Dazzle Quilt Along Week 1

 I'm sew glad you're here!

This is Week 1 for the Quilt along featuring the Dazzle Quilt pattern.

 

These posts will always be available so start when you're ready!

You can find a link to all of the posts in one spot - right here.

Let's get started!

Read the Pattern

This week is all about cutting your fabrics. I like to read through the quilt pattern and look at all the photos/diagrams before cutting. Why? Well, sometimes a photo tells you things you need to see to understand. 

I look and think about 

what is creating the design elements that I like

and 

how I can make that happen with my fabrics?

Sometimes it's the fabric that makes the quilt!

When looking at the Dazzle quilt it's hard to see where one block ends and another begins. Part of the look of the quilt is a result of the fabrics chosen; there are essentially two background fabrics and there needs to be high contrast between them. In addition, the more contrast the better between all of the fabrics to keep the 'dazzle' strong! 

I chose bold colors for this quilt and added one white background. The bird print below will be in the center of each block. I don't recommed prints with obvious, small scale repeats because with the cutting and piecing it will be hard to maintain directionality.

I chose this bird print below because it is multi directional - the birds are different sizes and fly in different directions with no obvious repeat to my eye. The dark background of this print will contrast nicely with the rest of my bold fabrics - and a bit of the pink and a shade of the blue are also in it - I had to use it!

That's not to say a low volume contrast won't also create a quilt that dazzles.

Here's a mockup I did using Good Vibes fabric and the baby size Dazzle quilt. Here I used two light volume fabrics for the background fabrics. The rest are still bolder, but the feel is less vibrant and the overall look more restful to the eye. Notice here how important the center fabric is to moving the eye around the quilt - here the shooflys are more dominant in the design.

Week 1 To Dos

~Cut fabrics for the quilt top

You might want to wash and/or iron them first. I used to be a wash-everything-as-it-comes-into-my-sewing-room kind of quilter, but that was years ago! Now I iron before cutting and feel no anxiety about colorfastness or shrinkage. I use the best cotton fabrics I can afford.

Use the cutting instructions in the pattern to cut the pieces for the entire quilt top. This will make the rest of the sew along all about sewing! I even cut the binding strips and have them ready to sew together.

The Dazzle quilt pattern has a fabric selection sheet;

 clip a small piece of each fabric and glue it to this page. 

I refer back to this page often as I sew - it's worth the time and fabric!

~Keep the cut fabrics organized

For this quilt it's pretty easy to keep the pieces organized. You can put your cut pieces in a container until next week if you're like me and making other things too!

~Share!

Join me in my facebook group where you can share photos of your fabrics.  Or simply leave a comment on this post telling me you're sewing along :)

Enjoy cutting this week!

Sarah V.

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