::Value Quilts Tutorial::

Value quilts are some of the first quilts I ever made.

Most of us addicted to fabric will find this style of quilt a great display tool for your fabric stash.   Baby quilts, wall hangings, bed quilts, or a favorite blankie to cuddle up in on the couch, make it any size you want.

No worries on making fabrics match, we’re going to think in values, or the degree of lightness or darkness of a color.

Close up you won’t notice a design so much.  From a distance of 10 feet or more your eye will pull the design.

Work with a design wall, a vertical surface will help your design eye, and the fabrics will blend.

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How to:

Cut your fabric squares.  I used 6-inch squares, but you may go smaller or larger.

Divide them in piles into light, medium and dark.  Like below:

Our eyes tend to like Mediums.  Most likely your stash is made up mostly of this value.  Try to direct your fabric buying obsession to Light and Dark values too (that’s right, buy more fabric!).

You won’t immediately know into which pile to place some fabrics.  The questionable squares will be sorted out in the next step.  One will always be lighter.

Now you need to pair TWO squares right sides together.

Pull a square from one of the Light, Medium or Dark piles and match it with another value, until you have one big stack.

This is an easy way to weed out the questionable (is it Light, Medium or Dark?) valued squares, by mating what you have left.

Draw a line with a pen or pencil across the wrong side of the mated squares (See above photo)

Sew a quarter inch seam on each side of that line.  With your rotary cutter, cut on the penned line to make two squares.

Iron your seam, open up the square and iron it open.  I have quilted these quilts with a stitch-in-the-ditch technique, so I have always ironed my seams to the darkest fabric side.  However, if you are quilting free-motion, then I would open up the seams flat to keep bulk to a minimum.

Using your template, line the diagonal line of the template with the diagonal of your square.  You might have to take your squares to 5.5 inches depending on how exact you are sewing.  At least take care of the dog ears.

Cut one side, cutting as little off as possible. See how I have the template to the edge, and the diagonal lined up?

Flip the square (not the template), line up the triangular corner of the template with the fabric square and cut the second side.  Now you have a perfect square.  Like I said, these might be 5.5 inches.

Feel free to chime in if this is unnecessary.  I’ve just always done it.

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Now is the time to arrange them on your design wall to see what looks best.

Here are some examples starting with a light and a dark center.  You can also pinwheel the design by alternating, but that’s a post for someone else.

You will want to give yourself some distance from your monitor to really see the design take form.

LIGHT:

DARK:

Once you have your design, START SEWING!

Hopefully this little lesson will help with your quilt design in general.

SOME TIPS FOR DESIGNING WITH VALUE:

*If you want any quilt to really take shape, make sure to use an assortment of light, medium and dark. Your patchwork will benefit and be “seen.”

*If you’re not really thrilled with how a quilt turned out, it probably has to due with value.

*For a successful design, value is more important than color.  Same goes for duplicating a quilt you see.  Match the values and proportions, not the colors for success.

*To really “SEE” your piecework

LIGHT:

If you end up making a Value Quilt I would love to see it, and have created a Value Quilts Flickr Group.

Here’s some great examples of using value:

Five Hour Baby Quilt by Rose (is red)

Baby Quilt by Jrcraft

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