How to pick fabric to make a quilt is part of a free online beginners quiltmaking course, if you would like to join along please sign up for the newsletter, details here.
For me, picking the fabric for a quilt is the most fun part of the process, which is probably why I have more fabric than finished quilts. When you also have this dilemma youโll know, you too have the quilting bug!
If you are new to quilting and fabric you may want to start with this post all about quilting fabric here.
Picking fabric for your quilt should be a fun process, so try not to get too hung up on your fabric choices. As long as you love the fabric you have chosen, that is all that matters. Itโs your quilt and your piece of sewn art.
I am going to teach you how I pick my fabric. Iโm sure there are all sorts of formulas you can use, but I get along quite nicely using just a few basic rules and tips.
Head to your local fabric store, this might be Hobby Lobby, Joanns, or a quilting shop. If you are going to one of the first two you need to make sure you buy 100% quilting cotton, it can be a little confusing, and fabrics do get mixed up in the bigger department stores. If you are going to a quilting shop, it will be all organized nicely in designer collections and by color.
START WITH A FABRIC YOU LOVE
The most important rule to picking your fabric for your quilt is starting with a fabric you love – this is going to be your star fabric. Once you have a fabric you love, you can work from there. Itโs ideal if the fabric has at least three colors, this will allow you to add other fabrics quickly. Because it ties all the fabrics together, you may want to use double of this fabric in your quilt.

Using the fabric pictured above I can now use the same tones of purple, green/aqua, white.
FIND OTHER FABRICS THAT COMPLIMENT YOUR STAR FABRIC
Once you have the fabric you love โ your star fabric – start setting aside any other fabrics that may work.
Ideas on how to find more fabrics are as follows:
FIND FABRICS THAT BELONG TO THE SAME COLLECTION
Quite often you will find that the fabric you have picked is part of a collection, it will have a range of other fabrics that work perfectly with it. For example, it might be the same design but another color, or it might be a completely different design but exactly the same colors. These fabrics are all designed to work together. This is particularly true when it comes to designer fabrics that you can find online or in specialty quilt shops.

FIND FABRICS THAT COULD WORK
Find any other fabrics that you think will work. Donโt be fussy at this stage, take the fabric you love and hold it up against any of the fabric that could work, if it has potential, set it aside.
DECIDE ON WHICH FABRICS YOU LIKE TOGETHER
Now you have gathered all of your fabrics for consideration, you can work out which to keep and which to discard. Keep in mind how many fabrics you may need.
To help you decide which fabrics to go with, there are a few more things to consider.
CHECK YOU HAVE A RANGE OF SCALES OF PRINTS
Itโs important that you donโt have all the same scale of prints, unless of course, this is part of your design. Ideally, you will have a range of scale of prints, for example, little polka dots and large flowers. Having different scales adds interest, depth, and contrast to your quilt.
It’s important to note that the scale of the print should make sense with the size of the fabric pieces you are cutting, for example, you donโt want to use fabric with a very big scale when you are using it for small pieces, this would lose the essence of the print.

PICK DIFFERENT SHADES OF THE SAME COLOR
Add different shades of the same color, you might have purple and want to add two or three shades of the same purple. You will soon know if itโs not the right shade because it wonโt sit well with the other fabrics.

A NOTE ON DESIGNER FABRICS
Designer fabrics come in collections that go perfectly together, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of picking your fabrics. You do have to pay a premium for this, but designer fabrics are almost always better quality than in chain store fabric.
Below is an example of a fat quarter set from Free Spirit. You can see that it all works beautifully together and they have incorporated a lot of different colors which will make a fabulous quilt.
MORE QUILTING INFORMATION
This post is part of an online course to learn quilt making, to find out what tools you need click here.
To find out more about my free online quilting course click here.
Thanks for popping by my blog!
Stacey x
Thank you for the course XX
My pleasure – thank you for joining in ๐
Please send me information on your classes starting this month.
Welcome, Elaine – you should have received your first email ๐
What size will the squares be? How much material will we need? I canโt wait! Thank you for offering this class.
Hi Kathy, all details are in the email, you should have received it. Thank you for signing up ๐
Looking forward to your class!
I can’t wait to get started – thanks for signing up ๐
Thank you
Thank you for signing up ๐
If I canโt attend this class if I sign up for the newsletter will the next YouTube beginners quilting class be in there?
Hi Kathy, I am not sure exactly how a second class will work. But if you are signed up you will get all the emails and can do it at your own pace. Thanks, Stacey x
Can’t wait for the class. My biggest problem is choosing colors that go together. Hoping this will help me and inspire me. Thank you for this info
Hi Susan, welcome to the club! I hope you found the blog post and YouTube video helpful. Just remember so long as you love it, that’s all that matters ๐
Where do you find pre-grouping of matching fabric? Can you find designer fabric at a store or only on line?
Hi Anna, did you watch my YouTube video, I kind of explain this in Hobby Lobby, sometimes you need to hunt around in the bigger chain stores. If you go to an independently owned quilting fabric shops they will be all grouped for you. Designer fabric is found at the smaller quilting fabric shops and yes you can buy online. Some of the shops I like are:
http://www.fabricworm.com
http://www.quilthome.com
http://www.fatquartershop.com
and you can even find them on Amazon
In this Fridays email there will be a link to my latest blog post going through this a litle more ๐
Stacey, how many fat quarters or how much fabric will we need for the top? (I.e. 10 different fat quarters for 8 different 1/4 yard fabrics, etc.)
Hi Debbie, all supplies needed are in the email you will have received once you signed up.