Each quilting patterns incorporates multitudes of potentialities. For each design choice {that a} quilter makes, there are a whole bunch that weren’t made. What if we discover a few of these choices and use an present sample to make one thing completely completely different, new, and distinctive? Nicely, the excellent news is we’re right here that can assist you navigate how to decide on quilt colours to your subsequent mission and encourage you with some unbelievable designs.

At McCall’s Quilting, we’re dedicated to sharing quilt tasks that can be utilized to make a lot greater than a single quilt. Every sample is usually a inventive leaping off level for a number of one-of-a-kind tasks. We present colour choices in lots of our patterns and we’ll be exploring these tasks in additional depth, sharing useful suggestions, and galvanizing your apply in our Colour Play weblog sequence. Hold your eyes on our web site, Fb, and Instagram to remain up-to-date!

The Authentic Prairie Dance

Prairie Dance by Mari Martin is such a daring, stunning quilt—it caught my eye instantly and it’s so attractive simply as it’s. However there are all the time methods to regulate and adapt the essence of a design to make one thing fully completely different, even when the unique design is virtually good in each approach. On this case, I made a decision to switch the nook block motif to create an ornamental body for a printed panel.

No have to determine whether or not you want the unique quilt or the panel remedy higher; now anybody could make both one! All the data you’ll have to make both design is specified by the July/August 2023 concern of McCall’s Quilting or within the digital sample. Right here, I’ll talk about a few of my design choices and development course of for my panel print mission primarily based on Prairie Dance.

The way to Change the Cloth

Whereas I knew I wished to switch the nook block and make a border remedy for a panel, I didn’t have a selected plan once I ordered the material—I used the Zion Nationwide Park panel and a few prints from the Nationwide Parks 2023 assortment, together with some blenders from the Legends of the Nationwide Parks 2 assortment, all from Riley Blake. Each collections are so, so cool, and panels are such a enjoyable technique to make a fast, huge mission. I had a imprecise thought for colour placement and ordered what I assumed could be sufficient of every of my chosen materials and hoped for one of the best.

Typically, I can’t finalize my plan till I see the material in particular person anyway, since I can get a greater sense of colour and print proportion that isn’t apparent when taking a look at cloth on a display screen, plus the plain advantage of having the ability to lay materials subsequent to 1 one other in numerous mixtures. As soon as I had the material in hand I made a remaining plan and began chopping up the material.

The way to Resize the Block

Firstly, I wished to make was to make the block a bit larger. Since my design would solely present ¾ of the total nook motif (it takes 4 blocks, rotated, to make every full diamond motif), I wished it to look extra imposing and substantial on every nook of the panel. So I adjusted the block dimension from the unique 8” to 12”. The scale are supplied within the journal however should you’re concerned about altering quilt block sizes, there are numerous assets to assist (simply keep in mind to subtract seam allowance earlier than adjusting the patch sizes, then add seam allowance again on after that, and also you’re midway there!).

The way to Select Your New Quilt Colours

Then, in fact, I’m going to vary the colour palette! I really like the daring, graphic stripes created by the unique block, however I made a decision to melt it slightly with quite a lot of earth tones. A few my choices have been decided by the quantity of every cloth I had, so I did one of the best I may with what I had out there (positive, I may have ordered extra cloth however when engaged on a deadline it could not arrive in time!).

I had the many of the medium brown, in order that was my block background cloth. All I wanted to do was save sufficient of it to full the borders. So I had to make use of the sage inexperienced print as a substitute of constant with the tan print on a few of the stitch-and-flip corners; there was not sufficient of the tan. However it’s a refined change that works properly, I believe.

Now It’s Time for Fussy Cuts!

Subsequent, I wished to incorporate some fussy reduce patches in my blocks. Prairie Dance’s unique block is made up totally of squares and triangles squares, however a few of these could possibly be transformed into stitch-and-flip rectangles to accommodate a fussy reduce rectangle. Fortunately, the postcard print had motifs within the good dimension for my plan, so I fussy reduce sufficient postcard rectangles for all of my blocks. The stitch-and-flip squares on every finish would intersect the picture, however there was sufficient of every picture remaining to be attention-grabbing. You possibly can see how the white borders of the ‘postcards’ create a secondary sample within the block, which could be very cool.

The way to Modify Your Border

And eventually, I’d have beloved to finish my quilt with a double row of Flying Geese borders like the unique Prairie Dance quilt, however I didn’t have sufficient cloth. I used a darker brown print for the one Flying Geese border and I’m fairly proud of how that turned out, although a double Flying Geese border would have been nice!

New Panel Quilt Prime

I made all of the blocks, and all that was left was to position them on the panel’s corners and fill within the remaining area with borders. And I additionally added a skinny black border across the panel to offer it a bit of ritual and a few separation from the blocks and outer borders. Cloth constraints bought me once more when trimming the panel to make the body. I needed to reduce off the phrases on the underside of the panel so I’d have sufficient brown cloth for the borders. However I don’t thoughts about that — the picture is so good and there’s no textual content to distract from it.

Verify Out the Pieced Backing!

In the long run, I used all of the leftover cloth I had, together with the textual content from the panel, on the backing I pieced for the quilt high. See, I made extra of the Flying Geese, however I didn’t have sufficient darkish brown cloth for the remainder of the border, so now they assist jazz up the again. Among the materials I had ordered, just like the blues and the scattered postcard print, didn’t make it into the blocks so I used to be in a position to function them on the again.

Now Go Discover Your Favourite Materials!

As you may see, I attempted to make the backing as enjoyable as doable (which I typically do). It makes the quilt reversible and subsequently additional particular! With all that being stated, I hope my journey helps you are feeling extra assured in the case of determining how to decide on quilt colours. I can’t wait to quilt this design (joyful quilting to me)! If you happen to determine you wish to sort out Prairie Dance (or any of McCall’s stunning quilt patterns), remember to share the outcomes (and progress) with us on Instagram and Fb!