First of all we're going to talk about what kinds of fabrics we want in our stash. We'll pretend that the practicalities like how and where and how much, aren't an issue. Those will be the second part of this post. So for now we'll pretend we have a lovely brick and mortar quilt shop just one block over, a huge online shop with every fabric imaginable on it's pages, and of course a Paypal account stocked with $1000!
The most important fabrics in your stash are your basics.
Some plain solids - I use Kona cotton but any brand will do, as long as it's 100% cotton.
A few colors that I always keep on hand are Snow (the perfect white), Natural (more of an muslin color), Aqua, (the perfect aqua), and Stone (a warm medium gray). Of course I always have other colors on hand too, but these three I try to always keep around.
Another basic that I love is Essex Linen in Natural. It's a cotton linen blend that is slightly heavier than other cotton. Because of the cotton content it's super easy to work with and goes well with all my cottons. I use it often as my background fabric in a quilt, just because I like the natural color and the texture.
Shot Cottons by Kaffe Fassett are my number one favorite solid. I'd use them all the time except for the fact that they cost slightly more and don't have as many colors as regular solids. They add stunning depth to any quilt because of their woven look. The warp and weft are two different colors, so they shine slightly different when looking at them from different angles. They are also very soft, which makes them a great choice for quilt backs! Here's a list of my favorite colors in shot cottons. Aqua ( a smoky blue, reminds me of light faded denim), Persimmon (absolutely the best red! Basically the only red solid I use.), Tangerine (the best orange!) Tobacco (a golden caramel color with warm yellow undertones).
Neutral colored fabrics are also of great importance. I always have to make conscious effort to stash these fabrics, because they're not as exciting as the bold and bright prints. Depending on your style though, you're likely to find yourself using these fabrics more than your fun rainbow floral prints.
I like to have a wide variety of different shades and colors, and well as different prints. These fabrics are similiar to solids in their practicality, but they have a print which adds some interest to your quilt. I like to have a variety of prints. Some stripes, polka dots, old fashioned geometrics and tiny florals, modern graphic prints, text, and reproduction fabrics. (Just a word on reproduction fabrics, which are those tiny prints that have been reprinted and inspired by fabrics from years ago. I find a whole quilt made from these fabrics to be drab, but I love to mix a few in to my quilts. These old fashioned collections have some great basics that look amazing when paired with the more modern prints.)
This stack above is examples of the next category that I shop for. These are prints that are dominantly one color. These are the most useful for creating your desired palette. They may have two or more secondary colors in the design, but they read mostly as one color. You will find yourself using this type of fabric alot. Again, I like to have a variety of different types of prints in all the colors of the rainbow.
From the above category, there are two subgroups. The four prints above are easy to categorize into color groups, but they have quite a few secondary colors. These are great for creating blending in your quilt. They add interest and give a softer look.
Then you have the simpler graphic fabrics like the ones shown above here. They generally have one secondary color that creates the design. These help keep the simple graphic look that I like.
The last official group is multicolored fabrics. These are the ones that I tend to fall in love with first. They jump out at you and convince you to make a quilt right now!
You must be careful not to buy only these types of fabrics though, or your quilt will be very busy, and you'll have a hard time finding fabrics that look nice together.
I squeezed in one last little unofficial category. I'm not sure what it's called, but it's those little pieces of extra special fabric that you MUST have. just because! Maybe it's a rare fabric, or a Liberty Lawn floral, or a fat quarter of Heather Ross Linen. Whatever the case, those little pieces of special fabric are used sparingly, but they are so fun and inspiring. There's no criteria for this category, it's your own personal taste.
Soooo.... this post is plenty long and I've only covered half of my first topic! I'm going to stop now and write the next post seperately. I'll talk more about how I choose fabrics online, how much I buy, etc.
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