Choosing Fabrics for Starstruck

Today I want to share ideas for finding fabrics for the Starstruck quilts. This post is meant to be for both shop owners and quilters looking for fabrics, so some of the links in the post are to fabric distributors and some are to quilt shops.

Typically I design around a fabric line so it makes it easier for people to replicate the look of the quilt when they buy the pattern.  Since the projects in the Starstruck book are not made in this way, I thought it was important to share ideas on how or where to find a collection of chevron fabrics.  Once you start looking, there really are tons of chevron prints to pick from.

The problem can be that it is hard to find them all in one location.  I don’t have a local quilt shop that I can go to, nor can I drive my boys all over the state looking for fabric, so I ordered online form Hawthorne Threads.  You can view their chevron page here.  (Below is an image of what I purchased from them)

 

For those of you who get out to shops more often than me ;-), you can just start collecting over a period of time.  Every time you go to a shop, pick up a few chevron or zigzag fabrics and before you know it, you will have enough prints to make one of the quilts.  And – don’t forget to check your stash!  Keep in mind that the prints don’t have to be traditional chevrons (I will explain this below).

Southern Fabric has LOTS of great choices here

Etsy also has lots of great options here:

Spoonflower has many choices here.   I’ve even created a few of my own chevron fabrics on Spoonflower that are perfect for this technique.  You can find here:

I’ve also purchase some from Fat Quarter Shop here.

 

Now – onto some visuals!

A Favorite from Robert Kauffman.  (click here to view all chevrons available on their site)

 

This print is available in other colors also.  Keep that in mind as you are scrolling this posts – each of the prints usually comes in at least 3 colors.

 

This is another one from Kauffman, available in several colors from Anne Kelle’s Remix Collection.

 

Henry Glass also has some options that would be fun.  Ric Rac Paddywack by Kim Diehl has chevron and ric rac prints done on flannel.

 

Click here to view the entire line.  They would be great for the baby quilt size option in the book.  See the photo below.  This options is great because you only need 7 fabrics.

 

Another option that Henry Glass has from their Bright, White and Black line (coming in March but available for preorder).

 

This chevron would be great for the runner that only uses 1 chevron fabric.  In the photo below, see the runner to the right.  It only uses one print, but it has lots of colors so it makes for many different looking blocks.

 

 

When I went on Riley Blake’s Website, they had over 300 chevron fabrics to choose from.  They carry a basic 2 color chevron in a multitude of colors and sizes.  (click here to view their chevrons page)

This was a favorite one that I used in my quilts and it comes in small, medium and large.

 

Here are a few more from Riley Blake that I love:

(Starspangled from Doodlebug Designs)

 

(Little Ark by Carina Gardener)

 

(Trendsetter by Fancy Pants Designs)

 

School Days by Zoe Pearn

 

Shaded Chevrons, done in house

 

Another company with a lot of chevrons is Michael Miller.  This was one of my favorites (available in several colors.)

 

Another favorite from Michael Miller was this chevron.  I used it in all 3 colors and it made for some beautiful blocks (see upper left block in photo below)

 

I had trouble getting a good image of this one, but this chevron from Michael Miller is the perfect example of what to use for the runner from the book that only uses one chevron fabric.  There are lots of color changes and a large repeat – so you will get lots of different looking blocks. The flowers inside the stripes would also be beautiful cut up.  Click here to see a larger image.

This is the project from the book that I used just one chevron print for. Click here to see the chevron used).

 

Next up, I searched Free Spirit’s website and found many more beautiful options.

There is this one called the Happi Chevron from Dena Designs

 

I used this one from Tula Pink’s Eden collection in my quilt.  It’s not a traditional chevron, but the colors form a zigzag pattern, so it has the same effect (see block in bottom center of photo below)

 

 

I also used this print from Tula’s Chipper Collection

 

Another from Tula (Forfield collection)

 

This was a favorite print from Amy Butler’s Bright Heart collection.  I used it in all 3 colors.  Again, not a traditional chevron, but it makes up into a very interesting star block.

 

(A mini block made from this fabric is in lower right corner of the runner with the grey setting triangles.)

 

 

This print from Joel Dewberry isn’t a traditional chevron either, but it has a part of the stripe that zigzags, so it has a similar effect to cutting a chevron.  The combination of the striping with the zigzag makes for some really fun blocks. (This fabric is from his Notting Hill collection).

 

I loved this print from Valori Well’s Novella collection and I used it in four of the quilts in the book.

 

 

Another collection that came to mind was Moda’s Half Moon Modern ZigZags.  They are available in two sizes and lots of colors.  (Click here to see the other colors and the rest of Moda’s chevrons)

 

This design from Moda’s V and Co would also make an interesting block.

 

Me and My Sister also have a couple of cute chevrons.

 

For shop owners looking for chevrons, here is a link to Checker’s page that lists their chevron fabrics.  I noticed that they have some really cute chevron flannels listed from a company named Camelot fabrics.  It’s a company that I am not familiar with, but the prints are really cute.  I’ve posted one of the options below and you can find the link to Camelot’s site here.

 

In addition to the ones that I purchased above, I also went through my stash and found a few that would work.  My favorite was from my own Here Fishy Fishy collection – which is now out of print, but some of you may have some in your stash and it’s perfect for these blocks.

 

Fabric.com also has a  lot of chevron fabrics.  I prefer to buy from quilt shops, but I did purchase one of the chevrons listed above from them.  Click here to view their chevrons page. Other ideas include Spoonflower and JoAnn’s.  I didn’t buy any from JoAnns because the quality is so poor, but they did have some cute prints.  It’s also a place that most of you probably have easy access too, so it’s an idea of where to check.  To see Spoonflower’s chevrons, click here.

There are so many more chevrons that I could share, but this post is already a mile long!  I hope that helps give you some ideas for finding fabrics.  I will be listing this post in the tabs along the top of this blog page, under the Starstruck tab.  That way it will be easy for you to find it back.  If anyone else has more ideas, please share them in the comments.  If you are a shop a shop that carries chevrons, please list that in the comments also or share a link to your site.  Thanks!