Fabric Selection

Quilts can be very expensive. But I have learned to wait until the fabric store is having a sale. (40% off or so). That will cut your quilt price almost in half. I do the same with batting. And my bonus tip is to use a sheet for the backing to save money. I have made quilts with them and my "on-sale" fabrics and love them.

When I purchase fabric for a project, I copy the information off of the selvage, such as design and/or designer, fabric manufacturer, and design number. This information can be pinned right to the leftover fabric, or kept on a 3x5 card with a swatch of fabric attached.  If I decide to use the fabric for another project later on, or want to buy additional fabric to make matching accessories such as pillows, curtains, or a bedskirt, it is much easier to find the fabric through a local quilting store or online.

I always make a diagonal cut on the corners of my fabric to cut down on the thread tangles when pre-washing my cotton fabric.  I used to sit and cut all those tangles off.  Now I save a step and they are eliminated when I square up my fabric.

I use pizza boxes for storing my 2" precut watercolor squares.  I label each box: light, medium & dark so I alwayx know where my fabric is when working on a project.  Pizza boxes are great to stack and fit almost anywhere, my daughter paints them so it's a two fold project she decorates the boxes while I actually get some quilting done.  I've also converted this idea to storing finished blocks, landscape quilt projects, scraps, the options are endless.  Most pizza places don't mind giving you a few boxes, so the price is right as well.

If possible, when I start a project, I print out a copy of  chosen fabric colors and  a color copy of finished product to go by if I am duplicating, like out of a quilting magazine.  I then take this to the store with me as a guide, since I am a beginner quilter.  I know what my favorite colors are,  but my favorites don't always show up that well in a quilt.

Often when making an art or landscape quilt, I find that I still need just that little bit of extra fabric to achieve the right look.  In the past I stapled sample scraps to my shopping list, which inevitably got misplaced. 

 Now I use one of those smaller photo albums from discount stores to hold the multiple scraps, ribbon etc.  It's so much easier to organize and view them, and of course to compare with a potential candidate fabric at the store.  When the quilt is complete I place a photo of the quilt, sometimes the owner and any comments or suggestions for future consideration.  This way I have a permanent record of my labours of love.

For those who have dogs and have them groomed.  Usually the groomer will tie a piece of material in the shape of a triangle around the dogs neck.      I save these triangles and make a quilt out of them for the dogs or cats in the house. You can cut these triangle into squares.You can also make them for gifts for your friends that have pets.  The material is free, that is the bonus

Moda fabrics are producing more 5" square packs of their complete lines.  Purchasing these for under is a good way to have a variety of pieces for appliqués and sampler quilts without breaking your bank account.

if, like me, you have trouble seeing colour values, print  or copy the pattern in black & white instead of colour. I  find it is easier to choose my own colours as I am not influenced by the existing colour picture and it becomes uniquely mine, not a copy of someone elses quilt.

When choosing fabric for a quilt, start with one multicolored "focus" fabric that you really like.  Then coordinate other fabrics by matching colors in the focus fabric.  Adding a small amount of yellow or green, if appropriate, will spark up the colors and add life to your quilt.