How to Choose Fabric for the Quilty Chicks Block of the Month
Wondering how to choose fabric for your Quilty Chicks quilt? Here are some tips to get you started! But before I start, here are the links to the pattern if you have’t already picked one up.
I’ve made a video that will walk you through the fabric requirements and give tips and examples of what to look for when choosing fabric, but it can all be summed up in three points:
Choose fabric you love! You are going to be working with this fabric and living with this quilt for a long time, so choose fabrics that ‘spark joy’.
Use solids or small-scale, non-directional, tone-on-tone prints. There are quite a few small pieces in this quilt and ‘almost solid' prints will help keep the block design crisp and clear.
Think about relative value when choosing fabric for the interior quilt blocks and flower heads. You can watch the video or read this blog post about value and scale for more info.
Not a video person? I’ve got you covered! Keep reading for more tips and examples.
Choosing Background Fabric
Choose a light white or cream fabric for the background. It can be a solid, small scale print, or batik. Choose a fabric that will literally fade into the background to let the chicken and flower quilt blocks shine.
The background fabric requirements give you enough room to square up multiple times and make some mistakes. If you want to be SUPER sure you have enough fabric, round up to 5 yards. You will have scraps.
Chicken Body Fabric
You will need 7 fat quarters, one for each set of chickens. Choose fabrics that have a small scale print. I chose cool tones: taupe, light gray, blue gray, light aqua, aqua, light denim blue, and denim blue. But you can choose any colors you want! You can use grays and browns for a more ‘realistic’ feel or make a rainbow of chickens. It is up to you! Just don’t use a busy print. :)
Pick Coordinating Interior Quilt Block Fabric
Each chicken has a traditional quilt block on its side. Choose fabrics for the quilt blocks that coordinate with your chicken fabric. Many of the quilt block pieces are very small so choose small scale prints. Choose a fabric that is either lighter or darker than the chicken fabric. This will help the interior quilt block pop! You can read more about the importance of scale and value here.
I chose to use warmer toned fabric for my interior blocks. I paid attention to the print size to make sure the chicken and quilt block fabrics didn’t mush together.
Comb and Leg/Beak Fabric
Choose very small scale prints for the comb/wattle and leg/beak fabric. We will be making 1” half-square triangles and even a medium sized print could be bad.
In addition, choose an orange that is a bit lighter than the red. It will make it easier to distinguish between the beak and wattle triangles. Also make sure that the orange coordinates well with the yellow used for the chick.
What to Look for in Chick Fabric
Use a medium yellow that has a very subtle print. The chick is so cute that we don’t want the fabric to upstage it! Either one of these yellows would work, but I prefer the slightly darker one on the right.
Green Fabric for the Leaves and Stems
Again, look for a small scale print in a shade of green that coordinates with your chickens and flowers. (Are you tired of hearing that yet?) The instructions have you cut all the leaves and stems out of one fat quarter, but feel free to use a variety of greens in the leaves and stems. I think scrappy leaf/stem units could be really cute!
Choosing Flower Fabric
Most of the flowers use a light and dark fabric of the same color. You can use the same colors as I did or choose ones that work well with the other chicken blocks. I chose to repeat some of the same interior quilt block colors in the flowers. I like how it sprinkles the colors across the whole quilt.
I hope those tips helped clarify any fabric questions you might have had. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments.
Yay! I can’t wait to get sewing in January 2024. I’ll be back with cutting and piecing tips. It’s not too late to sign up and sew along with me! Click below and I’ll send you an email with all the up to date information.
Let me know if you have any questions about the pattern or quilt along. I can’t wait to see all of your cute chicken quilts!
