How Do You Design a Spectacular Batik Quilt?
Designing Quilts with Beautiful Batik Fabrics
Batiks have become my exclusive choice for quilting. Their vibrant colors and bold patterns offer a fabulous palette for designing beautiful quilts.
When selecting fabrics for a quilt, it’s generally both the colors and the prints that first catch my eye. Therefore, I want to showcase those fabrics in large enough pieces to keep the design intact.
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4-Patch Quilt PDF Pattern TODAY!
Love this Batik Patchwork Pattern
This quilt is the 2nd variation of the Alternating 4-Patch Quilt Pattern. The pattern worked out great and the batiks really stole the show in the first quilt! This quilt pattern has a secondary block that is perfect for adding more color. The alternating 4-patch block has much smaller fabric pieces and is perfect for the accent fabric. It can be bold yet won’t detract from those fabrics I really want to shine.
The fabric color choices for this second quilt are completely different and will totally change the look of the quilt. Despite all the differences, the same fabric selection method was used for both quilts. It’s a fun way to choose your fabrics and get you excited to make your next quilt.
How to Choose Batik Quilt Fabrics for Your Project
Start with a Single Batik Focal Print
I love batik fabrics and am always looking for ways to make quilts that will best showcase my favorite fabric pieces. The first step in beginning a new batik quilt is to select your focal fabric. It’s the one that you absolutely love because it’s filled with the perfect colors and patterns that make you smile. It can be any size from a small square to multiple yards, but most importantly, it will set the direction for your quilt design.
Fat Quarters are a Perfect Choice
With the focal fabric front and center, start laying out other fabrics you think may work well together. Begin by pulling fat quarters in the dominant colors of your focal fabric. As your fabric piles broaden, you’ll begin to see some other colors begin to emerge across many of your fabric choices. These are you contrast colors.
Add a few more fat quarters in your contrast color to create a good balance. Finally, you’ll want to add your accent fabric. Starting back with your focal fabric, look at what accent color stands? Or is there a color that isn’t included in your pile that you could use? When you find the under-represented color, you’re just about there.
Bringing in a few fat quarters of your accent color will add a new level of vibrancy to your overall color palette.
Now you have a fantastic collection of fabric that enhances your focal fabric. All those pieces will work together creating a strong color design.
How to Maintain the Integrity of Focal Prints
What Size Pieces to Cut
Simple patterns make fast quilts, and larger pieces speed up the process. To create a spectacular quilt without cutting up the integrity of focal prints, vary your cut fabric sizes. I use blocks with large areas to showcase the dominant fabrics and add tonal pieces to enhance the block.
Too many large squares in a quilt detracts from the overall effect. It can be distracting. Adding small bits that provide flashes of color gives the illusion of smaller pieces. This method is a quick and easy way to enhance your palette selection. Plus, construction is easier due to less cutting and piecing.
Make it Your Quilt
Mixing It Up a Lot More
Try quilting techniques you don’t normally use. Perhaps different size quilt blocks or including an alternate block for more interest. Blocks with secondary patterns are perfect for adding more color and patterns to your quilt design. Asymmetrical blocks add lots of interest, especially if they are rotated into different positions throughout you quilt. My personal favorite is to set you quilt blocks on-point! It’s amazing how different your finished design will be.
What’s most important is that you have fun!
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