Quilt Color Palettes

I set a goal last year of working with a new quilt color palette, and while I mentioned this goal briefly in my 2022 recap, I also wanted to dive a little deeper into how I pick a quilt color palette, including adding or subtracting a color from an already established palette.

First of all, I don’t know why I thought I needed to branch out to try new colors.

I made this very bright and very interesting color combination Sensation Quilt several years ago, so clearly, I have already stepped outside of my comfort zone.

But I wanted to go a little further.

Quilt Color Palettes

You can quilt with any color you want.  You SHOULD quilt with any color you want.  Really. You should mix and match colors to your heart’s content.

Fabric Collections

I don’t typically buy fabric collections, where are all fabrics are designed to be part of a collection.

But this last year, I did work more with collections, and I have a couple of upcoming projects using collections as well.

Starting the year, unsure of where exactly I wanted to go with this new quilt color palette idea, I thought that leaning on artists and their visions of how colors play together was a good idea.

The first fabric collection I worked with was Lady Bird by Crystal Manning for Moda.

It was more than a little funny to be working with such springy/summery florals while it was dumping snow outside!  Red is not a favorite of mine, and florals are not a favorite either, but I do love how this fat quarter bundle turned into a lovely Carillon Quilt (below left) and still had enough left over for a new Beachy Quilt (below right).

I made a second Carillon Quilt, also with a fat quarter bundle.

This is Primrose Hill by Melanie Collette for Riley Blake.

This time, I branched out in my quest for a new quilt color palette by using a smaller fat quarter bundle and then added coordinating fabrics from my stash to get up to the yardage needed.

Let Someone Else Choose the Quilt Color Palette

The event that pulled me the furthest out of my color comfort zone was a friend commissioning a quilt.

She actually commissioned two quilts, there is a smaller baby version of this quilt too.

We went fabric shopping together, and pulled nearly every fabric bolt off the shelf as we worked to make her vision reality.

She chose a navy, a dark teal and two pickle greens.  I have to admit, I was a little skeptical of these colors, and I definitely can’t say that I love this shade of green, but I love how these colors work together. 

Really, navy is excellent for showcasing other colors, it’s a better dark neutral than even black.   The quilt is just stunning!

Inspiration in Nature

I have to confess; these fabrics are still sitting together unused.  Maybe this year is the year!

Last spring I had these lovely tulips sitting on the console table.  And I loved looking at the pinks and greens together so much that one night I started pulling pinks and greens out of my fabric stash.

We’ll see when I get around to working with these pretty fabrics, but I know whatever they make will be stunning!

Inspiration from Other Quilters

A few years ago, I greatly admired a quilt made in very vivid oranges and magentas, and wanted to find a Darcy-approved version.

I knew I wanted to add some black and white fabrics, to mellow out the really bright colors.  I planned to work with oranges and purples, and then a few pinks and a couple of wines made their way into the quilt color palette too.

The result was my 2022 National Sew a Jelly Roll Day quilt and it is a FREE pattern!  The neighbors’ plum trees made for a great purple back drop for a quilt photo.

This next quilt came about from using one of my own quilts as inspiration.

I think this might be the palette I am most proud of from this last year.

This quilt (tutorial coming soon!) started from a very different baby quilt.

As I worked on this very pastel baby quilt, I had to be very diligent to set aside fabrics that kept trying to sneak their way in that weren’t pastel enough.

Then I took those, added some of the pickle-green fabrics left over from an earlier project, and made this very bold baby quilt with a very, very fun magenta polka dot binding.

These are just a few of the ways I like to look for quilt color palette inspiration!

What are your favorite colors to work with?  Your least favorite?  What’s a color you’ve been searching for a way to use?