THE LAST WORD
Sometimes you just know you need a print the second you see it! This month Kate Basti is creating a bundle to celebrate her latest fabric crush by Alison Glass
Kate Basti knew she needed a print the second she saw it. This month, she’s creating a bundle to celebrate the shapes and shades of her bold hero print
If you’ve been reading this little column of mine for the past few months – and I so hope you have – you’ll know that I’ve been curating bundles based on themes, holidays and seasonal times of the year. But what if you wanted a bundle based simply on colour? Or a single favourite print? Well, let me tell you, today’s your lucky day!
As soon as I saw Alison Glass’ new line, Road Trip, my heart grew three sizes. I was seriously crushing on one print specifically, Flip in Quarter. Only problem? The line wasn’t yet available. At the time of writing this article, the release of Road Trip was still months away. So what’s a girl to do? I reached out to my friend, Giuseppe Ribaudo at Andover Fabrics, and being the great guy he always is, he kindly sent me a quarter yard of my current crush.
With Flip in Quarter as my hero print, I need to pull coordinating prints that will highlight the colours within Alison’s beautiful fabric without distracting from it. I want this hero print to be the focus of my quilt, standing out among any other fabrics I pull, so I need to stay away from fabrics with prints or motifs of similar proportions. To allow my hero print to sing loud and clear, I’m sticking to simpler prints and focusing more on colour.
First, I want to highlight that gorgeous plum colour, and right away I think of Alison Glass’ Mariner Cloth in Eggplant, which not only matches in colour, but will provide a delicious texture as well. I also pull Oval Elements in Beaujolais Wine by AGF Studio. This print has a yummy plum hue and also plays nicely with the circular motifs found in Alison’s fabric.
Next up, I pull some pinks. Nature Walk in Magenta by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller Fabrics is a great first choice. The feather motif is a fun nod to the eagles in my hero print. Paint In Hot by Cotton+Steel brings a nice, bold pop of colour to my bundle, and while it’s a busier, larger print, it’s still subtle enough not to detract from the hero. I round out the pinks with a simple print, Crisscross in Pink by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman.
I focus next on introducing fabric to match the teal, mustard yellow and green hues of Alison’s print. I find that Add It Up in Sea Glass by Cotton+Steel is a near-perfect match for the teal, and the tiny pluses mirror the larger pluses found in Flip in Quarter. I also pull Hex Tex in Teal by Denyse Schmidt for FreeSpirit Fabrics, Vitality in Yarrow by Rebecca Bryan for Robert Kaufman, and Crosshatch in Leaf by Carolyn Friedlander for Robert Kaufman.
Finally, for some contrast – both light and dark – I choose a pop of neon yellow in Cotton+ Steel’s Add It Up in Glow and a dark, sumptuous black and teal print called Lattice in Nirvana by Me+You (the name says it all).
When all is said and done, I’m left with a gorgeous bundle of fabric brimming with rich jewel tones and saturated colours, just the way I like it. And that Alison Glass print? Well, it’s guaranteed to steal the show.