There is so much variety available in fabric shops, on-
line, and in mail-order catalogs that it's almost difficult
to choose. Often, I end up buying fabric whether I need it
right now or not. After all, a quilter must always have
fabric on hand.

The "magic" comes when you find a fabric that you fall in
love with. Finding a suitable fabric usually isn't
difficult for a project you're working on. Settling on just
one fabric is the hard part.

Here are some criteria to keep in mind when making fabric
selections: colorfast quality; fiber content; surface
design. If you stick to some guidelines about these
criteria, then you're sure to be pleased with the final
result of your project.

Surface Design:
The printed or woven surface design and, of course, the
color, is very important.
1) Try to pick fabrics with the same color value so one
doesn't stand out in the finished quilt.
2)Check to see if there is a one-way direction in the
design; you may need to purchase extra fabric to allow for
cutting fabrics with plaids or stripes.  
3) The size of the design and the background spaces are
also important considerations. Are the designs large,
medium, or small? Is the background area prominent? How
will this particular fabric look when cut it into small
quilt pieces?  If the design is too widely spaced, it may
be lost in the cutting of the fabric.

Take a few minutes to analyze fabric and keep these
questions in mind when purchasing fabric. It is far better
to have left over fabric than be working on a project and
run out of material. I've run out before only to find that
the fabric is no longer in stock.  

Colorfast Quality:
Avoid fabrics that fade. Pigment-dyed fabric resists light
40 hours. Wet-printed resists light 20 hours. The best
thing to avoid having your quilt fade is to keep it out of
direct sunlight.

Fiber Content:
The fiber content is especially important when purchasing
fabric for quilts. The way fabric responds to manipulation
is determined by the fiber content. The standard 100%
cotton fabric sold for quilting is easy to work with and
this is the best choice.  

Cotton blends are harder to work with; they tend to shift
while cutting or sewing them. 100% cotton is strong when
wet, absorbs moisture, creases easily, irons nicely at high
temperatures and wears well.  

Beware of Discount Fabric:
For a good finished product, quilters need to purchase
good-quality, colorfast cotton fabric from a reputable
supplier. I've bought fabric from discount stores because I
liked the print. Then I had trouble manipulating the
material; it would shift and bunch as I sewed it.

The finished product usually reflected the problems I
encountered while sewing. No matter how much money I saved
on material, my time was wasted by producing a less than
satisfactory quilt.

In order to be happy with your finished product, I
recommend that you buy what appeals to you… as long as it
is good-quality, colorfast cotton fabric that is treated
with finishes to control shrinkage, resist soil, and resist
wrinkling.

Janet Montie shares helpful tips and discoveries from a lifelong
study of topics related to fabric and quilting.
Visit First Class Fabric and The Quilt Box, your premier resources
on-line for information on fabric or quilts.

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