Fabric Samples

Floral fabric for Garden Heart, Spring Bouquet patterns

Fabric for inner border, Garden Heart pattern

Fabric for outer border, Garden Heart pattern

Barbara's Tips: Fabric Selection

• Your fabric library should consist of a wide variety of colors from very light to very dark.
  
  
• Medium to large scale prints work best. When cut into 2" squares, they become a splash of color and line, much like the painter's brush stroke.
  
  
• Choose fabrics with an asymmetrical design so that the lines will be able to flow from one 2" square to the next. Again, think of a painter blending her colors and lines.
  
  
• Generally, choose fabrics that contain 3 or more colors. Avoid tone-on-tone prints unless there is good contrast and lines that move the eye.
  
  
• Designs that work well include florals, paisleys, ethnic prints, scenery, animals, people and novelty prints. I generally avoid stripes, polka dots and plaids.
  
  
• Many of my patterns require a fabric that "feathers" into the background. This means you need some 2" squares that include both print and background space. I call this a "loose" floral fabric. A good example is the "Garden Twist" series from In The Beginning that includes floral bouquets. The edges of the bouquets will give you the squares you need to blend an object into its background.
  
  
• Storage for all of your 2" squares can be as simple as a series of pizza boxes labeled by color group.
  
  
• Have fun collecting LOTS of fabrics!
  

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