CHOOSING YOUR FABRIC
DETERMINING THE SIZE OF YOUR BACKGROUND FABRIC
BEFORE CUTTING YOUR BACKGROUND FABRIC - CONSIDER YOUR BATTING
EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT BATTING

Regardless of the type of fabric you prefer, always buy the best quality you can afford. You will be spending a lot of time hand appliquéing and quilting and you are making something that you want to last. Using inexpensive fabric may lead to the fabric bleeding, the appliqué fraying or the quilting puckering.  

Always test your fabric by washing it before you start your project. Many fabrics nowadays are preshrunk or a mix of fabrics that will shrink minimally, if at all. If you are using 100% cotton or other natural fabric, always pre wash and iron. Taking the time to so do in the beginning will ensure your project is starting with a solid foundation. Too, while most modern fabrics are colorfast, it's always good to find out for sure - especially with darker colors.

Hawaiian quilts are best known for using two contrasting colors. Initially, fabric was scarce, with red and white being the most available colors. Later when fabric colors became more available every combination imaginable was tried. While today, we tend to want things to coordinate and match, the Hawaiian woman loved lots of color, any color. So it is not unusual, in a Hawaiian home, to see myriad pillows stacked up on a punee (day bed) in a vivid splash of different color combinations.

Because of the influence of the missionary quilts, some of the early quilts used multiple colors for the appliqué. Usually the flowers were different colors from the leaves; sometimes different varieties of flowers in the same appliqué were each made, symmetrically, their own color. Sometimes a small print fabric was used.

Today, with so many wonderful fabrics to choose from, sometimes it's hard to decide what to use. Some quilters may continue to work with the contrasting solid color appliqué and background that has become known as "traditional". Others may branch out to use prints, batiks, hand painted fabrics or a combination of many fabrics. Some may even use textile paints to enhance parts of their design, while some may add embellishments.

Many quilters prefer 100% cotton, others prefer a blend. Some may venture into experimenting with silks, chintzes, faux suede or many of the other wonderful fabrics available today.

The main thing to remember is that there is no right or wrong way of using fabric for Hawaiian quilt projects. The main thing is to get your appliqué and quilting skills to where you are happy with them and choose fabrics that you will enjoy and have fun using .

Some pattern directions will suggest the size to make the background fabric, others will leave it up to you. The thing to consider is proportion. Is the appliqué design nicely centered in the middle without looking too large or too small within the boundaries of the background.

Some quilters take the appliqué right up to the edge, especially when doing pillows. Others float the design in a large background. Personally, I tend to add 15%-20% to the background around a design, rounding up to the next full inch. Therefore, a 14" square appliqué would have a 2"-3" border around it. A 60" square design would have a 9" - 12" border around it. Of course, the proportion is what you feel comfortable with using. I like my designs to be able to "breathe" a little.

I usually draw the appliqué square size on graph paper (one square on the graph paper to an inch) and then add a larger square for the background. I do a couple (or more) of these variations and see what I like best. If the design is delicate, or lacy, or pastel then you may need less of a background; if it is a simpler design or bolder colors you may want more of a background.

Unfortunately, there is no set formula. Experience and input from other quilters will help if you are uncertain. Too, if you are planning to add decorative borders you need to consider that also. A small appliqué design in the middle of a background surrounded with a wide border or series of borders may not end up being terribly pleasing.

But don't cut your background fabric yet. Remember, that when you quilt, because you are creating a three dimensional piece that your quilting will be making your finished size a little smaller because of those contours. How much will depend on the thickness of the batting you choose to use.

A thin batting (lower loft) will "shrink" your finished masterpiece less and show your quilting stitches more and be easier to quilt.  A fatter (higher loft) batting will "shrink" your finished masterpiece more and will be more difficult to quilt but will hide your stitching in the quilt rows. Your choice.

In any case, you should add even more fabric allowance to your finished size of backing (and backing) fabric - remember you can always cut excess off, but you can't add extra. So don't skimp. For a pillow size using a thin(low loft) batting, perhaps add 1 1/2" - 2" all the way around to your desired finished size. If you are using fat (high loft) batting maybe 2"-21/2" all the way around. And, remember you have to allow for for a 1/2" seam to finish all around in that extra allowance. Allow even more for larger sizes. This is not a time to skimp on fabric.

No sense reinventing the wheel. Here is a very informative website that discusses various batting types, the companies who make them as well as opinions from quilters.

http://quilt.com/FAQS/BattingFAQ.html

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