Over the past year I have been collecting fabric in solids of all colors. One of my thoughts in doing this was it would be easier to design and construct a quilt without having to worry about coordinating print styles and scale. I wouldn't constantly be on the hunt for the last final piece of fabric that goes with everything else. I honestly thought working with solids would be easier.
So, with much excitement and confidence I started my first project using solids. I had a short deadline for completion of this quilt so I didn't want a complicated block design. I decided a quilt of assorted half square triangles sewn together in pleasing color combinations with some neutrals thrown in would be perfect. I knew laying it out on the design wall would be the time consuming part since I really didn't have a plan for lay out.....I was going to wing it. I mean how hard could that be....right? Famous last words!!
First attempt to lay out the quilt in a design that made some sort of sense was many, many hours of arranging and rearranging blocks. To be honest the first arrangement was horrible! I woke up the next day, shook my head and thought, 'what was I thinking?!?'. Then I broke down and went to my Pinterest boards for inspiration. Honestly I had been resisting my urge to peruse my pins as I wanted to do this 'all myself'. But for heaven's sake, that's why I do all that pinning.......for inspiration! Fortunately the ideas I had pinned sent me off in a direction where I could come up with my own design, one that had order vs chaos.
During the whole process I learned that making a quilt with solids is actually (for me) more challenging than with prints. Below is what I learned.
Solids amplify everything! If your cutting or piecing is off it will show, especially if the pieces you are joining are contrasting colors. Degrees of variance won't be obscured by the print.
Designing a multi-color scheme in solids takes more thought. With print fabric the amount of any one color is scaled for you. The fabric may be predominantly one color but the manufacturer has scaled all the other colors in the print to the right proportion, the right hue, the right intensity, etc...... With solids, you have to choose the proportion, shade, tone, hue and placement of each color. It takes a lot of thought.
Because there are no prints to absorb quilting errors or bobbles, the quilting needs to be well planned and well executed. Thread color will need to be well thought out as the quilting will be a more predominant design feature. Should the thread be a unifying single color? (That's what I went with and have decided I love light grey!) What about the parts of the quilt where the thread will be more contrasting? Am I confident enough in my quilting plan that I think those areas will look nice? What about variegated thread? It will alternately blend and contrast depending on where the variegation happens. Since there isn't a print to absorb those changes, how will that look?
Binding color becomes more of a design element. Will it compete with the other colors of the quilt? Will it skew the color balance already created? Do I want it to stand out? Do I want it to blend in? Hmmmm....scrappy....no! :-)
I'm sure there are many more elements to consider that I haven't realized yet. What I do know is that I have a greater appreciation of Amish quilts now. In their simplicity there is a lot of unrealized (and unappreciated) complexity and design!
I really enjoyed my experience working with solids and look forward to doing some more quilts using just solids in the future.
So, with much excitement and confidence I started my first project using solids. I had a short deadline for completion of this quilt so I didn't want a complicated block design. I decided a quilt of assorted half square triangles sewn together in pleasing color combinations with some neutrals thrown in would be perfect. I knew laying it out on the design wall would be the time consuming part since I really didn't have a plan for lay out.....I was going to wing it. I mean how hard could that be....right? Famous last words!!
First attempt to lay out the quilt in a design that made some sort of sense was many, many hours of arranging and rearranging blocks. To be honest the first arrangement was horrible! I woke up the next day, shook my head and thought, 'what was I thinking?!?'. Then I broke down and went to my Pinterest boards for inspiration. Honestly I had been resisting my urge to peruse my pins as I wanted to do this 'all myself'. But for heaven's sake, that's why I do all that pinning.......for inspiration! Fortunately the ideas I had pinned sent me off in a direction where I could come up with my own design, one that had order vs chaos.
During the whole process I learned that making a quilt with solids is actually (for me) more challenging than with prints. Below is what I learned.
Solids amplify everything! If your cutting or piecing is off it will show, especially if the pieces you are joining are contrasting colors. Degrees of variance won't be obscured by the print.
Designing a multi-color scheme in solids takes more thought. With print fabric the amount of any one color is scaled for you. The fabric may be predominantly one color but the manufacturer has scaled all the other colors in the print to the right proportion, the right hue, the right intensity, etc...... With solids, you have to choose the proportion, shade, tone, hue and placement of each color. It takes a lot of thought.
Because there are no prints to absorb quilting errors or bobbles, the quilting needs to be well planned and well executed. Thread color will need to be well thought out as the quilting will be a more predominant design feature. Should the thread be a unifying single color? (That's what I went with and have decided I love light grey!) What about the parts of the quilt where the thread will be more contrasting? Am I confident enough in my quilting plan that I think those areas will look nice? What about variegated thread? It will alternately blend and contrast depending on where the variegation happens. Since there isn't a print to absorb those changes, how will that look?
Binding color becomes more of a design element. Will it compete with the other colors of the quilt? Will it skew the color balance already created? Do I want it to stand out? Do I want it to blend in? Hmmmm....scrappy....no! :-)
I'm sure there are many more elements to consider that I haven't realized yet. What I do know is that I have a greater appreciation of Amish quilts now. In their simplicity there is a lot of unrealized (and unappreciated) complexity and design!
I really enjoyed my experience working with solids and look forward to doing some more quilts using just solids in the future.
