or at least tone on tone fabrics. Maybe I needed to introduce a pattern.
I feared using a pattern because I did not want the border to compete with the floral blocks. Pulling out my 1930’s purple small print fabrics, the audition process began again. Realizing, that the border width could also make a difference, each fabric was auditioned by width comparison. What width would work: ½ inch, 1 inch, 1 ½ inch, or so on?
After reviewing over 30 fabrics, I still did not have the right color combination. Off to the fabric shops I went. Four fabric shops and an innumerable number of fabrics later the result was still the same: no winner. What am I going to do? My daughter is counting on me and the mother-in-law is calling “often” to find out if the quilt is done. The pressure was on.
When all else fails, take a break. Get your mind off the problem. Concentrate on another project. This is exactly what I did. I began piecing a Kumiko Sudo block. If you want a distraction, the Kumiko Sudo block collection should live up to your expectations. It turned out to be the right project to open my eyes to the color opportunities available for my daughter’s quilt. What about green? Why had I not thought of using green?
So the process began again. Each fabric was auditioned by pattern, color, and width. Still I did not have a winner. Then, I remembered a green fabric I had purchased some 5 years back. I liked the fabric so much, that I purchased 5 yards of it. The fabric already had been used in 5 previous quilts which resulted in my stash having a balance of 3 yards, enough for this project.
The stash green fabric had hints of yellow, white, and lime green in a circular pattern on a lime green background. As soon as the fabric was placed against the Iris block, bingo, I had a winner. Next step was to decide the width of the block border. I chose the 1 ½ inch border for each block and began cutting the strips immediately. With the strips cut, it was time to lay out the quilt. The color was perfect and the quilt was alive.
Laying out the quilt also took a little thought. With 16 blocks to work with, I chose to put 4 blocks each in the top and bottom row. The 2 center rows each had 2 blocks. This left a big gap on each side. Wanting to keep the focus on the Iris pattern in the blocks, I decided to put a large white piece on each side. The piece would be 2 rows high and 1 block wide. To accent the Iris in the quilt blocks, I would ask the machine quilter to design a floral motif in these large plain sections. With the layout complete, the quilt was ready to piece together. As the rows came together, I realized how beautiful the final quilt would be.
The quilt still needed an inner and an outer border. Again, I went to my stash and found a striped purple- lime green fabric for the inner border. This fabric had not worked for the border on the blocks but now, as the inner border, it provided the perfect inner frame. I strip pieced this striped fabric, a white and the lime green block border fabric together. From this strip piece, I cut a 6 inch outer border. The icing was now on the cake.
Color really does make a difference in a quilt.
The process had been a challenge but the rewards were spectacular. The day I delivered this to my daughter, I watched to see if she saw what I saw in the quilt. As the quilt unfolded, her eyes began to sparkle and the smile of appreciation covered her face. The best result was seeing the look on her husband’s face. He has an artistic background and I at once that he approved.
Just in case you are interested… the mother-in-law loved the final product. It is so nice to keep the family happy.
About the Author
Darlene Pratte is the owner of an internet quilt fabric business. She loves expressing her creative talents through quilting.
Visit our website (http://www.foxyquilts.com )
Ann’s Quilting Corner Episode 2, “Nolting Hobby Quilter Fun”
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Michael Miller Antiquity Delilah Purple – 28″x44″ REMNANT – Cotton Quilt Fabric $0.01 |
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Kaffe Fassett Roman Glass Purple – 18″ x 44″ REMNANT – Dots Cotton Quilt Fabric $0.01 |
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30 – 5″ LUSCIOUS PURPLE LILACS Fabric Quilting Squares $0.06 |
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30 – 5″ LUSCIOUS PURPLE LILACS Fabric Quilting Squares $0.48 |
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30 – 5″ LUSCIOUS PURPLE LILACS Fabric Quilting Squares $0.48 |
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30 – 5″ LUSCIOUS PURPLE LILACS Fabric Quilting Squares $0.48 |
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Cotton Quilt Fabric (2) Pieces Lavender/Purple Striped/Floral Print Vintage $0.99 |
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Fat Quarter Quilt Quilting Fabric Butterfly Garden Diamond Floral Purple Brown $0.99 |
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Fat Quarter Quilt Quilting Fabric Disney Hannah Montana Feather Purple Cotton $0.99 |
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Quarter Yard Quilt Quilting Fabric Phillip Jacobs Ivy Floral Lime Green Purple $0.99 |
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40 4″ ALL PURPLE LAVENDER ASSORTMENT Fabric Quilt Quilting Squares $0.99 |
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12- 4.75 in. Dark Purple Minky Dot Fabric Quilt Squares $0.99 |
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6 yds: 100% COTTON BATIK QUILTING FABRIC ASSORTMENT #A128 PURPLES $0.99 |
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*NEW* Lot / 4 YARDS x 44″ Purple Stripe SEERSUCKER Quilting Sewing Fabric $0.99 |
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*NEW* Lot / 4 YARDS x 44″ Purple Stripe SEERSUCKER Quilting Sewing Fabric $0.99 |
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Set of 2 ~ 3.5″ x 27″ Various Strips of Fabric Quilting Crafts $0.99 |
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10 4″ Fabric Quilt Squares_Mix & Match BEIGE Floral on PURPLE #10-0404 $0.99 |
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10 4″ Fabric Quilt Squares_Mix & Match PURPLE Flowers on BEIGE #10-0405 $0.99 |
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10 4″ Fabric Quilt Squares_Mix & Match PURPLE Flowers on BROWN #10-0406 $0.99 |
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10 4″ Fabric Quilt Squares_Mix & Match PURPLE & BLUE Jacks on GREEN #10-0124 $0.99 |
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5 3/8 yds: 100% COTTON BATIK QUILTING FABRIC ASSORTMENT #A126 PURPLES $1.04 |
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1a Purple bubble print FQ fat quarter quilt fabric remnant 19″ x 22″ $1.09 |
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2a Purple green vine border quilt square fabric panel 6″ x 15″ $1.24 |
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Buddy and the Starbabies Purple Quilt Fabric 580C FQ $1.25 |
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CRANSTON Fabric Cotton Quilting Pink Purple Floral C504 $1.25 |
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Moda Purple Dots Quilt Fabric 5840 13 FQ $1.25 |
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DISNEY SEWING & QUILTING FABRIC FAT QUARTERS TINKERBELL SNOW WHITE BELLE TIANA $1.25 |
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Orange/purple mosaic swirls quilt fabric remnant 17″ x 22″ $1.29 |
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White Red Daisies Purple Quilting Fabric FQ’s #1163 $1.30 |
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Lotus Branches by Beth Bruske, Quilt Fabric 100% Cotton, GOLD, GREEN, PURPLE $1.30 |
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Purple Orange Star Flowers Quilting Fabric FQ’s 1441 $1.30 |
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Purple Sea Coral Flowers Quilting Fabric FQ’s #1766 $1.30 |
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Lacy Floral Purple Paisley Quilting Fabric FQ’s #906 $1.35 |
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FQ Green, Purple & Yellow Plaid Quilting Fabric $1.35 |
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Light Red Purple Yellow & White Flowers Quilting Fabric Fat Quarters #757 $1.35 |
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Sm Purple White Flowers Quilting Fabric FQ’s #1760 $1.35 |
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1 Fat Quarter FQ Solid Quilting Fabric 100% Cotton Red Green Blue Yellow U Pick $1.39 |
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Small Pink Roses Purple Quilting Fabric FQ’s #1370 $1.40 |
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Red Purple White Flowers Quilting Fabric FQ’s #1311 $1.40 |
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Purple Blue Daisies Quilting Fabric Fat Quarters #494 $1.40 |
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White Mini Dots on Dark Purple Quilting Fabric Fat Quarters #1897 $1.45 |
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Purple Watermelon Flowers Quilting Fabric FQ’s #1433 $1.45 |
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Light Purple Sponge Quilting Fabric Fat Quarters – 18″ x 22″ #2062 $1.55 |
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Dark Purple Sponge Fat Quarters Quilting Fabric #2011 $1.55 |
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GRANDMAS PURPLE FLOWER BUNCHES 100 % COTTON FOR QUILT BLOCKS QUILTING FABRIC $1.67 |
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