Tag Archives: mysteries down under

quilting, turnaboutpatchworkqal

Choosing fabric and machine binding video tutorial – Quilting in 2021

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As part of the series Quilting in 2021, today’s tutorial focuses on the very start of a project, choosing fabrics, and the finishing of a quilt: binding by machine.

Choosing fabrics is one of the things I like most about quilting.

I’ll share some of the ways I go about choosing my fabrics for any particular project.

There’re many ways to choose fabrics that will go well together but let’s just focus on 3 simple ways to find matching fabrics.

To recap:

1. Use fabrics from one single fabric collection

Usually fabrics in the same collection go well together.

2. Using the fabric colour palette

Use the palette to choose the rest of the fabrics that’ll will go well together.

Get a busy print for instance and then match the other fabrics around it.

To match the secondary fabrics try to use tone on tone, solids or less busy fabric. This will ensure that the match is more harmonious.

What about the background fabric?

The majority of the quilts I make have a unifying background fabric.

My favourite colours for the background fabric are whites and creams.

The reason I like whites and creams best is that they add “breathing space” to the quilt as well as making the design pop up.

Black is another good background colour that achieves similar effects to using white or creams.

Applications that help you select a colour scheme

One of my favourite colour tools is Adobe Color. In this application you can create your colour scheme from scratch or upload an image you like and get a colour scheme based on the image colours. It’s a lot of fun to play with it!

Still can’t decide on a fabric collection?

Some of my favourite designers are Heather Bailey, Bonnie and Camille, Valori Wells,  Jocelyn Proust, just from the top of my head.


My book Turnabout Patchwork

“Turnabout Patchwork. Simple quilts with a twist” is all about playing with blocks – making a block, slicing it up, and turning or repositioning the pieces to make a completely different block (sometimes two smaller blocks) to yield endless quilt tops.

See all the quilts in the book in a real life project

Do you wish to receive my tutorials in your inbox?

Share your work!

If you make any of my tutorials this is how you can share your pictures:

  • On Instagram please tag me with @teresadownunder and hashtag #teresadownunder
  • Join my Facebook group and post your pictures there
Binding and choosing fabrics for a quilt project
quilting, turnaboutpatchworkqal

Tips on choosing fabrics for a quilt project – Turnabout patchwork QAL

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Today we start the Turnabout patchwork quilt along. Check the video schedule at the end in case you missed it.

So you’ve got the book, we’ve selected the quilt -Flying confetti on page 23, and now it’s time to choose the fabric for your project.

How to choose fabric for your quilts with confidence

Choosing fabrics from my stash is almost the most enjoyable part of designing a quilt.

There’re many ways to choose fabrics that will go well together but let’s just focus on 3 simple ways to find matching fabrics.

To recap:

1. Use fabrics from one single fabric collection

Usually fabrics in the same collection go well together.

2. Using the fabric colour palette

Use the palette to choose the rest of the fabrics that’ll will go well together.

Get a busy print for instance and then match the other fabrics around it.

To match the secondary fabrics try to use tone on tone, solids or less busy fabric. This will ensure that the match is more harmonious.

What about the background fabric?

The majority of the quilts I make have a unifying background fabric.

My favourite colours for the background fabric are whites and creams.

The reason I like whites and creams best is that they add “breathing space” to the quilt as well as making the design pop up.

Black is another good background colour that achieves similar effects to using white or creams.

Applications that help you select a colour scheme

One of my favourite colour tools is Adobe Color. In this application you can create your colour scheme from scratch or upload an image you like and get a colour scheme based on the image colours. It’s a lot of fun to play with it!

Still can’t decide on a fabric collection?

I love Valori Wells Murmur collection. And I love anything Bonnie and Camille. And to honour the name of the quilt, what about the Metallic Ombre Confetti fabric collection by V and Co,

QAL schedule

Share pictures of your quilt

Don’t forget to join my Facebook group so you can share photos of your quilts and blocks, see everyone else’s quilts or just share tips and experiences.

On Instagram use #turnaboutpatchwork and #flyingconfettiquilt.


My book Turnabout Patchwork

“Turnabout Patchwork. Simple quilts with a twist” is all about playing with blocks – making a block, slicing it up, and turning or repositioning the pieces to make a completely different block (sometimes two smaller blocks) to yield endless quilt tops.

See all the quilts in the book in a real life project

Do you wish to receive my tutorials in your inbox?

Share your work!

If you make any of my tutorials this is how you can share your pictures:

  • On Instagram please tag me with @teresadownunder and hashtag #teresadownunder
  • Join my Facebook group and post your pictures there
free pattern, mysteries down under quilt, mystery quilt, sampler quilt, sewing

How to choose fabrics for the Mysteries Down Under quilt

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choosefabrics

First of all I’d like to thank everyone who has subscribed so far to my first mystery quilt that starts on 19 August.

Some of you wanted to know how to choose the fabrics for this quilt.

The list I provided with yardage a few days ago is only indicative.

To design the quilt I picked a colour scheme -below- because I knew some of you like to make quilts with coordinated fabrics.

I prefer my quilts scrappy and that’s how I’ll be doing my tutorials.

I won’t use the palette on my videos but I will provide a drawing of each block with the palette below on my blog.

Mysteries Down Under quilt colour palette

The fabrics belong to the solids Bella collection by Moda. The colours are Mustard, Strawberry, Porcelain, Aqua, 30’s blue, Admiral blue, Royal, Boysenberry, Sprout, Teal and then there’s Essex Yarn Dyed by Robert Kaufman.

An alternative palette using batiks could be:

Mysteries Down Under quilt colour palette alternative

Or just choose your own.

One of my favourite colour tools is Adobe Color. In this application you can create your colour scheme from scratch or upload an image you like and get a colour scheme based on the image colours. It’s a lot of fun to play with it!

How to choose fabric for your quilts with confidence

Choosing fabrics from my stash is almost the most enjoyable part of designing a quilt.

There’re many ways to choose fabrics that will go well together but let’s just focus on the 2 simplest ways to find matching fabrics.

1. Use fabrics from one single fabric collection

Usually fabrics in the same collection go well together.

2. Using the fabric colour palette

Another easy way to choose fabrics for a quilt is to use the coloured circles that are printed on the selvage. Those coloured circles are the palette for that fabric.

Use the palette to choose the rest of the fabrics that’ll will go well together.

Get a busy print for instance and then match the other fabrics around it.

To match the secondary fabrics try to use tone on tone, solids or less busy fabric. This will ensure that the match is more harmonious.

You have 2 examples below showing the main fabric and secondary fabrics based on the palette for the main fabric. See how I matched the colours in the circles to the major tone of the secondary fabric.

Mysteries Down Under quilt - choosing fabrics

As you can see, it’s a lot easier to match fabrics when you choose one busy fabric and then a secondary fabric with one, two or 3 colours.

Mysteries Down Under quilt - choosing fabrics

If your fabric doesn’t have a colour palette on the selvage, you can still match it by finding the palette yourself.

IMG_5219

What about the background fabric?

The majority of the quilts I make have a unifying background fabric.

My favourite colours for the background fabric are whites and creams.

The reason I like whites and creams best is that they add “breathing space” to the quilt as well as making the design pop up.

I hope you enjoy making the quilt!

How to follow my blog

If you don’t want to miss any tutorial that makes this quilt, your best bet is to follow my blog so you receive an email in your inbox when the next tutorial is out.

This video demonstrates how to follow or subscribe to my blog:

New book out on December 3

“Turnabout Patchwork. Simple quilts with a twist” is all about playing with blocks – making a block, slicing it up, and turning or repositioning the pieces to make a completely different block (sometimes two smaller blocks) to yield endless quilt tops.

You can preorder on Amazon now.

Stay tuned for more!

Turnabout Patchwork. Simple quilts with a twist by Teresa Mairal Barreu (TeresaDownUnder)

Do you wish to receive my tutorials in your inbox?

Have you made any of my quilts or tutorials?

If you make any of my tutorials and upload pictures to Instagram please tag me with @teresadownunder on private message me in Facebook with some photos and I’ll post them for everyone to see!

9-patch quilt block, mysteries down under quilt, mystery quilt, sampler quilt, sewing

Mysteries Down Under quilt

23 Comments

Mysteries Down Under is my first mystery quilt and it started on 19 August.

I won’t reveal the full quilt until the end so the mystery remains throughout the project.

The tutorials for this quilt will be released over the next few weeks. The tutorials can be used to make the quilt but can be used independently as well.

I’ve used a number of techniques in the tutorials. If you find some techniques too hard you can always replace the block with another 6″ block from the quilt.

Quilt details

Sill level: confident beginner.

Blocks: 42 blocks (5 x 7 plus a 5″ border).

Finished block size: 6″ x 6″.

Quilt size: 53″ x 60″.

If you make your quilt scrappy like me you don’t need to worry about fabric needs.

Download Mysteries Down Under quilt pattern

This block belongs to the Mysteries Down Under quilt. You can get the template as a PDF download together with the rest of the quilt pattern.

Mysteries Down Under Quilt pattern

Get the fabric needs, cutting instructions, templates, quilt assembly instructions and all video tutorials in one single download.

Mysteries Down Under quilt pattern on Etsy

How to follow my blog

If you don’t want to miss any tutorial that makes this quilt, your best bet is to follow my blog so you receive an email in your inbox when the next tutorial is out.

This video demonstrates how to follow or subscribe to my blog:

All tutorials

Get all the Mysteries Down Under tutorials.


My book Turnabout Patchwork

“Turnabout Patchwork. Simple quilts with a twist” is all about playing with blocks – making a block, slicing it up, and turning or repositioning the pieces to make a completely different block (sometimes two smaller blocks) to yield endless quilt tops.

See all the quilts in the book in a real life project

Do you wish to receive my tutorials in your inbox?

Share your work!

If you make any of my tutorials this is how you can share your pictures:

  • On Instagram please tag me with @teresadownunder and hashtag #teresadownunder
  • Join my Facebook group and post your pictures there

Stay tuned for more!

Turnabout Patchwork. Simple quilts with a twist by Teresa Mairal Barreu (TeresaDownUnder)

Do you wish to receive my tutorials in your inbox?

Have you made any of my quilts or tutorials?

If you make any of my tutorials and upload pictures to Instagram please tag me with @teresadownunder on private message me in Facebook with some photos and I’ll post them for everyone to see!