Which Comes First; the Fabric or the Design?

Toward the end of 2015, I went through most of my stash sorting and trying to purge. To say the least, it was therapeutic to actually handle all my fabric. It made me realize just how many quilts I should get started on. But where to begin. Should I start with the fabric and come up with a design specific to that fabric? Or should I come up with a design first and then choose fabric that works? I've been considering this 'fabric first vs design first' question for awhile now.

Then Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs asked the same question as part of her Pattern Writing Series. Today I'd like to look at the question more closely to analyze how I work and why. I'll also share what the other designers in the series have to say. Here's the question Cheryl asked us:

• Do you tend to start with a design and then find fabrics and colors that work or do you tend to start with a color scheme or fabric collection in mind and design a pattern for the fabric?

I'll start with my thoughts . . .
I buy fabrics because I love them. I love the colors. I love the prints. I just love fabric. Cleaning my stash helped me realize a few things. I've always thought of myself as a color person, but in reality I now realize I'm a colorful print person. When I go into a quilt shop, I'm drawn to the prints more than the solids, especially large scale prints like Kaffe Fassett and Amy Butler. In this photo of my studio, only one of the five cubbies is for solids. Two have mostly modern tonal prints. One has neutral prints and one is stuffed with Kaffe Fassett, Amy Butler, and Tula Pink. That's my favorite!!

As you can see, I have a wonderful, colorful stash of fabrics from which to begin a design. And yet when I am creating a pattern I rarely start with the fabric. Why is that? You would think I'd be pulling fabrics right and left. I certainly have enough to play with.

What it comes down to is this. Intention. If my intention is to create a pattern for sale, I want the design to be the primary factor rather than the fabric. I want the quilter to have the freedom to make it with fabrics they love rather than simply copy the fabrics I've used. I want them to 'make it their own' as I say in my patterns.

For this reason, a new pattern usually begins with the design first. I start by exploring composition and structure. I might play with a graphic element like line or a shape. I might play with a traditional block. I might translate something non-quilty I've seen into a design. But the bottom line is the design. It establishes the foundation and structure for the quilt.

As the design takes shape, I introduce color and value and really start playing. How color and value are applied can have an huge effect on the final look of a design. That's the part I like the most . . . exploring all the options and looking at how even small changes in color placement or value can completely change the feel of a design. That's one big reason I share optional ideas in the patterns. Here's an example from my Matrix pattern.

As I'm playing with color, I start to consider the fabrics. Does the design work best with solids? Will it work well with prints? What scale or type of prints work best? Fabric is chosen based on color and value rather than any particular print. Even with a design that uses large scale prints, like the Kaffe prints in my Cascade pattern, it's more about the color, value, and scale than the specific prints.

Sometimes I might have a color scheme in mind. Sometimes I might even have a type of fabric like a large scale print in mind. These things simply influence my choices as I design. For example, if I'm wanting to try a larger scale print, I'll evaluate the size of the pieces used in the blocks. If it's a color scheme, I'll still consider how alternative color schemes will work. In other words, the design still comes first.

Here's what the other designers in the series had to say:

Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl

80% of the time I start with a design and then find colors / fabrics, but I have also worked to create a design based on fabric bundles or with a particular color scheme in mind.

Christa of ChristaQuilts

I usually start by designing the pattern first. Early in my quiltmaking career I remember hearing “a great pattern works well with any fabrics” and that idea has really stuck with me. I usually design in solid colors to get the basic idea down first, then add print fabrics, or change colors later. When designing, I am always aware of where the lights, mediums, and darks will go to create contrast in the design. I (Anne) might add that I usually start with solids too. I work in Illustrator, so importing actual fabric swatches isn't something I regularly do but it would certainly be helpful. The visual texture of a print can read quite differently than a solid. Having the option of importing fabric swatches is something to consider if you'll be choosing a computer quilting program to design.

Soma of Whims and Fancies

I mostly design patterns first, then decide on suitable colors and prints.

Lorna of Sew Fresh Quilts

Both. I have been known to start with a backing fabric in mind and design a pattern for the front to match the backing. 

Amy of 13 Spools

I constantly try to start with fabric - and I’m pretty horrible at it! Sometimes things end well, but I find I work best when I start with a pattern. When I see the right fabric, I just know it.

Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs 

I typically start my design using just a few solid colors (lights, mediums, and darks) and focus on the design elements first.  Once the design elements and blocks are set, I start playing around with colorations and different fabrics.  This route tends to be the easiest and most natural for me.  

Occasionally, when I am designing for a fabric company, I start my design process with a fabric collection or precut size.  I find this tends to be more difficult for me, but it can produce some interesting results.  Having a design and idea library is sometimes very helpful for me when starting a design based on a fabric collection.  I can go “shopping” in my library to see if I already have a design that might work with some tweaking for the particular fabric collection.

You don’t have to start exclusively going only one direction.  You could start with a design and then as you add fabrics, you could decide to go back and change the design.  My designs very rarely are linear and straight forward, they are usually iterative and go through many changes before I reach the final design.

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As you can see from the designers answers, most start with the design and then choose fabric. As I think about the various ways I design, I can summarize my approach into three different strategies.

1. Design first, then fabrics based on color, value, and scale of print that will best support and enhance the design.
2. Fabrics and design worked simultaneously. This is similar to what Cheryl refers to when shopping her design library for something that works with a given fabric grouping. I will be using this approach a lot as I try to use my stash this year. 
3. Fabric first where the design is dependent upon a particular fabric. For me, quilts that fall into this category are usually because one specific fabric sparked a very specific idea. 

So what about the fabric first approach?
I agree with Cheryl that beginning with the fabric can be more challenging. It seems counterintuitive not to start with the fabric. We're quilters after all. We love fabric. I'm sure we've all fallen hard over a certain line of fabric or perhaps one particular print. Probably more than once . . . maybe even on an ongoing basis. That's why we have the ever growing stash right?

Starting from a fabric first approach just means a different set of criteria. If you're designing a pattern for a fabric manufacturer, then the objective is to sell that fabric line. You will have a specific set colors, values and scales to work with. You'll also have the same limitations if you're working with a bundle or precuts. These limitations can be challenging but they can also produce interesting designs that have a lot of potential as patterns. Think jelly roll or charm pack patterns.  If you're curating a bundle from your stash, you have more control over these variables. You can select a certain color scheme, value range, or use of scale.

Here are a few things I would consider when starting with fabric first.

• Does the design require specific fabrics in order to work?
• If so, will these fabrics still be readily available to the quilter by the time the pattern is published?
• Is the design flexible enough that different fabrics can easily be substituted while still maintaining the integrity of the design?
• Can I demonstrate alternative fabric choices?

These questions are also good to ask if you are submitting a design for publication in a magazine.


Now that I am trying to sew from my stash for 2016, I will definitely be trying to start with the fabric more often so I can use it. In reality though it will be more like the fabric/design simultaneously strategy. I will probably 'shop' my pattern library like Cheryl suggests to see what might work with these groups and branch off from there.

The two photos below are a couple of fabric groupings I recorded while cleaning my stash. I love them but will they become patterns? Both have possibilities but I will need to consider a few of things.

First, both groups include larger scale prints. Nothing wrong with that. I would just find a way to demonstrate that alternative prints can also work. The biggest problem with both these groups is that the primary print is older and therefore not readily available any longer. If I were to design a quilt with these I'd probably not make it into a pattern without considering more current fabrics for the final pattern cover. That might lead to a great variation, another quilt, and a whole new pattern idea.



The grouping above is based on a Carolyn Friedlander print. I am inspired by the grid in this print and have pulled some possible companion pieces. The idea I have is based very specifically on that center fabric. For that reason, I wouldn't make the design into a pattern because of limited fabric availability now. The concept is too specific to be a viable pattern. But who knows where this idea might lead. I'm always open to one quilt evolving into a second quilt and maybe new pattern ideas.

Be open to where your work leads you.

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As Cheryl said, "You don’t have to start exclusively going only one direction."
There is no right or wrong to the process. Hopefully this has given you something to think about. Most likely you'll find that you'll switch back and forth depending on the project. The important thing is to start.

Be sure to check out Cheryl's post this week on Quilt Design and Inspiration.
And Yvonne's post on Design Inspiration.
Both have really good thoughts to help you get started.

Now begin and see where the journey takes you.

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Around the World Blog Hop

Thanks to Cindy of Live a Colorful Life, it's now my turn on the Around the World Blog Hop.
Cindy and I will be roomies at QuiltCon and I'm looking forward to meeting her in person for the first time after spending the last couple of years getting to know her as part of the Mid Century Modern quilt bee. I'm ever so grateful that she invited me to be a part of the MCM bee because I have gotten to know so many wonderful quilters not to mention make some great blocks.

What am I working on?
Seems like an easy enough question doesn't it? Yet I find it hard to put into words since I'm working on lots of ideas and designs with little to show for it in terms of sewing. My studio cabinet doors are covered with sketches as I contemplate which quilt(s) I can get done in time to enter in the QuiltCon show. I was lucky enough to have two quilts in the 2013 QuiltCon show (you can see them here) but I didn't get go. This time I am going (yea!!!) and would really like to enter something. The deadline looms so I need to make progress from sketches to real sewing very very soon. Are you going to QuiltCon? Do you plan to enter a quilt?

How does my work differ from others?
The main thing I bring to my work is my sense of design. I almost always make a quilt from my own original idea and believe they have a strong graphic quality to them even when they are block based. As a matter of fact, I love designing a block and then exploring all the possibilities for how it can be used. Another aspect of my style is color which is usually bright and saturated. The final thing I might mention is my love of large scale prints . . . especially from the Kaffe Fassett collective. I love the color and the riot of activity a large scale print offers. Many of my more graphic concepts are well suited for solid fabrics and I do love the look of an all solid quilts. But once I've worked with solids for awhile, I'm drawn right back in and need a strong fix of prints to feed my addiction. One last thing about my style is an interest in sometimes using traditional prints like batiks and florals in more modern, unusual ways. I've got to find some way to use up my older stash.

Here's a glimpse at some of my work both old and new.

All solids make for great bold, graphic compositions.

All prints make for a riot of visual activity. This is where I'm most at home. And the second quilt shows the variety within a single pattern design which is another thing I love about designing. Same design, same arrangement, just a different fabric application.

Here are some traditional fabrics used in a bold new ways. 

Why do I create?
It's who I am at my very core . . . a designer first and foremost. I have a graphic design degree and over the years felt drawn toward quilting which provided the opportunity to combine color with printed pattern to create designs in fabric. My husband and I recently went to Taos, NM to visit the galleries and get a little art fix. During one conversation I commented on how I love to photograph nature and yet those photos don't necessarily translate directly into my quilting. In other words, I don't make art quilts from my photos. But nature is very inspiring to me so I found myself wondering why it doesn't make a more direct correlation to my quilt designs? Later in the trip I finally made the connection  . . . it's a matter of composition and it does impact my quilting. I'm always composing when I take pictures. I love the details, the line and shape, the color of what I see. I do the same thing when I design a quilt. I play with a composition using line, shape, pattern and color. Sometimes that inspiration might come from my photos other times another source like fine art. I guess that makes me a composer which is certainly ironic because I know nothing about music.

Here's one such composition from our trip . . . do you know anyone who photographs a garden hose?

How does my creative process work?
You could sum up my process this way.

• I play. I play on the computer way too much designing and manipulating to see all that's possible. This exploration is also part of what I include in my patterns because I really want you to explore the options that a given design might hold. I also play with fabrics to see how they speak to me. I'm trying to spend more time with the fabrics and less time on the computer but it's hard. Guess I'm addicted to both. The computer is my sketchbook and I could seriously play all day.
• I consume a healthy dose of dark chocolate on hand at all times.
• I consult with my colleagues.

This is me playing with fabrics . . . this concept will hopefully become a new pattern next year.

This is me playing with the design possibilities of an idea on the computer.

These are my design colleagues. I am fortunate to have several . . . 

Sometimes one of them has a strong opinion . . . 

Other times they just don't pay attention . . . 

But I can always count on these artistic consultants and am grateful for their input and support . . . 

I hope you've enjoyed getting to know a little more about me. It's been fun thinking about these questions and has given me a chance to reflect on what I do and why I love it.

To continue the fun of going Around the World, I'm nominating Stephanie of Venus de Hilo. Stephanie was one of my earliest followers and blogs from the lovely Hawaiian tropics. We share a love of color and Kaffe Fassett. In her bio she says; "I like intense prints (the kind with 18 different color dots on the selvedge), bright colors, bold design, and in-your-face color and pattern combinations. I get a kick out of exploring new possibilities with traditional blocks and methods, combining them with current fabrics and bold colors in unexpected ways."  I couldn't have said it better myself. Can't wait to meet Stephanie for real at QuiltCon.

I am also nominating someone very very close to home, my daughter Emily of Emily Claire Studio who just started blogging this year about her jewelry and living the creative life. I'm hoping she can spread the blogging fun into another creative area beyond quilting.

Emily and Stephanie will be posting next Monday, October 6. I hope you'll visit their blogs and keep the journey Around the World alive. And thanks again Cindy for inviting me on this blog hop.

If you've read this far, thanks. I know you've probably already read plenty of these posts and no doubt may have participated in it yourself. I don't know the background of this hop other than it's been going on for awhile. It's a really fun way to share a little about yourself plus meet and get to know more about other like minded bloggers . . . so enjoy the journey.

Quilting Happiness . . . What Makes You Happy?

Quilting Happiness . . . those two words just seem to go together don't they?

I recently read a most enjoyable new book, Quilting Happiness by Christina Lane and Diane Gilleland. I don't know either of these women, nor do I have any stake in writing about the book. I simply borrowed it from my local library. And I'm so glad I did. You can learn more about the book here.

It's more than a project book. While there are 20 wonderful projects included, it's the other aspects of the book that I found so interesting.  The authors delve into the reasons behind why we make quilts. In the introduction they ask the question, "which part of your latest project feels more valuable: the finished quilt itself, or the experience you had while making it?" They go on to add it's their hope the book . . . "will serve as a workbook of sorts to help you explore what makes you happiest in your quilting . . . "

Coincidentally, I had been giving some thought to this even before reading the book. I've been considering not only what defines my personal style but also what is it that draws me into the world of quilting in the first place. Why do I think about quilting all the time? Yes, I actually do think about quilting almost all the time. However, I'd never really thought about quilting from the happiness side of the equation. What is it about quilting that makes me happy? And for that matter, are there aspects that don't make me happy?

In the first chapter, the authors recommend "exploring your creative fingerprint and discovering how it shows up in your work." They define your creative fingerprint as a unique set of symbols, colors, textures, and ideas that sets your heart dancing. So here's my thoughts . . .

My creative fingerprint consists of:

• Clear saturated bright colors . . . especially in the green/aqua and pink/orange/yellow families plus black and whites. A growing attachment to low volume as well.
• Large scale prints by Kaffe Fassett and Amy Butler along with other tone on tone prints . . . especially stripes and dots.
• A fondness for florals, and especially leaves, including both modern and traditional prints.

This is a glimpse of my creative fingerprint in terms of my stash.

Looking beyond my studio to what inspires me are things like:

• the tiny details of texture and pattern found in both nature and the manmade environment.
• the variety and subtlety of colors, especially those found in nature like trees and flowers.
• the composition of elements when I pull back and look at the bigger picture of my surroundings, specifically in nature but also in the manmade world.
• the design elements of line and repetition are of particular interest to me.

I love the details of plant life like these hosta leaves . . .

I love the abundance, variety and subtlety of color found in flowers.

I love to look for the compositions all around me . . . especially in nature . . . 

I love the qualities of line and repetition in this cracked ground and in the architecture . . . 

These things however just dent the surface. They are just a few of the things I find inspiring visually and they certainly influence my fabric choices but in and of themselves still don't explain why I love quilting. What exactly it is about quilting that I find so compelling. What is it about quilting that actually makes me happy?

• First and foremost is the design process. I have a graphic design degree so that influence is part of who I am and how I see things. Designing makes me happy.
• Playing with color and texture in the form of printed fabrics. I love playing with the colors and patterns in fabrics to see how I can combine them into something visually exciting.         An abundance of visual activity makes me happy.
• Within this abundance of visual activity though I need structure.  I need a plan in most areas of my life. Spontaneity does not come easy to me . . . just ask my husband.  Improv quilts are wonderful but they are not my style. At least for now.                                            Playing with composition and structure as it relates to the quilt design makes me happy.
• I love simple ideas and simple techniques. Most likely you won't catch me working on an intricate quilt that might take forever to complete. I'm impatient and have too many ideas so I'm always thinking about the next design before the current one is done. (There might also be a bit of a completion complex in there but that's an entirely different discussion altogether.)          Simple ideas and easy construction make me happy.
• Did I mention designing makes me happy? That's why I include design options in my patterns.    I really really love to design.

But to be honest, there are also parts of quilting that don't make me so happy. There are things I don't really love so much. In the past I have let myself feel guilty about not loving or at least wanting to do it all. More recently I have come to terms with admitting this and being ok with it.

• I don't really like to do the actual quilting. I appreciate and love the beautiful texture quilting brings to a finished quilt, but I struggle with getting the results I want on my machine. I also don't like the time involved. I'd rather be designing my next quilt.
• Sometimes I don't even like the actual sewing of the blocks. Gasp! Yes, it's true. I think this comes into play when the blocks are all identical and there are really no more design decisions to be made, it's simply production mode sewing. The design part is over and I've mentally checked out and moved on to the next quilt. It's much more fun when I still have design decisions to make along the way. 

Obviously for me the trick is balancing the design process with the sewing so I actually get quilts made, not just designed. I'm still working on finding this balance.

Getting back to the question from the book, "which part of your latest project feels more valuable: the finished quilt itself, or the experience you had while making it?"  For me it's both but mostly it's the process. It's in the designing and playing and choosing of fabrics and color that I have the most fun. This is the time when I am in a place of higher creative energy. I find satisfaction in the feel and look of a finished quilt in my hands, on my bed or hanging on the wall, but I'm always ready to start designing again. For me the real fun is in the process.

How about you? What gets your creative juices flowing? What about quilting makes you happy?

Adding this post to Really Random Thursdays at Live A Colorful Life.