Free Suzy Quilts Twisted Ribbons Quilt Pattern + How to Choose Fabric for Quilts

Unlike most blankets or comforters, quilts have a “story” behind them—from the source of the fabric to the artist behind the pattern to the one making the quilt. Textile designer and maker Suzy Williams of Suzy Quilts, has been helping to lead a new frontier in modern quilting, garnering accolades and awards from QuiltCon and the International Quilt Festival thanks to her minimal, contemporary quilts. Keep reading for the custom, free Suzy Quilts quilt pattern—Twisted Ribbons—and her expert tips on choosing fabric for your next project.

Twisted Ribbons is the ideal quilt pattern for using the fabulous, one-of-a-kind Spoonflower feature, Fill-A-Yard®!

Why is it ideal? Well, you get to pick six different fabric designs and have them printed on one extra-long piece of fabric. Why is printing on extra-long fabric so great? (Are you sick of me asking rhetorical questions?) It’s because the long strips used to create the fresh, modern layout of Twisted Ribbons maximizes those long strips so you don’t have to cut up your pretty fabrics and sew unsightly seams! Who wants a bunch of extra seams?

The pattern also uses my favorite finishing technique: machine quilting with added hand-quilting details. You’ll end up with a beautiful quilt that is fresh and unique thanks to the understated linear work, neutral color palette and hand-quilted details. It’s safe to say that designing Twisted Ribbons with Fill-A-Yard is a joy to create from start to finish!

Once you’ve downloaded your free Twisted Ribbons pattern, keep reading for my top three tips for picking fabric designs for the quilt.

Have you ever stood in the face lotion aisle at the drugstore and thought, “Well, obviously I want age-defying, but do I need the hydro boost? I mean, I would like a luminescent glow like that one offers, but is it paraben-free? And what exactly is a paraben? And can I wear it during the day even though it says ‘Night Cream’?” Uh-oh. The all too familiar OMG-there-are-more-than-three-options panic attack. I know it well.

Choosing fabric can feel a lot like that for me. Or, at least before I set a few parameters on myself. With so many beautiful prints and patterns on Spoonflower, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the options. But don’t worry, I’ve come up with three fabric picking tips to set you on the right course.

What is a color quest? As cheesy as it may sound, it’s a way of life. A perspective. It’s looking at an item of clothing, a painting, a photography, eyeshadow at the drugstore, curtains hanging in your neighbor’s window… you get the picture, right? Flip that color-seeking switch ON and when you see a certain combination you like, keep it! It’s now yours to use in future projects.

One simple way to keep your favorite color combos fresh in your mind is to create a board on Pinterest. Here is my Color Inspiration board that I refer to constantly. If Pinterest isn’t your thing, keep a folder on the desktop of your computer, save things to an Instagram folder, save an album on your phone or a junk-journal. It’s important to have easily accessible color combos from which to draw inspiration.

Spoonflower has the world’s largest textile design library—so how is a quilter to choose? Pick one fabric you absolutely love and build from there. Ask yourself these questions:

What colors are already in this print?

What is the scale of the print?

Using the colors that exist in your favorite design makes it easy to choose your base color palette. If your favorite design is big and loud, choose accompanying prints that won’t compete. Try to have a range of scales—small, medium and large.

If the scale of a design is too big or too small, you can contact the artist and ask them for a custom scale. Check the artists Shop bio to see if they offer customization!

Once you have your base fabric picked, choose five more fabrics that coordinate. Below are digital mockups I used to help get the creative juices flowing. I loved this teal fabric with adorable peachy-orange clementines and chose it as my base fabric. Then I went to Pinterest board to find a color palette that matched. The image on the right is the color palette mocked up, and the left is designs I found that fit the color story. This exercise has helped me so much establish a clear foundation for what I want my quilt to look like!

If you’re still feeling like the color palettes and the prints are not translating well, don’t fret! I have a third tip for you. It’s one word.

Monochromatic.

For this next mock up, I kept it super simple and stuck to one color family. When you keep the colors monochromatic, you can play more with wild prints because you know nothing is going to clash.

Ready to put these tips into action? Start a collection featuring your top picks Spoonflower fabric designs and use Fill-A-Yard to make your own free Suzy Quilts Twisted Ribbons quilt pattern.