Hi there! Welcome to the prep page for Murmuration, a Playful Color Theory Workshop. On this page you’ll find everything you need to know for prepare for a successful day. You’ll find the materials lists, tips and tricks for fabric selection, and any resources that will be mentioned during the workshop.
Length of Workshop
Before beginning your prep you’ll need to be aware of the length of your workshop. Are you taking a 3-hour or a 6-hour workshop?
Recommendations for a 3-hour workshop – If you are taking a 3-hour workshop you’ll have less time, so maybe bring less? And nail the prep work!
Supply Lists
Hey now, if you are planning to make the Murmuration Throw sized quilt you’ll find the materials list below. It’s not necessary to bring all 9 yards of fabric to class. I mean you can… but it’s heavy…
Materials for the Throw Size 62” x 72”
- 1/4 yard Assorted Dark Fabrics
- 1 yard Assorted Dark-Medium Fabrics
- 2 1/3 yards Assorted Medium Fabrics
- 1 2/3 yards Assorted Medium-Light Fabrics
- 2 yards Assorted Light Fabrics
- 1 1/2 yards Assorted (Near)White Fabrics
- 70” x 80” Batting
- 4 1/2 yards Backing
- 5/8 yards Binding
- 122 Diamond Foundations (Download the Foundation here.)
Note: Since the quilt top is pieced a bit improvisationally, the yardages listed are estimates.
Materials for Dabbling
The trick to the Murmuration quilt is using fabrics with a wide range of value. So even if you plan to just try the technique you’ll want to bring plenty of fabrics. But if you’re just dabbling maybe just a few fabric widths from each fabric.
Fabric Selection Tips and Tricks
The success of the quilt lies in the breadth and depth of your color range. Below, I’ll walk you through some helpful strategies that will help you build a “Color Deep Dive”
Personal Notes on Color Selection: I choose blue solids becuase I had the most variety of blue solids in my stash. I used a wide wide range of blues and blue greens and neutrals, probably up to 50 colors. It’s possible 50 fabrics was too much because when I pieced the diamonds some of the colors were so close together it was hard to tell what was the correct order. So the lesson here is balance: choose a wide variety but not so many colors that it becomes difficult to tell the fabrics apart.
a STep by STep Guide to Building a Color Deep Dive
Here’s a step by step breakdown for building a Color Deep Dive, which will ensure you create a quilt that stuns and shimmers. This process will help to think through your fabric selection:
Step 1: Choose your color. It could be your favorite color or it could be the color you have the most of in your stash. It’s probably a combination of both!
Step 2: Start building your Color Dive by arranging your fabrics in order from darkest value to lightest value. Consider this your rough draft.
Step 3: Have you Color Dive go deeper by adding in any values you’ve missed. Frequently we lack the lightest and the darkest colors in our Stashes. Don’t be afraid to add near black, e.g. dark navy if you’re using blue as your feature color. You may need to visit a fabric shop to add depth to your color pull.
Tip: You want to avoid using black and white as these fabrics are achromatic and will create the appearance of holes in your final quilt. I’ll explain more in class!
Step 4: Once you’ve created your Color Deep Dive, start grouping your fabrics into the categories needed for the Murmuration Quilt: Dark Fabrics, Dark-Medium Fabrics, Medium Fabrics, Medium-Light Fabrics, Light Fabrics, and (Near)White Fabrics.
There’s a few ways you can get enough fabric for each category. For example, we need 2 1/3 yards of Assorted Medium Fabrics.
- Use less of more fabrics: you could elect to have an 1/8 yard of 20 fabrics to comprise the 2 1/3 yard assortment.
- Use more of less fabrics: You could choose to have 1/4 yard of 10 fabrics to comprise the 2 1/3 yard assortment.
Pre-Cutting for Class
I’ll cover cutting more in depth in class, but so that we don’t have everyone swarming the cutting tables (that makes for angry students!) please pre-cut strips from 5-10 of your Fabrics. From each fabric, you’ll be cutting strips in a variety of widths. I cut strips in the range between 1” – 3” wide.
From each fabric, you’ll be cutting strips in a variety of widths. I cut strips in the range between 1” – 3” wide.
Foundation Prep
The entire Murmuration Quilt uses 122 Diamonds. In class you probably won’t be able to finish all 122. (If you do you get to teach class, ha!) It takes my about an hour to make 4 diamonds. So I recommend bringing 10-20 diamond foundations.
Download the diamond foundation here.
Don’t forget your Sewing Machine and other must have Notions!
Check with the event organizer about what supplies you’ll need to bring. Will you need to bring your sewing machine, cutting mat, iron and ironing board?
Resources
The main technique used in the workshop is paper piecing. Funny story I *hate* paper piecing. I would be remiss in missing my chance to tell you about my favorite foundation piecing technique, Freezer Paper Piecing. Learn more here.
Brush up on traditional paper piecing here. (Link coming soon.)
Questions
If you have a question or are excited about your workshop you can leave a comment. I’m looking forward to working with you!
See you soon!