Supply List

Darned Quilts

Dena Crain, Instructor

To make a Darned Quilt, you will construct a background from a gradation set of 6-8 solid or near solid color fabrics, along with a few prints or fancies.  You will also need a selection of linear embellishments such as cords, laces, ribbons and tapes.

What is a gradation set of fabrics?  A gradation by definition is "a scale or series of successive changes, stages or degrees; a change from one shade, tone or color to another."  The key concept in a gradation set of fabrics is that the shift from one color or value to the next is gradual and successive, occurring in measured steps from one end of the set to the next.

There are three ways to build a gradation set of fabrics: value alone, color alone or value and color combined.  Below are examples to give you a better understanding of what to look for as you search your stash or the nearest quilt shop for your DQ fabrics.

The best DQs seem to be made from those gradations that involve high contrast.  Contrast is the "state of being strikingly different from something else."

To see the amount of contrast in the set of materials, place the fabrics from each end of your fabric set together.  You will immediately see whether the two are near or far from each other in terms of their position on the color wheel or their lightness and darkness, or both factors.  The examples below show the full range of eight fabrics, then a quick comparison on the right of the end colors/values, so you can see the amount of contrast more easily.

A value gradation is monochromatic, based on one color only.  That single color is tinted, lightened by the absence of dye when the base material is white, or shaded, darkened by the addition of black dye or the color’s opposite on the color wheel.


A low contrast value gradation with no color change


A high contrast value gradation with no color change

For the rest of this discussion, you will need to be a little bit familiar with the color wheel. If you need more information about the color wheel, please see http://quilting.about.com/od/colorfabrics/ss/color_quilts.htm.

A color gradation in one that moves around the edge of the color wheel. It can move only a little bit around the edge, or it can up to 180º around the color wheel.  The narrower range of colors will have less contrast than one which covers a wider expanse on the color wheel.  Note that value remains constant, neither lightening nor darkening anywhere within the range of fabrics.


A low contrast color gradation with no value change


A high contrast color gradation with no value change

The best Darned Quilts are made with a gradation set of fabrics that contains high contrast in both value and color.  Both illustrations below are based on the "low contrast color gradation with no value change" example above.  The difference in the two illustrations below is due to the amount of tinting and shading included in the gradations.


A low contrast color/value gradation moving from magenta to blue along the edge of the color wheel as well as towards black - a shaded gradation


A high contrast color/value gradation moving from magenta to blue along the edge of the color wheel as well as towards white on the left end and towards black on the right end - a tinted and shaded gradation

When you see your gradation laid out in front of you, you should not see any single fabric jumping out at you. If you do see such an effect, then you have selected a color that moves too far away from the others. You probably ought to replace that fabric with something that blends better into the set.


Which fabric does not belong to the gradation? Can you see why it is  not
the best choice?

If you wish to purchase fabrics online that you know are a proper gradation, investigate the many hand dyers out there.  A quick search for "quilt fabric gradation" will produce a long list of possible suppliers. Many of these produce monochromatic gradations and color runs sold in pre-packaged sets.  One set of these fabrics will ensure that you are definitely working with a gradation.

Alternatively, you can take a look at Dena Crain’s Gradation Bundles at WebFabrics.   These luscious sets of fabrics were chosen by me especially for, but certainly not limited to, Darned Quilts.

The range of colors and values is up to you.  Your gradation should be working toward maximum contrast, or difference, from one end of the gradation to the other. This will ensure a successful Darned Quilt.

With high contrast your quilt design will take form quickly and easily, and the finished quilt will be dramatic. With low contrast you will struggle to make shapes appear and the resulting quilt design may be very disappointing.  If this happens to your quilt, it will be because you either did not have a good gradation in the first place, or you destroyed the gradation by over-embellishing.

Because Darned Quilts have a lot of embellishment before cutting shapes, the background gradation can all too easily disappear. Your task will be to preserve the gradation as you enhance it with texture and color.

Select print and fancy fabrics for embellishments that are either lightly or not at all coordinated with the gradation fabrics. Embellishment materials that are too close in color to the gradation background can cause the gradation to break down. When that happens, the resulting quilt design looks jumbled, too busy and impossible to read.

Control the gradation and use care with the embellishment, and your DQ is guaranteed to be a success!

If you have any doubts about your fabrics making up a good gradation or about your choice of printed and fancy fabrics for embellishments, post a photo of the arranged fabrics for my approval before proceeding with the work.

If you would like more information about color and value, look at www.applepainter.com or search the internet for "Munsell Color System."

I worked with fat quarters, and my quilt, Bubbles I, finished 18" wide.  For Bubbles II, I used fabrics 30" wide.  If you want a finished quilt wider than 18", you must purchase full-width fabrics.  You need only about 8-9" of length for each piece of fabric, regardless of the fabrics’ width.

I worked with six values, and for the sake of simplicity, I will discuss only six pieces here.  If you wish to use seven or more values or colors, apply the same methods through the additional steps required for a quilt with more gradation.

Those of you who know how to dye a gradation may certainly do so for this class. 

If you are not able to purchase or dye a set of gradated solid color fabrics, you can create your own gradation using tiny scale prints, moving from very dark to very light, or from one color to another, in relatively even steps.  If you use small scale prints to create a gradation, use solid color or large print fabrics for the embellishments.

The narrowest width fabric you select will determine the maximum width of your quilt.  All fabrics are to be cut on cross grain, so they should all be approximately the same width.  Any fabric that is substantially narrower than all the others can only be used in small pieces as accents, not as a main element of the quilt.  In general, select fabrics at least as wide as you want the finished quilt to be.

All of your fabrics should be washed and ironed, ready for use.

SUPPLIES

Fabric

In addition to the 6-8 gradated fabrics as described above, fat quarters or 1/4 yard of full width fabric for each value or color, you will need:

Enough excess fabric and interfacing to make a practice sample

Batting of your choice, 1/4" thick

2 yards of lightweight Pellon, Vilene or other nonwoven fusible interfacing

1/2 yard of the fusing agent of your choice, e.g., WonderUnder, Steam-a-Seam  (optional)

Other Stuff

A selection of trims, ribbons, cords, laces and/or tapes, 1/4 - 1/2" wide, of different materials and textures, in colors to coordinate or contrast with your fabrics

A selection of yarns in any fiber in colors that match or contrast with your fabrics

Regular sewing thread for piecing, quilting and finishing your quilt in colors of your choice

A selection of decorative threads: rayons, holographics, variegated cottons or metallics.  Colors do not have to match the fabrics you selected, only to complement them. 

Sewing machine with

Any tool that you can set to sew even seam allowances, e.g. quilting guide attachment, magnetic or screw on seam gauge

Quilters’ bent safety pins or straight safety pins

Straight pins

Various sewing machine needles used for piecing, embellishing and quilting:

Because you will be sewing over many layers and different kinds of fabrics and trims, you may need to use a somewhat larger needle than usual.

Quilting gloves or other favorite tools to assist you with free motion quilting

Circular found objects for use as templates for cutting shapes

OUTLINE

Lesson One

Lesson Two

Lesson Three

Lesson Four

You may check the Class Supply Glossary in the Library for generic descriptions of products that may be sold under various names in different countries. 

If you have trouble finding your supplies locally in the US, many of our items are available online at Batiks Etcetera & Sew What Fabrics.  International students can check our Class Supply Sources.