Rev It Up

Have you ever finished a quilt top and, though proud, thought something is missing here?  You pieced it carefully; pressed every seam perfectly; and measured and cut to perfection!  Even your fabric choices were well thought out but you didn't get the 'va va voom' you were going for.  What happened you ask yourself?!  The answer might be the intensity of the fabrics you chose.

Intensity?  What's that?  Simple put it's the saturation of color of the fabric.  A high intensity fabric will be filled with bright colors, with an obvious depth of saturation--rich and deep.  A medium intensity is what most quilters select because it's what most fabric producers sell.  It's safe and doesn't need much risk to go with medium intensity choices.  Low intensity, usually tone on tones or muted colors against low saturation colors--such as a light grey design on a cream colored background--are also safe, easy to use fabric choices.

So how do you put the 'va va voom' into a quilt?  How about taking risks and using some high intensity choices in place of some of your medium intensity fabrics.  Add some low intensity fabrics as well for a high contrast of your design.  That "pop" of color here and there will bring a design to a higher wow factor and add interest to your work.  This very interest may grab attention to the beauty of your work and make someone want to gaze longer at your work of art.

This is not a safe way to quilt.  It takes bravery and a desire to move beyond where you have been before.  Many of the modern and contemporary designs use this very technique to distinguish the work from tradition quilts.  It is the depth and dimension that adds interest and makes the quilt more Warm colors will advance an image while cool colors tend to make them recede.  Deep, high intensity colors make images appear close while low intensity colors tend to make things look farther away.

Take a chance and advance your quilt making skills.  Try a little change in intensity to give your next quilt top a big "POW" that makes you smile when you look at it and makes others feel compelled to keep looking.  You might be surprised at what you discover in your own design aesthetic.

Happy quilting!

Choosing The Right Quilt Fabric--Part 4: Choose Your Fabric Store and Products Wisely

This is the fourth and final installment in our series entitled Choosing the Right Quilt Fabric. The series is about helping quilters make better decisions about choosing quality fabrics. In this segment we will look at how to source quality cotton fabric, make informed choices and learn about avoiding pitfalls in purchasing quilt fabric.

Where to Buy Quilt Fabric

Where you purchase your quilt fabric can have an impact on the type of quilt fabric that is available to you. A true "quilt shop" often understands the need to have top quality goods available to a quilter. This is so the quilter has the best fabric to ensure a higher quality final quilt product. All the things discussed in previous articles would be a concern to most quilt shop owners. They are in the market to assist their customers in making purchases that will yield satisfaction.

Before you can know if your quilt shop of choice is offering good quality product you must first know a little about the fabric lines offered in these types of shops. There are many labels/manufacturers and all are not equal.

Learn more about the manufacturers who make our quilting cottons. View their current fabric lines and read more about their designers. Here is a list of some of the more prominent textile manufacturers. Click on the name to go to the company site.

AlexanderHenry
Andover
AnthologyFabrics
ArtGallery--Includes Angela Walters
AvlynCreations
Benartex
BlankTextiles
BlueHill
Cloud9 Fabrics
Fabri-Quilt
Hoffman Fabrics
MarcusBrothers
Maywood Studio Fabric
MichaelMiller
Moda
Northcott
P&BTextiles
QuiltingTreasures
Red Rooster Fabrics
RJR

RobertKaufman 

• Kona Bay 
• Artisan Batiks

SouthSea Imports 
StudioE Fabrics 
TimelessTreasures
WestminsterFibers

• Free Spirit--Includes Tula Pink and Joel Dewberry 
• Rowan Fabric--Includes Amy Butler and Kaffe Fasset lines 
• Ty Pennington 

WestradeCollection
WilmingtonPrints
WindhamFabrics

Ask Questions

Don't be afraid to ask questions of the shop where you plan to purchase your quilt fabric. Some of the questions you might ask are:

1) Are your fabrics all first quality or do you also carry seconds?

• If they carry seconds or thirds ask where they are located so you will know up front what to avoid. 

2) What fabric lines do you carry?

• Most store buyers have favorite lines they carry. It's good to know what they are so you can make a decision about whether you like that line. This is especially true if you have found something online you like by a particular manufacturer and you want to find out if it's available to you locally. 

3) Do you ever have sales on your fabrics?

Get Feedback From Others
Every time you speak to a new quilter or visit a new quilt shop ask for clerks, owners, and other quilters' opinions. What are their favorite fabric manufacturers and why? In time you will see several companies emerge as favorites over and over. As a quilter I have my tried and true favorites. Typically, I will look for Westminster Fabric lines, Moda, Timeless Treasures and Hoffman Fabrics. Their lines fit my designer choices and their quality of fabrics are in keeping with my desire to create heirloom quality quilts. By doing your research you will also develop favorites and come to know where to purchase these.

Avoiding Attractive Pitfalls

Sometimes the need to take advantage of a sale or a really catchy print overwhelms the desire to be practical and make quality choices about your quilting cotton. If you favorite store, or any quilt shop, has a sale offering folded flat goods ask if these were shipped from the manufacturer as flat fold goods. They may be bolt ends that a store has flat folded for convenience but often flat folds shipped from the manufacturer are not first quality goods.

Between the 1920's - 1940's textile mills would test their prints on low quality (greige) goods. The products produced on these low quality goods would later become feed sacks. The feed sacks sometimes would be the only cottons available to home quilters, especially during the depression. Today, this first, or test run, is sold to discounters in the form of flat fold goods that you can purchase in discount stores. These may look somewhat like the finished product but they are often produced on lower quality greige goods to save money in the set up for final printing. Sometimes they are printed on good fabric but the colors and design are not up to the manufacturer's specifications. Some flat fold fabrics are deliberate knock-offs of popular designs. Expensive fabric in the form of flat folds have often missed some of the final finishing of good quality fabric. Unless you are purchasing fabric for a craft or product that will not have much use or will be somewhat disposable, avoid flat fold goods whenever you wish to create a quality product. It old adage of "you get what you pay for," rings true over and over in the world of choosing quality cotton fabric.

Last, but not least, avoid box stores for your quality fabric. Many will run sales over and over using pricing from quality yard goods then discounting these to make you feel like you are getting a good deal. In fact, the goods do not compare to what you will find in an established quilt shop. Many box stores are actually selling seconds and lower quality goods but are making these sound like first quality. If you use the field test on fabric (Choosing The Right Quilt Fabric--Part 2: Field Check for Fabric Quality) you will quickly discover the difference.

Conclusion

The production of quality cotton goods is complex. Designers and manufacturers work together to create concepts and designs up to a year in advance. Once complete these designs are sent out to the mills where they are test printed and await the final approval. As a rule, almost all fabric is now milled overseas in Korea and Japan. Having the final product milled overseas does not equate to a lower quality fabric. This process has kept the yard goods pricing affordable for quilters. The point is to a quilter, looking for quality goods, do be afraid of textiles printed overseas.

Spend time to know your quilt fabric vendors and stores as well as your manufacturers. This will lead to a higher quality of quilt and one that will withstand time, as we all hope our quilts will. You will ultimately be a great resource to other quilters and have the opportunity to share what you know. Your friends, family, and fellow quilters will appreciate your time spent seeking the best product you can buy for your money as the quality of your product will show.

Happy buying quality cotton for quilting and most of all happy quilting.

To read previous posts in this series, click on each article below:

Choosing The Right Quilt Fabric--Part 1: Know Your Thread Count

Choosing The Right Quilt Fabric--Part 2: Field Check for Fabric Quality

Choosing The Right Quilt Fabric--Part 3: Judging the Color, Pattern and Finish

Choosing The Right Quilt Fabric--Part 3: Judging the Color, Pattern and Finish

This is the third installment in our series entitled Choosing the Right Quilt Fabric. The series is about helping quilters make better decisions about choosing quality fabrics. In this segment we will look at how to judge the color, printing and finish of quality fabric.

Colorfast Fabric

In Part 2: Field Check for Fabric Quality we talked about The Rub or the process of rubbing the fabric between your fingers to check for separation of threads. The Rub can also be used to check color. When you "Rub" the fabric between your thumb and forefinger if you have color come off on your fingers this means the fabric color is not sealed. This typically is a sign of inferior fabric or processing. It also means the fabric is not colorfast meaning when you wash the fabric the color will bleed. Check for the word "colorfast" on the label.

Another color check process is to wrap a small piece of white cotton around your finger then rub it back and forth across the fabric. Look to see if color has transferred from the fabric you are testing onto the white cotton. Even if the color found on the white fabric is slight it is better to avoid purchasing this fabric. The color will not remain bright and vibrant when washed over and over.

Color or Pattern Overlap

Unfold the fabric so you can see a yard or so. Look at the pattern to see if there are overlapping points of image in the fabric. Check to see if the design skips or if there is ghosting of the pattern meaning the pattern looks like there is a slight shift in the pattern away from the rest of the print. Do the patterns overlap one another? Or do you see where the pattern skips from time to time? Does the color fade or disappear? These are all signs that the manufacturer may be using an inferior process to apply the color and pattern to the fabric. Your colors and pattern should be crisp and free from unintended shifts during the process of applying the design to the fabric.

The Finishing

Another test for the quality of the fabric you are considering for purchase is the feel or "hand" of the fabric. In the final process of applying color and design to fabric goods the manufacturer often applies a final finish that seals the dyes and makes the fabric softer. Cheap or inexpensive fabrics don't get the final finish. This makes the cost of manufacturing of the fabric less expensive but also cheapens the quality as the fabric will be stiffer and will not hold it's color well. This would be a fabric you want to avoid. To test the finish you simply need to feel the fabric and crumple it a bit. If the fabric feels stiff and when crumpled remains wrinkled then this is a fabric that has not finished. Don't waste your time using this type of fabric.

Why Color and Finish Matter

When spending the many hours required to make a quilt you don't want to be disappointed with the end product. You don't want to get your blocks or pieces together and discover flat points in the colors or skips in patterns. This lessens the beauty of your quilt. You also don't want to have your quilt bleed during it's first, second and/or third wash. The results will be a lackluster quilt. Checking the quality of your fabric choice and ensuring it is free of process defects and finished properly will help ensure you are pleased with your choice when finished.

A good quality cotton quilt fabric should be soft, with vibrant or distinct coloring. The pattern should never skip, ghost or disappear and the color should be colorfast.