The Generations Quilt Project: Colour Scheming

Hello Friends and Welcome!

After last week's Project Update, I was reminded that I have not yet made any Six Pointed Star blocks for the Generations Quilt. This week seems like a great time to begin!

But before I can get started making my blocks, I wanted to spend some time thinking about colour and fabric choice.

By contrast to the multitude of pieces in the previously constructed Dresden Plate blocks, the Six Pointed Star block only uses six pieces. This doesn't necessarily mean the block is any easier or harder to make, but I feel that fewer pieces mean this block will take a little bit of planning to look appropriately cohesive.

I'm excited to finally get started on the second block pattern for the Generations Quilt and to be sharing some of my colour experiments with all of you!

Colour Scheming

There are a few things I would like to note about my colour choices before I get into the blocks themselves.

As I've mentioned, the Six Pointed Star block has significantly fewer pieces to it than the Dresden Plates I've been making over the past few weeks. When making the Dresden Plate blocks, I opted for a somewhat scrappy effect, which lends itself well to selecting a background colour after completion.

Considering there are an absolute maximum of seven different fabrics, background inclusive, in the Six Pointed Star block, I think it's important to make this choice in advance. This ensures the whole block feels cohesive once assembled.

When selecting fabric, there are several different things to consider regarding colour and print.

High contrast colours create a really strong effect, making the pattern of the block stand out. Contrast can be used within the star to emphasize the individuality of each segment or can be used to make the whole star applique stand out from the background.

Low contrast can be used to make particularly subtle blocks. While the pieced design of the block will be less obvious, low contrast quilts can be really beautiful, encouraging close looking from viewers.

Combining a mix of high and low contrast blocks can create some really lovely effects in a finished quilt. Depending on how they are arranged, they can create some beautiful secondary patterns or interesting visual conflict.

Another factor to consider is the density or busy-ness of the prints being used. Solid fabric and subtle prints generally work harmoniously with most other prints while busy, large print fabrics tend to be quite attention grabbing.

Most types of prints will work fairly well together, the exception, in my opinion, is busy prints on busy prints on busy prints. If the segments of the star and the background each include particularly busy prints, the detail of the piecing may get lost.

With those thoughts in mind, let's explore a few configurations of colour for the Six Pointed Star block!

Single Tone Star

The option that uses the least amount of different fabrics is the single tone version of the Six Pointed Star, which uses one fabric for all six segments of the star and a second for the background.

I don't believe this is the most traditional choice for this block, but the longer I spent considering it, the more I found myself liking it!

I experimented with a few different options, including various levels of contrast, but ultimately was most excited to combine a large, complex print with a solid background.

With that in mind, I looked through my stash and found these two prints, which I think coordinate in a really lovely way!

I'll be using the deep purple for the background and the floral printed fabric for the star. The background picks out some of the darker purples in the print but contrasts really beautifully with the white background and green foliage.

The most unfortunate part of this beautiful pairing is that the purple background fabric is too narrow to be used as a single piece. I'll need to run a seam through it to make it just a little wider. However, this shouldn't be super obvious in the finished block since the star applique will cover most of it.

Even Two Tone Star

This next version of the block is the one used by my Great Grandmother in most of her Six Pointed Star blocks. It employs two coordinating fabrics for the points of the star, and a third for the background.

The two star fabrics are equally distributed across the points of the star as shown in the sample below:

When my Great Grandmother made her blocks, she often combined an interesting print with a coordinating and brightly coloured solid. These stand out nicely on a white background.

Her combination is very traditional and decidedly not my style, but I was inspired to try something similar.

I found a fun strawberry print in my stash and decided to pair it with a solid red for the second star fabric. The strawberry print features a black background, so I thought it would be nice to reflect that in the background of my block.

While it follows the traditional combination of a bright print and solid fabric on a neutral background, my choices make this a more modern interpretation of the block.

Uneven Two Tone Star

While the previous example used an even distribution of prints in a predictable pattern, I also like the idea of an uneven two tone version of the Six Pointed Star.

This version uses one print for a single segment of the star and the second fabric for the remaining five segments. It gives the block a much more modern feeling, which I love, and I had a lot of fun thinking up different colours to use for it!

I haven't yet selected fabric for this version of the block, but I am very much looking forward to making one!

Three Tone Star

For the next version of the block, three different prints are used with a fourth in the background. The three prints used in the star are positioned so each sits directly across from a segment that matches.

This creates an effect similar to the traditional even two tone distribution, but incorporates a wider variety of colours and prints.

When choosing fabric for the three tone star, I was drawn back to the large print fabric used in my single tone sample, this time using it for the background. For the star itself, I chose three different colours drawn from the print; purple, brown, and green.

I opted for subtle tone on tone prints for the various segments of the star. I feel that they reference the background print in a really beautiful way without causing too much conflict.

Six Tone Star

The final version of the block is the scrapiest, using a different fabric for each of the six points of the star and a seventh for the background.

Depending on which colours are chosen and how they are arranged, this version of the block can look a lot like some of the others shown above. Alternatively, using a wide range of different and contrasting fabrics can create something totally unique!

With so many options to choose from, I decided to make my first test of the six tone star variant using the same neutral and metallic colour scheme from my Dresden Plate blocks.

Against my earlier advice to not pair busy prints with busy prints with even more busy prints, I've done just that with this block. I do think the result is a little overwhelming, but the colour contrast works really well to ensure the star applique won't get lost.

After spending some time with this particular fabric combination in the context of the Six Pointed Star block, I'm now quite excited to finish it!

During that time, I thought up another variation of the six tone star, a rainbow!

I don't know yet what background I'd like to use for this, so I'll leave this idea for another time. But I am looking forward to making once my first four block samples have been completed!

Obviously there are many more different colour and fabric arrangements for the Six Pointed Star than what I've shared above. I haven't even covered four or five tone stars at all. However, the ones I have shared feel to me like the most organized arrangement of colours.

I am planning to continue experimenting with all the different possibilities of the Six Pointed Star block in the future. If you have any suggestions you'd like me to try or a favourite variation from this post, please let me know in the comments below!

If you'd like to learn more about the Generations Quilt project, for which I am making these blocks, check out my post explaining its origins.

To follow along with my progress, you can visit me on Instagram @vafibrearts. I share photos between my weekly blog posts so you can get a sneak peak at what I'm up to!

I'm planning to make some progress assembling these first versions of the Six Pointed Star block over the next few days. Visit me again next week to see how they turn out!

Until Next Time Friends, Happy Quilting!

VA