One of the most important parts of creating a collage quilt is selecting great fabric for the project!  I can't emphasize enough how being thoughtful in your fabric choices will make the process of creating the collage easier and therefore, more enjoyable.  In fact, the single biggest barrier to success as a collage quilter has nothing to do with skill.  The biggest barrier to success as a collage quilter is not knowing how to select fabric for the project!

I really want you to succeed at making beautiful collage quilts, so I'm going to share with you my top five tips for fabric selection!

For each value section you are working on in a design, try to collect a minimum of 4-6 pieces of fabric.  Generally, my patterns will include at least three value sections.  So that means that you will want to gather at least 12-18 pieces.  However, the more fabric you incorporate into a collage, the more interesting it will be!  In fact, when I am preparing to begin a new collage project, I gather fabric knowing that I will probably not use all of it, but it sure makes it easier than not having enough fabric!

Fabric is our palette, and ensuring that we have a broad variety of fabric to work with makes the job of creating dimension and contrast much easier.

As quilters, we tend to purchase fabric that falls into the mid-tone values.  As collage quilters, we need to expand the value spectrum of fabric we use to include darks and lights, even though we might not find pastels or darks particularly beautiful on their own.

Select fabric that has these characteristics: small motif, an easily identifiable overall color, bits of analogous and even complementary colors.

A small motif in the fabric ensures that each cut of fabric will have something interesting to contribute to the finished collage.

You need to be able to discern the main color of the fabric you are using.  Multi-colored fabric or very high-contrast fabric is not your friend.

Selecting fabric with pops of analogous or complementary colors will contribute to a very sophisticated and interesting collage.

Avoid solids, strong grid patterns and high contrast fabric.

Solid fabric is boring for use in collage.  Instead of using solids, use things that read like a solid (batiks are great for this purpose).  But be sparing with things that read like a solid.  Ultimately, we want our collage to look rich and artistic!  We want to be brave with our fabric choices because the outcome will be oh so much more interesting!

Strong grid patterns like stripes and plaids fight against the organic look we are trying to create by blending many different prints in a collage.  Grid patterns tend to stick out and try to steal the show instead of working with the other patterns.

High contrast fabric– things like black fabric with a color or white fabric with colorful designs, can be a little overbearing in a collage.  Again, these types of patterns tend to dominate and don’t play well with others.  

Letting the fabric do the work means that you don’t need to collage every detail of a design.  When a section of a design has a high contrast texture, for example, select fabric that can suggest the texture.  The patterns in the fabric contribute to the artistic nature of the piece.

For example, fish have scales, but I’m not going to collage each individual scale.  Instead I am going to select fabric that mimics the idea of scales and does the work for me.

If fabric selection seems daunting or you don't want to take the time to go hunting for the perfect fabric, we've made it easy for you with our curated fabric bundles! These color bundles include 18 unique pieces of fabric and provide a good variety of values and patterns to get you started with any project.