Fractured Disappearing 9 Patch

Fractured Disappearing 9 Patch

Posted by Carole Lyles Shaw on Jul 25th 2023

Hi, Carole Lyles Shaw here taking over the C&T Blog today.

In this post, I am going to talk about choosing fabrics for your modern quilt—starting with alternatives to solid fabrics called blenders or low volume prints.

USE A BLENDER (LOW VOLUME PRINT) AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR A SOLID

Here is a block that I made for a Fractured Disappearing 9 Patch quilt and I will use it as an example. 

The color palette for the quilt is based on the Baltimore Ravens Team logo fabric. My main fabric colors are gold, black and purple. I found solid fabrics in all three colors as you can see in this block.

My main fabric colors are gold, black and purple. I found solid fabrics in all three colors as you can see in this block.

I chose a black solid and then I decided to spark up the selection by adding this black print.

This type of fabric is sometimes called a ‘blender’.

The pale gray lines in the print fabric are about ¼” apart. The lines are irregular so the fabric brings a bit of movement to the blocks. The lines are very thin so they don’t distract from the other print fabrics in the blocks.

Although we call them blenders, you can also think of this fabric as a dark version of the low volume prints that many quilters use in their modern quilts.

Most of the time, we think of low volume prints as fabrics with white or off white backgrounds with subtle prints.

But, there are many medium and dark value blenders or low volume prints in LOTS of colors. Some examples are:

  • Mottled prints or color wash fabrics
  • Moda Grunge™
  • Modern batiks with simple graphic elements
  • And so many more….

Here are some photos of various types of solid alternatives—available from many different manufacturers.

How to select a blender or low volume alternative fabric:

  1. Create your color palette for your quilt.
  2. Select solids that match that color palette
  3. Look for blenders or low volume fabrics that read as primarily ONE color. In other words, a multicolor fabric will distract from your color palette. Match the blender to the solid! 

Look for these fabrics to combine with or substitute for your solids when you make a modern quilt.

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Carole Lyles Shaw is a modern quilt designer, author and workshop teacher. In her workshops, Carole dispels some of the myths and misunderstandings about this relatively new style of creative quilt expression. Her virtual workshops are lively and engaging for modern and traditional quilters of all levels. Her students say that Carole inspires them to be more creative and successful quilters.

Visit Carole's website to learn more about her lectures, guilds, shop, and newsletter. 

Sign up for Fractured Disappearing 9 Patch Improv: Traditional to Modern Workshop at Creative Spark. 

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