How to Choose Fabrics for a Quilt to Make Secondary Designs Shine
Fabric tips for the Cornerstone Quilt Pattern
Hi, Christina here! ????
When I sit down to design a quilt, sometimes the inspiration starts with the block. Other times, it starts with the fabric. I’ll find a collection I love and begin asking myself, “How can I design a quilt that lets these fabrics shine?” That’s exactly how Cornerstone came to life.
One of the questions I’m asked most often is how to choose fabrics for a quilt, especially when the design relies on value and secondary patterns. The good news is that you don’t have to guess because I can let you in on my design process and share with you a few simple principles that can make a dramatic difference in how your finished quilt looks.
One of the reasons I love designing block-based quilts is that a single block can become so much more than it first appears. Simply changing the fabrics, adjusting the value, or repeating the block in a thoughtful layout can completely transform the finished quilt. The block itself stays the same, but the quilt takes on an entirely new personality.
Cornerstone is a perfect example of that idea. Let me show you the fabrics I chose, why I chose them, and how a few simple decisions helped the secondary designs come to life.
At first glance, Cornerstone is a bold, modern quilt block with a striking asymmetrical design. But the real magic happens when the blocks come together. As they’re repeated across the quilt, unexpected secondary stars begin to emerge, creating movement and rhythm that aren’t visible when looking at a single block on its own.
In this post, I’ll share the fabrics I used for my cover quilt, my favorite tips for choosing fabrics that highlight those secondary designs, and a few layout ideas that show just how much variety can come from one simple block.
The Fabrics I Used
One of the questions I’m asked most often is, “What fabrics did you use?”
What fabrics did you use?”
For the cover quilt, I chose fabrics that emphasized the layered star design while keeping the overall look clean and modern.
Cover Quilt Fabrics (Art Gallery Fabrics)
- Fabric 1: Farm Fresh (Summer Homestead Collection)
- Fabric 2: Cherry Lipgloss (Pure Solid)
- Fabric 3: Bumble & Bloom Sky (Summer Homestead Collection)
- Fabric 4: Spruce (Pure Solid)
- Fabric 5: Glowdust Golden (Geobloom Collection)
- Fabric 6: Gingerbread (Pure Solid)
- Background: Glowdust Snow (Geobloom Collection)
Choosing Fabrics That Make the Design Shine
When choosing fabrics, it’s easy to focus on color first. But one of the biggest factors that determines how a quilt looks is actually value, or how light or dark a fabric appears. Two fabrics can be the same color family, yet if one is noticeably darker than the other, that contrast helps the shapes within the block stand out. When fabrics are too similar in value, those shapes begin to blend together.
For Cornerstone, I intentionally used value to create the illusion of light and shadow across the block. Rather than selecting six completely unrelated fabrics, I recommend choosing three color families, with each pair consisting of a lighter and darker value of the same color.
For example:
- Fabrics 1 & 2: Similar color, with Fabric 2 darker
- Fabrics 3 & 4: Similar color, with Fabric 4 darker
- Fabrics 5 & 6: Similar color, with Fabric 6 darker
Those subtle value changes give the block a layered quality, allowing the center stars to shine while adding depth and movement throughout the quilt. The effect isn’t dramatic within a single block, but as the blocks repeat across the quilt, the shading helps the secondary star designs emerge and gives the quilt a modern, dimensional feel.
Of course, this is just one approach. If you choose fabrics with stronger value contrast, the quilt will take on a bolder, more graphic look. Softer value changes create a more subtle, blended appearance. That’s one of my favorite parts of quilting: the same pattern can tell a completely different story simply through your fabric choices.
The Asymmetrical Block Is Where the Magic Happens =)
One of my favorite things about Cornerstone is that it’s built from an asymmetrical block. Unlike many traditional quilt blocks that look the same no matter how they’re rotated, Cornerstone has a clear sense of direction. That was completely intentional.
As the blocks begin repeating across the quilt, they start interacting with one another in ways that aren’t obvious when you’re looking at a single block. Your eye begins to discover new stars and geometric shapes formed in the spaces between neighboring blocks, creating movement and rhythm throughout the quilt. Those secondary designs are one of my favorite parts of quilting because they’re impossible to appreciate until the blocks come together.
What makes Cornerstone even more exciting is that the layout doesn’t have to stop there. Simply rotating or rearranging the blocks creates entirely different secondary designs while using the exact same block. The piecing doesn’t change, but the overall personality of the quilt does.
Here are a few layout ideas to explore:
Each arrangement creates its own sense of movement, balance, and visual rhythm. That’s one of my favorite reminders that quilt design doesn’t always begin with creating a new block. Sometimes all it takes is looking at a familiar block from a different perspective.
Quilt Requirements
If you’d like to make your own Cornerstone quilt, here are the fabric requirements:
A Quilt That Rewards Experimentation
One of the things I enjoy most about Cornerstone is watching how dramatically it changes with different fabric choices and layouts. A brighter palette creates a playful, energetic quilt. High-contrast fabrics emphasize the bold, graphic shapes, while subtle value changes allow the secondary stars to quietly emerge. Even something as simple as rotating the blocks creates an entirely different visual rhythm. Every version tells its own story.
That’s one of the reasons I love designing quilts. A pattern provides the framework, but it’s your fabric choices, layout decisions, and personal style that bring it to life. No two Cornerstone quilts need to look alike, and that’s exactly what makes seeing each finished quilt so exciting.
If you’d like to make your own version, the Cornerstone Quilt Pattern is now available in my shop. I can’t wait to see the fabrics you choose, the layouts you explore, and the unique personality you bring to the design.
Happy quilting!
Christina
