Applique students often ask me how I choose fabrics. That's a difficult question to answer. If you are trying to reproduce an antique quilt, or trying to match a photo that comes with a pattern, most of the fabric decisions are fairly easy - it’s just a matter of finding similar fabrics.
For this vase block in my book, Baltimore Garden Quilt, fabric choices were easy by following the antique quilt (also shown here) with reproduction fabrics available at the time.
If you want another color scheme, there are many inspirations and fabric choices. It helps to know a bit about contrast, value, intensity, but there are no right or wrong choices, as long as the end result pleases YOU. Helpful books for learning to choose fabrics: Jinny Beyer's "Color Confidence for Quilters" and "The Scrap Look." Joen Wolfrom has also written several wonderful books on choosing color schemes for quilts.
This Baltimore Garden Vase is one of the blocks I will be teaching at the 2016 Academy of Appliqué, in Williamsburg, VA, so I am working up some different samples. One version is a simple color scheme in shades of pink and blue.
For another version, I want to find a feature fabric to make the vase center a focal point. Auditions begin with a pattern window cutout for the vase center. Some fabrics are more promising than others. This white dove could inspire a Christmas version.
A horse racing theme might be fun.
I love bluebirds, but these are rejects – the birds get lost in a confusing background.
A bluebird with nest is too big – another reject.
But this little warbler has real potential! So I will cut this applique piece to feature her. Next step is to start finding fabrics to coordinate with her --
-- looking for bright red, red-orange, orange to gold, and greens from light to dark with olive tones. I won’t use them all, though.
Appliqué takes a lot of your time and effort, and fabric costs $$$, so you might want an idea of what your final result will really look like before investing your efforts. Stacking fabrics that blend and coordinate is a good way to start.
For a complex block, I might take the time to paste a mockup – rough cutting chunks of fabric, and pasting them with gluestick to a pattern copy. The paper mockup will be my guide for fabric cutting and stitching, as well as inspiration on my sewing room wall.
There are many ways to approach fabric selection for applique - this is just one example. I'll try to post some more ideas soon.
For a complex block, I might take the time to paste a mockup – rough cutting chunks of fabric, and pasting them with gluestick to a pattern copy. The paper mockup will be my guide for fabric cutting and stitching, as well as inspiration on my sewing room wall.
There are many ways to approach fabric selection for applique - this is just one example. I'll try to post some more ideas soon.
Keep Stitching!
Barbara M. Burnham
Barbara M. Burnham
www.barbaramburnham.com
(c) 2015 Barbara M. Burnham. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any kind is expressly prohibited without prior written authorization.
(c) 2015 Barbara M. Burnham. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any kind is expressly prohibited without prior written authorization.
Thank you for posting your site on fb. I enjoy applique so much. Have never taken classes, self taught. Your idea of making the vase/urn the centerpiece by fussy cutting a design is simply perfect. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting post. Very helpful, Barbara. I have your book - just need to start. This may be the year. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI like the two larger size birds fabric that you show. Horses racing never would have occurred to me but could work.
ReplyDeletegood tip, never thought of trying that!
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