GrannieAnnie

I sometimes roll out fabric and lay it across another display so I can back up and see how they look from a distance. Not always easy in a store--------even in JoAnn's.

GrannieAnnie

Another thing-----------something I learned by accident when trying to pick a yarn for a sweater to match a plaid skirt. The colors don't always have to be the same if you are trying to coordinate a bigger print with smaller prints or tonals.. This skirt had pink and yellow in the plaid. Turned out that a pretty apricot was a better match than either pink or yellow.

createfourpaws

When it comes to choosing colors, I tend to look outside the box. I throw the color wheel out the window. I go with what I like even though, And it depends on what or who I am making a quilt for. I have chosen fabrics that people have said they wont go together and when they see the final quilt, it is like wow it does work.

Remember going outside the box can be hard for some but give it a try. Get your inspiration from everything you see. Look around you, you see color every where you look and can be an inspiration.

Dotsie

I find it helpful if taking a piece of floral fabric and take the colors as in it...very seldom you will go wrong then because in the picture you see them all together.

Nolee

Whether right or wrong, I try to buck my "yawnable" (love that!!) colors next to a popping color. It has worked well for me. Here is a great pattern to try it out on and see what a difference it makes.

Go to RobertKaufman.com and look up the "Sew to Grow" pattern. It is so easy and so pretty. It's what I'm working on now for a wall hanging. You can stop anywhere in the pattern to make it the size you need.

Stitchit123

If you have a pic of the quilt you want to make its usually the colors that caught your attention take the pic along its easy to pick out like fabrics and eventually picking color schemes becomes second nature

mexmmh43

can you post a picture of your portable design wall. I would love to see a picture of your PDW. I have the same problem with color.

Scissor Queen

It's not just color combinations that make a quilt, contrast can make a big difference too.

Personally, I think using those color dots on the selvedges to pick all your fabrics makes for yawnable quilts. (I like that word) Using those dots makes for a very matchy-matchy fabric combination. The most vibrant quilts have color combinations that vibrate off of each other and if they were singled out might even clash.

It does help to get the color wheel fixed in your mind so that you at least know the basics of what's across from each other and what's next to each other.

thrums

One tip I received:

If you're not sure of the distinction between color value, fold, align and place the fabrics (or samples) on a scanner and scan in B/W.

Note: I purchased some fabric I thought would work for a quilt(after spending hours sweating over the selection). When I got home (away from the shop and in different light) I wasn't pleased with my selection. I went to my stash and found a great substitute. The fabric I pulled worked in my next quilt.

thrums

Thanks for the links. I have a shortcut folder on my tool bar "Color Theory" and added them.

Ya'll are the greatest!