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Fabric

Choosing fabric can be one of the most exciting parts of making a quilt. People sometimes describe the feeling of going into a quilt shop as being similar to their childhood experience of walking into a sweet shop – so many lovely things they want to buy! Other people can find it stressful, and get worried about buying fabric that is wrong or doesn’t go together. Remember, fabric choice is a personal thing, so don’t get swayed by over-enthusiastic shop assistants or friends. If you like it, then use it.

The essentials

When you are starting out in quilt making, try to use 100 per cent craft-weight cotton. Yes, that vintage silk quilt you saw at a museum is lovely, but it is easier to get to grips with the basics using craft-weight cotton before moving on to more challenging fabric. Likewise, avoid using polycotton at first; however, with a bit of perseverance and practice, any fabric can be made into a quilt. Recycling old clothes and sheets, particularly when they remind you of a loved one, is great, but try to match the fabrics so they are of a similar weight. If you are unsure of what to buy, take your time to choose. Visit your local quilt shop to touch the fabric. Try to buy the best quality you can afford. If you are on a budget, look out for sales or remnant sections. Another tip to save money is to mix expensive prints with plain fabrics that tend to be cheaper.

Craft-weight cotton is usually sold from bolts that are 44in (110cm) wide. You can buy any quantity of fabric from the bolt, from 10in (25cm) upwards. Lots of quilters like to use a cut of fabric called a ‘fat quarter’. Fat quarters are sold in both metric and imperial measurements. Metric fat quarters are made from 0.5m of fabric cut in half across the middle, so they measure 50cm × 55cm. You can also buy long quarters that are 25 × 110cm. Imperial fat quarters are slightly smaller. They are made from ¹⁄₂yd of fabric cut in half across the middle, so they measure 18in × 22in (45.7cm × 55.9cm). Some fabrics are available in extra wide lengths (usually 90in/230cm or 108in/274cm); these are excellent to use as quilt backings as you don’t then have to piece fabric together.

Some quilters pre-wash their fabrics before using them, and others don’t. Fabric from good quality manufacturers should be colour-fast, but it is worth giving all fabrics a quick wash and dry before using them just to make sure.

Colour

Colour is a personal thing. Everyone has colours they love and hate, but try to keep an open mind. Despite dressing well and having tasteful homes, it is amazing the number of quilters who say they can’t ‘do’ colour. To get inspiration for using colour, look around you. Magazines, particularly interior and garden ones, can be good for showing some unusual colour combinations. Pink and green are a great combination you often see in nature, and blues and greens can be seen anywhere there is water.

One way I put colour combinations together is to choose a fabric I love, one with a strong print and lots of colours in it, and then match other fabrics from that starting point. If you are matching fabrics to a project over time, it can be useful to cut off a small piece and attach it to a card to keep in your purse. That way you are not carrying a bundle of fabric everywhere you go (this is particularly useful when at a quilt show). Other people find it helpful to cut the part of the selvedge off where there are the small dots with numbers on them. These are the colour references for the screen so you see all the colours used.

If you are buying from a quilt shop, take fabrics to the window to see them in natural daylight. When buying fabrics from the internet, take into consideration that your computer screen may not give you a true representation of the colour. If you are matching colours to a specific project, contact the supplier, as most are happy for you to send them a swatch to compare, or buy a smaller piece before splashing out on metres of it.

Bundles and pre-cuts are a useful way to buy fabric and one where you don’t have to worry about colour. Bundles are packs of fabric, either fat quarters or half metres, which go well together. Sometimes they are all from one designer’s range or the shop can have put the colour combination together. Pre-cuts are packs of fabrics that have been cut to a specific size. The most common one is the Charm Pack, which contains 5in (12.7cm) squares. Also well known are Jelly Rolls, which are strips measuring 2¹⁄₂in × 44in (6.3cm × 110cm), and Layer Cakes that are 10in (25.4cm) squares. Buying these packs can speed up the process of choosing fabric, give you confidence that the fabrics will co-ordinate, and they can save you money if you want to work with lots of different colours and prints.

The tone of the fabric can be as important as its colour. Many quilts look best if you use a combination of light, medium and dark fabrics. If in doubt as to which fabric is light and which is dark, try photographing them together and turning the picture into a black and white image. Sometimes you can be surprised that the fabric you thought of as the dark one is actually one of the lighter ones.

Pattern

Once you have started buying fabric, you will quickly discover the type of patterns you prefer. For example, I love a cheeky novelty print and can never leave a quilt shop or show without one! Other people love a specific print, such as leaves. Go with your passion and you will soon start collecting your very own stash. It is a good idea to collect a range of stash builders/blenders. These can be spots, checks or tone-on-tone fabrics, but they can be invaluable to have on hand to mix in with more vibrant prints. They are not usually the fabrics that will attract your eye at first, but they always end up being used.

Prints can also help to personalize a quilt if you are making it for someone else. This can be as obvious as trains for a child who likes them, or apple fabric for a couple who got married in New York. Also, consider the overall feel of a quilt when the prints are put together. For a quilt with a fifties vintage feel, a variety of prints can be used, such as florals, spots and stripes, whereas adding a striking digital print of a computer would not go with the overall feel.

If you are interested in print, many of the quilt fabric designers have blogs that explain their inspiration and work process for their ranges. If you buy some fabric you like, check whether the designer’s name is on the selvedge and then do an internet search to see if they have a website.

The scale of print can be important in patchwork. For example, a large-scale print may get lost when cut into smaller pieces, but can look fabulous when used as a focal point for the quilt, or for a quilt backing where its full potential can be seen. There is a theory that the smaller the patchwork the smaller the print should be, but this does not always apply: remember, rules are made to be broken!

Wadding (batting)

Wadding (batting) is the middle layer of a quilt. It provides warmth and, once quilted, adds texture. It can be bought off the roll, or pre-packed in different sizes. If buying the latter, lay it out on a bed for a day before using it to get rid of any creases.

Most waddings (battings) shrink when you first wash them, and the label will tell by what percentage. If you like the wrinkled vintage look that’s great; however, if you don’t, it is best to pre-wash your wadding (batting). The label will also tell you how far apart it needs to be quilted. It is important not to ignore this information as the wadding (batting) can start to break up after repeated washes if you do not put enough quilting stitches through the quilt. You can now buy wadding (batting) that can be quilted up to 10in (25.4cm) apart, so if you are not planning on doing a lot of quilting look out for this type. The word ‘loft’ refers to how thick the wadding (batting) is; you can buy very thin loft wadding (batting) as well as very thick.

The majority of waddings (battings) are cream in colour, but you can get white or black types. If you are making a project in black fabric, it is essential to use dark wadding (batting) as cream wadding (batting) can lighten it; likewise use cream wadding (batting) for quilts made with paler fabric as dark wadding (batting) would dull the finished quilt.

You can buy wadding (batting) that contains different fibre contents. Many shops sell sample packs, which means you can try different types and see which one you prefer. Cotton and polyester are the most popular ones to use. One type that is particularly soft and lovely to work with is 100 per cent cotton, but it is not the easiest wadding (batting) to hand quilt, so make sure you have a sharp needle and thimble to hand. Polyester is durable and easy to hand quilt, but is quite stiff and can get very warm. I use it mainly for wall hangings. Cotton/polyester blends are popular with those who both machine quilt and hand quilt and like the durability of polyester with the softness of cotton. You can also buy wool, silk, soy, bamboo and recycled wadding (batting).