Bright and colorful fabric is my favorite! Since I lived in India for 9 years, where bold prints are everywhere and everyone seems to out do each other with how many bright colors they can wear, I love using the artisan created fabrics of India in my quilts. But sometimes it's overwhelming knowing how to make so many bright and colorful prints work together. So let's talk about how to take a fabric bundle of bright and busy fabrics and turn them into a modern quilt you'll love. 

In quilting we all tend toward certain fabrics or colors. And the longer I have quilted the more my style of fabrics has developed and changed. 

One thing that hasn't changed is my love of all things modern and bright. 

There is really no place better for bright and colorful fabrics than India. Fabric markets are an overwhelming mix of every color and an impossible number of prints and textures. 

Curating a bundle of fabrics from India is a fun challenge. I like to try to combine my love of India with the modern tastes most westerners might have. This year I brought back a bundle of 13 fabrics to combine into one quilt. 

See the FQ bundle here. 

I used a combination of small and large prints. I also included floral and geometric prints and made sure to choose colors which compliment each other and fabrics which include splashes of the same colors. 

How to choose a quilt pattern to go with the fabric bundle?

 

Because this bundle is vibrant and let's be honest, it has a lot going on, I chose a quilt pattern which is more basic in design and keeps the focus on the fabrics. 

The Patchwork Jubilee Quilt Pattern is a great pattern to show off fabrics. The pattern includes basic squares and half square triangles. So no fancy, complicated sewing here, which means the pattern is listed as beginner friendly. 

You can find a copy of the Patchwork Jubilee Pattern in the shop. 

I took the bundle of fabrics to my local quilt store to match a cream or white fabric with. White fabrics can have a blue, cream, yellow or pink tint to them. I am not great with colors so I wanted to make sure I chose the best shade of white. 

I ended up with a linen fabric. This also added a different texture to the quilt. The fabric from India is very soft and thin. It has a tight weave and is made with a thin thread like most quilting cotton. The linen fabric is made with a larger thread and a looser weave. This gives if a completely different feel. 

Using a solid fabric for the background keeps the focus on the accent fabrics of the quilt. It keeps the modern quilt feel of the quilt. 

As I said this quilt pattern only includes two kinds of units, square units and half square triangles. 

There is no better feeling that when all the half square triangles are finished being trimmed... am I right? 

Note on half square triangles (HSTs), I used to press all my HSTs to the darker side because it was the fastest way to press them. However, I now press them open. I think it gets the seams flatter and makes them easier to sew together. 

Patchwork Jubilee is block based and each block is comprised of a combination of background pieces and accent pieces.

I like to lay out my pieces for the block first then chain piece them together. This allows me to balance the color and designs of the fabrics across each block. I try to make sure not too much of one color is in one area and large scale prints are spread through out, same with small scale prints. 

So basically I am going for a nice, balanced looking quilt block. 

This pattern requires 11 fat quarters and I used 12 from the bundle. I wanted to add in the extra fabric because why not? But I pulled out one fabric which was mostly white with flowers because I thought it might blend too much with the background fabric. 

That's the best thing about bundles... you get to decide if you want to use all the fabrics, or if you want to pull some out because they just aren't the right fit for the project you are working on. 

Below you can see an example of what not paying attention when sewing a Patchwork Jubilee Quilt Block will get you. LOL!

Here is a much better view of what the blocks looked like when they were finished and started getting sewn together into rows and then a quilt top. 

One thing I will say about linen... because of the looser weave and larger threads it frays easier than other fabrics. So I try to not tug on any loose threads but trim them and handle it as little as possible. 

By the way, this quilt is a throw size. It measures 60 in. x 60 in. 

The pattern includes instructions on how to make the Patchwork Jubilee with scraps. I made a scrappy version before which you can read about here. 

I chose a woven fabric I also brought from India for the backing of this quilt. It's a blue color which goes nicely with the front. Because of the lighter background color I didn't want a busy design on the back which might show through to the front. I also wanted a simple fabric which would keep the focus on the front of my quilt. 

This fabric was hand woven by artisans in India and a thicker thread was used. This gives the fabric a soft feel and nice movement. Seriously! I'm so in love with the feel of this quilt!

I quilted this myself and kept the design simple with wavy lines 3/4 inch apart. Keeping my quilting less dense made the feel of the quilt nice and soft, like magically soft. 

Tips on sewing a quilt with busy fabrics: 

• Choose a simple quilt design.
• Choose fabrics which compliment each other or which have colors that work together. 
• Use a solid background fabric which blends well with your accent fabrics. 
• When quilting, choose a thread that blends well with the background fabric. 

Don't be afraid to sew with fun, bright modern fabrics. Learn how to use them in a style you love and with patterns at your skill level. 


Quick Info

Quilt Pattern: Patchwork Jubilee

Fabric: Bundle of Joy