WHAT’S TRENDING: BASICS
Fabric design trends come and go, but basics—by their very nature—never go out of style. They’re an essential part of any fabric stash, and the glue that can pull two bolder prints together.
As the number and range of basic collections have grown over the last several years, it’s become easier than ever to find a basic—whether solid or simple blender prints—that fit well into a project’s color and design…or that work beautifully on their own!
Virtually every company in the quilting industry now offers an extensive solids collection, in one form or another. And many companies have continued to expand their basics lines by giving new color to perennial favorites.
Michael Miller Fabrics recently added new “Gingham Play," “Little Stripe,” and “Clown Stripe” prints to their already sizable Basics collection, which includes countless variations on dots, stripes, chevrons, checks, geometrics, solids, textures, and houndstooth patterns.
Last summer, RJR Fabrics released the vibrant Dot Com (dots) and Between the Lines (stripes) collections, and introduced the 2016 edition of their Home Essentials collection by Robyn Pandolph during the fall.
And among the new collections at Ink & Arrow Fabrics is their Pixie Dots square dot blenders, available in 29 fun colors, including “Chili,” “Bubblegum,” and “Lime.”
Riley Blake is expanding its Hashtag and Swiss Dot with a range of new colors, and adding to its Stripes collection with new 1/8 and 1/4 inch stripes. Among its other recent additions are basic prints—including Hashtag, Arrows, Dots, and Stripes—in Gold Sparkle and Rose Gold.
The Clever Dot collection from Windham Fabrics (offered under its Bread & Butter brand) offers a more organic, hand-printed take on the ubiquitous polka dot. And its new Atlas collection by Another Point of View includes low-volume prints (largely geometric) in a neutral color range.
If you’re looking for plaid flannels that don’t feel “rustic log cabin,” the recently released Local Color collection from Studio E Fabrics features houndstooth and plaid yarn-dyed flannels in bright hues like hot pink, turquoise, tangerine, and citrus green.
The Checks Please and Window Dressing collections from Cloud9 Fabrics also feature cheerfully colored checks and plaids on yarn-dyed broadcloth. And the company’s We Are All Stars collection (also on broadcloth) includes basic blender fabrics dotted with rows of tiny stars.
We also love the use of unique patterns in Elizabeth Hartman’s collection of Paintbox Basics blenders for Robert Kaufman. Included are favorite small prints from her Rhoda Ruth and Pacific collections—“Raindrops,” “Starshine,” and “Sunny” among them—offered in a palette of new colors.
Designer Alison Glass—whose past “basics” with Andover include her various Sun Print and Handcrafted collections—has recently added The Chroma-A Handcrafted Collection to the mix. Chroma features “Plaid,” “Pinpoint” (organic dots), and “Scatter” (organic shapes) prints, all in Glass’ signature style.
And as basics go, there are few single designer collections that encompass such a large range of patterns as the recently released Kimberbell Basics by Kim Christopherson from Maywood Studio. The collection’s prints include “Houndstooth,” “Zig Zag,” “Lattice,” “Dots,” “Dotted Circles,” “Little Stripe,” “Scroll,” “Cheerful Cherries,” “Doodles,” and “Diagonal Plaid.”
UPCOMING SHOWS
2017
International Quilt Festival/Chicago
April 6-8
Classes begin April 6
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
Rosemont, Illinois, USA
International Quilt Market/St. Louis
May 19-21
Classes begin May 17
America’s Center
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
International Quilt Market/Houston
October 28-30
Classes begin October 26
George R. Brown Convention Center
Houston, Texas, USA
International Quilt Festival/Houston
November 2-5
Preview Night November 1
Classes begin October 30
George R. Brown Convention Center
Houston, Texas, USA
NOTE: Quilt Market is a credentialed
trade show only, and not open to
the public.
For information on these or any other Quilts, Inc. shows, visit www.quilts.com
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