How to Choose Quilt Fabrics Without Second-Guessing Yourself (Even if Your Stash Is Overflowing)

Hi!

Have you ever found the perfect quilt pattern…

…only to spend the next three days pulling fabrics from your stash, putting them back, visiting your local quilt shop “just to look,” and somehow coming home with another armful of fabric?

If so, you’re definitely not alone.

I recently asked my newsletter readers:  “Where do you usually get stuck when starting a new quilt?”

Two lovely quilters gave almost identical answers.

One wrote:

“I have a problem deciding which fabric choices will make a nice quilt with the pattern I have chosen.”

Another confessed:

“Choosing fabric is hardest. I have a HUGE stash and try to use it but keep ending up at my favorite quilt stores and buying fabric to make the quilt pattern work.”

Reading these made me smile because I think we’ve all been there.

The good news?

Choosing quilt fabrics isn’t a talent you’re born with.

It’s simply a skill you build with practice.

Here are the tips I use whenever I’m planning a new quilt.

First, Ask Yourself: What Made You Fall in Love With This Quilt?

Before you pull a single fabric from your stash, stop for a moment and ask yourself:

What was it that caught my eye?

Was it:

• the colour palette?
• the fabric collection?
• the actual quilt design?
• the overall feeling of the quilt?

This one question makes choosing fabrics so much easier.

If you fell in love with the colours, then there’s nothing wrong with recreating something very similar. But if it was the design itself that captured your attention, then you’ve got much more freedom to make the quilt your own.

Think about where your finished quilt will live too.

• Is it going on a bed?
• Draped over your favourite chair?
• Given as a gift?
• Displayed at Christmas?

The colours can change completely while the design still shines.

 

Should You Choose the Pattern First or the Fabric?

Honestly?

Either way works.

Sometimes I discover a gorgeous fabric collection and immediately start looking for the perfect pattern. Other times I find a pattern I absolutely love, then go hunting through my stash for fabrics that will bring it to life.

There really isn’t a right or wrong order. The important thing is that both the pattern and the fabrics make you excited to start sewing.

 

 Start with One or Two “Hero” Fabrics

This is probably my favourite trick. Instead of trying to coordinate ten different fabrics at once, begin with one or two prints you absolutely love.

These become your hero fabrics.

Then build around them with:

• low-volume prints
• subtle blenders
• solids
• tone-on-tone fabrics

Those quieter fabrics give your eye somewhere to rest and help the hero prints really stand out.

Think of it like decorating a room. You don’t want every piece of furniture shouting for attention. Sometimes the supporting pieces make the beautiful ones look even better.

Click the image above, or the link below to download a copy of this Fabric Pull Guide that you can pin up in your sewing room, as a handy guide for when you’re planning your next project.

https://www.quiltpatternlibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Fabric-Pull-Guide.pdf

 

Don’t Forget About Contrast

One mistake many quilters make isn’t choosing the wrong colours…

…it’s choosing fabrics that are all the same value.

Even if they’re different colours, they can blend together if they’re all equally light or equally dark.

A quick trick is to take a photo of your fabric pull with your phone and change it to black and white. Suddenly you’ll see whether you have enough contrast between lights, mediums and darks.

It’s amazing how often this simple trick saves a quilt before you even start cutting.

Here’s an example, with a dark background, a hero print, and some contrasting plains.

When you look at it in black and white, you can see that there’s either light, or dark values.  You could maybe add in a small print in a medium value to balance this.  I’d also want to think about those two blues – they show up differently in value, but if you step back and look again at the colour photo, they read as very similar.

This is not a rule – it’s a design choice.  If you like the similar blues, then keep them.  If you like one hero print, and the rest of the fabric as plains, then run with that.  These are all just tools to help you decide.

 

Precuts Can Be Your Best Friend

If choosing fabrics feels overwhelming, let someone else do the hard work.

Charm packs, layer cakes, jelly rolls and fat quarter bundles are all designed by fabric collections whose colours already work beautifully together. They’re a fantastic confidence booster. Instead of worrying whether your fabrics coordinate, you can simply enjoy making the quilt.

There’s absolutely no shame in using a curated collection. In fact, lots of experienced quilters do exactly the same thing.

Use the selvedge to help you too.  Look at the edge of your chosen Hero print, and the colours printed there can help you figure out which other plain or blender prints will go with it.

 

Use Your Stash…But Give Yourself Permission to Add One Fabric

Many of us have wonderful fabric stashes. We also have the best intentions of using them. Then we start a new project…and somehow leave the quilt shop with another bag of fabric!

Rather than trying to make every quilt completely from stash, try this instead.

Challenge yourself to use around 80% from your stash. If you need one background fabric, a binding fabric or a feature print to pull everything together, that’s perfectly okay.

Your stash exists to be used and enjoyed—not to become a museum collection.

 

Lay Everything Out Before You Decide

One of the best ways to judge fabrics is simply to spread them out together.

Move them around. Swap one print for another.

Step back across the room. Take a photo.

Come back tomorrow. (Sometimes the answer becomes obvious after you’ve looked at it with fresh eyes.)

 

Remember…Your Quilt Doesn’t Need to Look Exactly Like the Pattern

This might be the most important tip of all.

The quilt on the pattern cover is simply one version.

Your quilt is meant to become your version.

Some of my favourite quilts look completely different from the original sample because the maker chose colours that reflected their own personality.

That’s one of the joys of quilting. No two quilts ever have to be the same.

 

The Best Fabric Choice Is the One That Makes You Happy

The longer I quilt, the more I realise there isn’t a magic formula for choosing fabrics. There are helpful guidelines. There are colour principles. There are little tricks that make the process easier.

But ultimately…

If you smile every time you look at your fabric pull, you’ve probably chosen well.

So trust your instincts.

Experiment.

Play.

And remember that every quilt teaches you something new about colour, fabric and your own style.

I’d Love to Know…

When you’re planning a new quilt, what’s the hardest part for you?

Is it choosing colours?

Using your stash?

Mixing prints?

Or deciding on a pattern in the first place?

Leave a comment below—I read every one, and your question might inspire a future blog post!