Choosing Colors For A Quilt
We make quilts in a world where every color imaginable is at our fingertips. If you’ve ever felt paralyzed in a fabric shop, staring at a sea of colors while your brain short-circuits, you’re not alone. It’s like walking into (or scrolling through) a candy store where every piece looks delicious. The paradox of choice — a study proving that the more choices we have, the less satisfied we are with our decisions – is definitely at play.
One of my favorite steps is coming up with my color plan before I even start selecting fabric. I am solidly a solid lover for my quilt tops but then I let loose on my backing fabric and almost always go for prints. It’s like minimalist Mel on the front and party Mel on the back. I digress. Let’s get back to color palette planning.
I Don’t Get Color Theory
I mean I “get” it but it doesn’t help me very much. It’s weird because I’m generally someone who loves logic, science, math, and a formula for things. Maybe one day it will all click and I’ll grab my color wheel and off I’ll go. For now, I know what I like when I see it. Sometimes I see it right away and other times, I play with my swatches for days on end until a combo hits me as “it”.
Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Oscar Wilde was definitely talking about quilters. Ok, maybe not but a lot of the time, I see “it” in someone else’s quilt. There’s definitely no shame in copying a color palette or exact fabric choices! That’s why everyone shares the fabric details of their creations on Instagram. And if they don’t, someone will surely ask for the details (guilty as charged!). I know I feel joy when another quilter is inspired by one of my makes and I bet that’s true for all of us.
The talented fabric bundle curators are also a great source of inspiration. Their color combos never cease to surprise and delight me. It’s like they have some kind of color picking superpowers! A few of my favorites that speak to my personal aesthetic are Morgan Kelly, Crafty Moose Quilts, and The Blanket Statement. I love when I see a combo I would never have thought of myself and it expands my color horizons.
Swatch What Happens
For me, the expense of swatch cards is worth every penny. I’m not good at visualizing color combos without seeing them in front of me and next to each other. If I walk into a fabric shop or visit an online shop without the start of a plan, the thrill of shopping quickly veers into feeling overwhelmed.
I find it really useful to start with color swatches even when I’m searching for patterned fabric. If I’m in a fabric shop, I’m that girl that pulls out the bolts and lays the color chips on top, tilting my head left and right like a dog to see if it “speaks” to me. If I’m online, I pull up my swatch fabrics as reference on-screen while I’m looking at directional designs with the hope that the color values in a single shop will be consistent on my screen.
I’ve also invested in thread color cards. I got tired of spending too much money buying enough thread in several different colors for machine quilting “just in case”. Also, I love hand quilting with Perle Cotton Size 8 and have yet to find a local store that carries all the colors. The DMC card is great because it’s the actual thread and I can indulge my obsession for finding the perfect match. If you also love Perle Cotton, I highly recommend Embroidery.com. They stock all or almost all the colors and provide wonderful service and fast shipping. Note: I’m not affiliated, just a super fan :)
As you can see, I invested the time and energy to create my own color chips for Kona and I’m about to do the same for Art Gallery solids as well. It’s a game changer to be able to see the colors right next to each other without any other colors around them. I take the chips all over the house to see them in different light and I carry them with me when I shop.
If buying the latest cards isn’t in your quilt budget at the moment, here are some ideas:
I’ve noticed that older versions of cards are much less expensive. While they might be missing some of the very latest colors or have some discontinued ones, they probably have the vast majority of colors
Find a local friend with swatch cards and make it a win-win - see friend, borrow their card!
If you’re a member of a local quilt guild (highly recommend!), I guarantee that other quilters have cards they would be happy to lend you.
Scraps! If I use a solid color from a line that I don’t have a card/chip for, I save even the tiniest piece in a swatch collection.
The Colors-on-a-Screen Conundrum
The Blessing: You can find ANY fabric online no matter where you live.
The Curse: Colors look different on each of our own screens (no fault of the shop owner!)
Here are fun ways you can explore color palettes online and then actually match what you see to fabric choices.
Tools Just for Quilters
If you know you want to make a specific pattern, see if it’s available for coloring on QuiltInk, Pre-Quilt, or Quilt Mock-Up Tool. It’s no easy task to build these priceless tools for all of us — I love supporting and cheering these innovators on!
I recently discovered Steph Skardal’s App - QuiltySolids (Apple App Store & Google Play). How did I not know about this sooner!?! There are so many things you can do to match screen colors to fabric:
Choose a bunch of fabric lines you like – pick a screen color and see all the fabric matches
Enter a color of one fabric line for the closest match in another line
Load a photo and instantly get the fabric matches
Input a hex code and get fabric matches (Hex code? What?! See below.)
Play quilty color games!
Free Online Color Tools
First, let’s talk “hex codes” — it’s simple: a hex code is a unique color code for any color you see on any screen. It is always a combination of 6 letters and/or numbers. Example: #284A49 (that’s my dark teal brand logo color).
Search to your heart’s content on the sites below. When you love a palette, grab the hex codes, pop them back into the QuiltySolids App and find fabric matches. Yes, it’s that simple!
It’s definitely worth creating a free account on these sites so you can save your favorites along the way. Trust me, it’s addicting and you’ll see something you love only to forget where you saw it (been there, done that!).
Adobe Color/Explore
Palettes with 5 colors from designers around the world
Choose from 2 to 10 colors!!
4-color palettes
“Get Out of Your Comfort Zone!”, They Say
Who are they? Maybe just the voices in my head. I’m all for experimenting and staying open to being pleasantly surprised. I’m actually fascinated by the personal nature of color preferences and I love seeing all the quilts in all the colors. But, I love my comfort zone because it feels most like me.
Of course, if I’m making a quilt for someone else and I know they love bright, neon colors for example, then I’m going all in on that. I’m giddy through the whole process imagining their glee when the colors make their heart sing.
Never feel pressured to go outside your comfort zone. I’m all about the earthy, warm, muted, autumnal, found-in-nature colors. My comfort zone is just that … the place I feel most like myself and anchored in the peace and joy of creativity.
What if I get it “wrong”?
You might, LOL. I did! But getting it wrong is only in the eye of you. I often see people post something they aren’t happy with only to be met with, “it’s great, it’s fine, stop being so hard on yourself. etc.”
But it’s your quilt and if you don’t like the colors, you’re allowed to admit you got it “wrong” for yourself - simple as that.
I have my own example of this. If you were part of my newsletter family a few months ago, you might remember that I showed you a fabric pull I was so excited about for a free baby quilt pattern I was going to release. I didn’t pause to test the combo or stop as soon as I knew in my gut that I wasn’t happy with it. I charged on, finished the entire sample in one day, quilted it with matchstick lines no less, all the while knowing in my gut it wasn’t going to achieve the effect I was intending. I stewed over that for a day and then donated it to a charity and turned disappointment into happiness. Oh well, live (and sew) and learn.
Color Me Happy
I’ll leave you with these quotes. (Credit: House Beautiful , Alice Morgan Design)
The beauty of quilting lies in its endless possibilities. Making a quilt makes us happy. Be like Georgia O’Keefe – say everything you want with color and shapes and go forth bravely into the rainbow!
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