You’ve got the vision and the pattern, and now it’s time to choose the fabric for your quilt in Albuquerque, NM. What should you use? Should you pick through scraps in your fabric bin, or go all out and get pre-cut pieces to make your blanket the best anyone has ever seen?

Painstakingly-selected choices, something sentimental or whatever you have on hand? Any experienced quilter will tell you that a great quilt can be made out of just about any fabric, and in fact, that was their origin—seamstresses used any fabric scraps they could find to make big, heavy blankets for laborers in the South and Southwest. But today, you can get a nice duvet at a big box store for much less than the time, effort and money it takes to make a quilt—so it’s no wonder you want to get it right.

The easiest option

The absolute easiest option is to get pre-designed, pre-cut quilting fabric from a trusted supplier in Albuquerque, NM. You’ll rest easy knowing you have plenty to complete your design, everything will coordinate and the fabrics were chosen to work well with the quilting technique, plus hold up to plenty of wear and tear. When you’re new to quilting, this is a great choice to make life a lot easier. It allows you to focus on your technique instead of agonizing over the fabric—and let’s be honest, plenty of quilts stall before they ever begin, thanks to the trials of choosing fabric.

Choosing your color and fabric

Of course, if you’re a more advanced quilter—or simply can’t pick what you want—you’ll need to choose your own colors and fabrics. Generally, it’s smart to think about your main color or fabric, then use that as a jumping-off point. Do you love that orange-and-white fox print fabric? Great—now picture what part of the design you’ll incorporate it into, then pick coordinating fabrics to match.

Make sure you choose parts of the quilting pattern that will show off the print (if applicable) as much as possible—you don’t want to put a spaced-out print into a geographically-small area of a quilt pattern.

Coordinating shades and patterns

One of the best things about quilting is the ability to use coordinating patterns and fabric shades to create a beautiful look. If you’re mixing multiple prints, try to use something in one or two color families max, or mix five to 10 coordinating prints into your pattern. The more your fabrics have “in common,” the better they’ll look together.

Expect the unexpected

Finally, we love to include just one type of unexpected fabric in our quilts, such as a satin border or another non-quilt-like fabric incorporated into a busy pattern. This adds both visual and textural interest, and can take a regular quilt into award-winning territory. However, be aware that some fabrics are harder to sew.

For help with selecting the perfect quilt material in Albuquerque, NM, be sure to call or stop by The Quilt Works Inc. today.