A word about color . . .

Adjust your monitor:

Before you begin choosing fabrics for your quilt, be sure that your computer monitor is properly adjusted to provide accurate color tones and brightness. You should realize that the fabric color you see on your computer may not look exactly like the fabric in real life. To give you some assurance that it will be as close as possible, we have included two images that should look correct to you before you proceed.

You see on this page an image of the American flag and an image of Abraham Lincoln’s face. Adjust your monitor so that the red, white, and blue of the flag look true to you. Fine tune your adjustment by making sure the flesh tones of the face look correct.

Choose your colors:

Choose a fabric with a color that matches the color scheme of the room in which the quilt will be displayed. Alternatively, make the quilt the centerpiece of your color scheme and decorate the room around it. You may want to choose a color scheme for your quilt. A quilt may be predominantly blue , a cool color scheme, with warm cream accents for contrast. A quilt may be predominantly reds, a warm color scheme, with cool blue or violet accents for contrast.

To choose colors, consult the color wheel on this page.

Creating vibrant contrasts:

Colors directly across from each other on the color wheel are complementary colors. Placing complementary colors side by side creates vibrant contrasts.

Creating warmth:

Colors in the red to yellow range evoke a warm sense. The more red or orange tones one uses in a quilt, the warmer the color combination will seem.

Creating coolness:

Colors in the violet and blue range evoke a cool sense. The more blue fabric one adds to a quilt, the cooler the fabric combination will seem when it meets the eye.

Hybrid tones:

Red violets and yellow greens may look warm or cool depending on the colors next to them. Next to blues, they will seem warm. Next to red or orange, the will seem cool.