When I had the retail shop – I would spend hours every day helping customers figure out a grouping of fabrics that was appealing and that best complimented the pattern they had selected. I call this “Auditioning Fabrics”.
Now that I’m designing patterns all day long, I still spend time auditioning fabrics. I don’t have time to run from one shop to the next, deciding on fabrics (as fun as that is – clearly). Now, I use technology to give me access to complete lines of fabrics from almost every major manufacturer.
How is that possible? I’m using a quilt design software from Electric Quilt Company – called EQ8. I’m not going to sugar coat it – it did take me a minute to learn how to navigate my way through the software. Using the books – and taking a short class from Kari Schell at Onpoint Quilter was a HUGE help.
Here are just a few of the things I do with EQ8: Please note this is by no means an exhaustive list – there are so many creatively exciting things I (and you) can do with it.
- Design my own unique blocks
- Choose blocks from a library with thousand of options
- Design quilts from scratch
- Design quilts using some pre-created designs
- Use fabrics from dozens of major fabric manufacturers – including most of the popular basics lines
- Import images of the fabrics in my stash to use in my designs
- Print out rotary cutting instructions for each block
- Print out yardage requirements for my fabrics (my shopping list!)
- Print out images of my quilt designs
- Change the fabrics used in a design with a click of my mouse.
That last point is a big deal for me. Here’s an example: My pattern – The Road Home is a fun one to make up. I’ve designed it in EQ8 and while I made it in the colors you see on the front of the pattern – it’s such a versatile design and looks great in lots of color combinations.
The images below are the throw size version of this (multi-size) quilt pattern. I selected Island Batik Basics to play with and created these 10 versions in about 15 minutes.
Playing with Light and Dark
I love creating patriotic quilts. These two use the same three fabrics (although I did use two different shades of blue). Isn’t it interesting how different they look – because of which parts of each variation I made light or dark?
Playing with Fabric Placement
Isn’t it interesting how changing the fabric placement of the two background fabrics can change the look of the quilt? Just switching where the two fabrics are used – makes the one on the right highlight the chain effect in the background.
Holiday Quilts
Holiday quilts are fun to make! Both of these variation celebrate their respective holidays.
Quilts for Kids
These two variations lean into quilts I might make for a child. Pretty – and not too “baby”. I like making quilts for kids that will take them past the infant moments. Each uses just 3 fabrics.
Scrappy
Love a more scrappy look? Here are two variations. The first emphasizes the stars – each in a different bright color. The second is what I like to call “controlled scrappy”. The background uses 1 tone on tone fabric in a neutral color – this makes the other fabrics stand out. The stars and the “chain” are truly scrappy – although the fabrics are still all from the same Island Batik Basics line.
Fabric is expensive – and making the right choices can sometimes be a little stressful. I love the option of creating the quilt and auditioning fabrics digitally, until I land on exactly the right combination for my project.
I used the same pattern and Island Batiks Basics for these examples – but you could just as easily play with nearly any line of fabrics from most manufacturers. If the fabrics aren’t already in EQ8’s fabric Library – you could import the images from the manufacturers website and you are good to go.
Do you have a fabulous stash? Take pictures of the fabrics you are thinking of using, import them and drop them into your quilt design. You’ll get to see how they work together (and if you have enough of each fabric) before you cut into it.
Interested in learning a little more? Here is a link to an EQ8 demo video that shows you how the software works.
Have some fun with auditioning fabrics – the possibilities are endless!