cHOOSING FABRICS FOR YOUR COLLAGE
When it’s time to choose what fabrics to use for your fabric collage project, it can be overwhelming. I hope the following tips and ideas will make it easier.
COLOR. Think of your fabrics as an artist’s “palette” with a variety of related colors and patterns to mix and match. The more the better, but they should relate to each other, with some accents to create motion. How to begin choosing?
• Ask yourself what mood you want to create, bright playful colors, calming cools of blues or vivid warm reds and oranges. Look at pictures if you want your project to look more realistic, or just start with the colors you love and build from there.
• Divide your collage into areas (body fabrics, wing fabrics, flower fabrics, etc), each with its own “palette”.
VALUE. Think about “value” (light and dark) as well as color. Include two or three lights, mediums and darks in each color group.
PATTERN. Create visual interest by choosing a variety of print scale: solid or small prints, medium prints and some fun large prints that you can pull many different elements from by “fussy-cutting”–letting the print of the fabric guide the shape by cutting out individual flowers or petals, geometric shapes, leaves, etc.
RELAX AND HAVE FUN. There is no right or wrong- this is your collage, so have fun with the fabrics. If you’re a quilter with a large fabric stash, challenge yourself to choose mostly from your leftover fabrics. If you are so overwhelmed that you[‘re stuck, try getting a pack of coordinated fabric fat quarters (1/4 cuts of fabric) that are sold at a lot of quilting shops. Make it your own, leaves don’t need to be green!
Below are two groups of butterfly body and wing palettes, followed by an example of some flower and leaf palettes.
Butterfly palettes for body and wing
Butterfly Body: a palette of blacks and grays from light, to medium, to very dark. A variety of some solid or small prints, along with some larger prints for variety. Some prints lend themselves to “fussy-cutting” specific shapes or parts of shapes seen in the print.
Butterfly wings: a palette of cool colors were chosen, blues, purples and greens, with a range of lights shades, mediums, and some very dark fabrics. Some florals and polka dots for “fussy-cutting” specific shapes or parts of shapes out to make a pattern with the collage.
Butterfly Body: a palette of blacks and grays from light, to medium, to very dark. A variety of some solid or small prints, along with some larger prints for variety. Some prints lend themselves to “fussy-cutting” specific shapes or parts of shapes seen in the print.
Butterfly wings: a palette of warm colors were chosen, inspired by photos of monarch butterflies, for a more realistic feeling: yellows, oranges and rusts, with a range of lights shades, mediums, and some very dark fabrics. Some florals and patterned dots for “fussy-cutting” specific shapes or parts of shapes out to make a pattern with the collage.
Fabric palettes for flower areas
Flower collage areas with fabric palettes: Each collection of fabrics has some light, medium and dark, as well as small prints, larger prints and a fun to fussy-cut prints. Notice that all the groupings collected originally and shown under each flower collage, were not all used and some others not shown were brought in as needed. You can always try several prints to get the effect you want.
FABRICS FOR LEAVES AND STEMS
Leaves and stems: once you have made your flower areas, choose two or three leaf fabrics, light, medium and dark so you can highlight edges and shadow areas with a contrasting shade.