Fabric Color

Make shopping for fabric easy. Purchase a small photo album.  Then cut a small swatch of each fabric in your stach.  Side one or two swatches into each pocket of the photo album and drop it in your purse.  Now you know what fabrics you have and if any new fabrics you are concidering buying will match.

Take a photo copy of the fabrics you want to use in a quilt. Seeing them in black and white lets you see the various shades of light, medium, and dark. This will help in the selection of pattern too without the distraction of color.

Thanks,

Patty

Shout makes a product called "Color Catcher".  It is a white cloth that actually catches the dyes from the various fabrics in the wash.  I have been able to wash multiple colors, including reds and purples without them getting on the other fabric.  Sometimes it will come out with just a grayish tint, but other times more color.

I also use it all the time in my normal wash.

When washing the reds or purples, I put a white piece of cloth in the dryer with only one color of fabric at the time. When the material has completed the drying cycle, the white cloth will let you know if the fabric will still fade.

I keep a log of the quilts I make or am in the process of making.  I write down where I buy the fabric and the sku number and a short description.  If I run short on a certain fabric, I have the information needed to make sure I get the same thing.  This saves having to drag the project all around looking for the right fabric. 

I put swatches of fabric onto safety pins and then attach the pins to a key ring.  I then take the key ring along while shopping for fabric to match. I use a separate safety pin for each project.  This is very convienient to take with you and doesn't require alot of space.

I know that after this holiday season, I went to my local store and got holiday printed fabric for 25 and 50 cents a yard.  I could not believe my eyes and of course I bought out all their inventory.  There were many different Christmas and other holiday patterns to choose from, I was in heaven

Faith Hevlow, Coral Springs, FL

One of the best tips I can give new quilters when trying to choose their own fabric combinations is to drap the fabric over the cabinet and then stand back at least 3 to 5 feet and view it from afar.  Often I see women in the store bringing the fabric closer to their eyes, when what they need is to stand back and view it like you would view it on a bed or hanging on a wall.  You get a totally different perspective on the colors when viewed from a distance.

If you can't find just the right hue of the color you need, try turning the fabric over.  Sometimes the back shade is just right. 

Wonder how to match fabric colors? Or having problems in chosing which colors to go with which? No problem at all, just look around us, the environment and nature is already an instant color chart! For example, variation of blues, take a look while u are strolling along the beach. Color of the beach/sand is just a good border/trim of brown or beige, along with the sea of [blues] waters, having some trees/rock [greens/brown] and raising up to sky and clouds i.e. [blue for clear sky, range of gray for dark rainy sky and white or dusk for clouds] isn't this our beautiful patchwork?!!  Need some vibrant color and you are lost? No problem take a look into those gardens & nursery, what goes well with violet, and yes try matching various green and browns too! [leaves and stem].

Take your time to savior them, the color chart never ends and Thank God for such a beautiful color code HE blesses us! :p)  

Sarah Yeou-Singapore