A is for Accent

The next chapter in the Scrap Quilt Secrets Series is the use of an 'accent' in designing your quilt. The accent can be a single color or a single fabric. It can be the one consistent element that pulls all of the random pieces together.

The quilt above is made up entirely of four patches. The four patches are then sewn together into nine patches to make the blocks, and more four patches are sewn together to make the borders. I like to blame Bonnie Hunter for this quilt. She invented that whole 'leader and ender' concept that produced a bazillion four patches in my sewing room and I had to find some way to use them up!!

The accent fabric (in this case the orange sashing) is the complimentary color to all of the blues in this quilt. Because of that, I used blue scraps in the cornerstones and the binding as well. While I could have chosen a blue for the sashing, it would have blended into the four patches. I think a bright pink or even a red would have been fun. An accent can serve many different purposes.

In this, the accent is the blue chain that runs through the middle of each of the blocks. This very scrappy log cabin quilt would have looked much different without the chain of blue. I like that it separates the darks from the lights, and that is gives the design a little structure. It organizes all those crazy fabrics and prints into distinct rows. 

This quilt takes a whole different approach to the concept of  'accent'! After making baby quilts for years as gifts from 30's prints, I had TONS of scraps but they were all tiny! So when I saw a vintage quilt made from a similar design to this, I knew my tiny scraps would work for those tiny fan blade pieces. This quilt is entirely sewn on paper with a simple sew and flip technique. So is the accent the pink, or the orange, or the scraps themselves? While the quilt would have been pretty using only solid fabrics, I love the sparkle the scraps provide. Because of the busy design of the patchwork, the scraps needed a fabric or two to help define the pattern. 

Do you see what a vital role an accent can play in the design of a scrap quilt? If you want to read more about this and hear all the stories about these quilts and more, you'll have to get the book. I promise you'll love! 

Enjoy every stitch!

Diane