buy fabric or find a pattern first?

[liviamarie3]

Hi! I'm new to quilting and have had a hard time passing up fabric when its on sale. I tend to buy 1/2 yard, sometimes 1 yard. When I look at actual patterns, I sometimes don't have enough of a particular print. Do you tend to change the pattern to fit your fabric yardage or to fit the size of the quilt that you want? When you buy fabric, do you base it off of a pattern? Is the rule of thumb to buy at least a yard of a particular fabric? Any help would be great!!

[shell.scraps]

Re: buy fabric or find a pattern first?

I love to buy fabric. So I buy what I like and then throw caution to the wind when I make something. My general rule of thumb is 1/2 yard if I like a fabric, 1 yard if I love a fabric, 3 yards if I think I'll use it for a pattern.

I'm not much of a pattern person though...I have a ton of them...but I have yet to follow one exactly and I have NEVER used the fabric that they call for in the pattern. I always work from what I have rather than go out and buy just for that one particular pattern.

[SondraR]

Re: buy fabric or find a pattern first?

I'm new to quilting as well, so I've decided just to start building a fabric stash while I'm working on the projecagots I started a looooooong time ago~ right now I have a few fat quarters, and I have a honey bun on the way!!! Yay! as well as some panels that were given to me for christmas gifts years ago when I first wanted to learn to quilt, but didn't actually get the bug!!!

[SondraR]

Re: buy fabric or find a pattern first?

k, my daughter decided she needed to add a few letters, that is supposed to say projects, not "projecagots!"

[jrchapman]

Re: buy fabric or find a pattern first?

I started quilting when I picked up a pattern that I loved but it was kind of scrappy so I just bought fabric as I went along (it's the love is.. quilt in my album). Since then I've bought fabric particularly for quilts I was going to make but I've also picked up bits and pieces of things I love which I'm going to break into soon.

If you don't have enough fabric for a pattern you could always mix and match. My mum just ran out of a fabric half way though a quilt so it has two stars in a different colour and it really makes the quilt pop.

[piebaldbully]

Re: buy fabric or find a pattern first?

For me personally, I buy all fabric first that I like together and only when it's on sale or I have great coupons ( but I also buy no less than one yard of each print too what ever it is at a time.... Keep in mind it takes me several trips to the fabric store to do this. Once I know what I am working with the patten just happens to pop up when I least expect it. I do not plan for anything which sometimes makes things challanging too. I work better on the fly .. have fun. Wendi

[toggpine]

Re: buy fabric or find a pattern first?

If it is a quilt I am making for fun or myself I tend to use whatever I have picked up over the course of time. Other times when I have a particular pattern I will buy fabric for just that pattern. I usually buy more than the pattern calls for because they NEVER cut it on the grain and I have to square it up. Sometimes it is off by several inches on each end.
You can always pick several fabrics that you have acquired and work them into the pattern randomly or systematically.

[pdjewelrylady]

Re: buy fabric or find a pattern first?

The quilting bug is in our family genes - when we hit 45 it hatches!! LOL Seriously between my mother, myself and my sister we have a fabric store in our stashes! We tend to see a pattern at a quilt show or in a magazine or on-line and say out loud - I am so making that!! and we do from what we have on hand. When out shopping we always buy yardages - even sometimes of fabric I do not particualry like because I know that someday I will!! HA HA !!!

[kjstrouble]

Re: buy fabric or find a pattern first?

I will buy fabric for my stash as I can afford it. If I find a pattern that I want for the fabric, and then find I don't have enough, I will see if I have other fabrics that complement it to use. I did that on the floral quilt I finished for a friend's child. I did not have enough of either the floral, or the purple, but I found complementary fabric that worked really well.