Without getting too in-depth into the field of color theory, here’s a brief explanation of choosing fabrics that work well together to create faux transparency. I’m using my original Pippin quilt as an example, but the same tips apply to any quilt pattern that have a transparency illusion, like Madras About You.
How to choose fabrics that create an illusion of transparency
The most important criteria to consider are value, hue, and saturation.
Value refers to the lightness or darkness of the fabric. The easiest way to determine the relative values of fabrics (especially prints) is to gather them together and take a picture with your smartphone. Then, use a filter to convert the photo to black and white (most smartphones have this capability built in to their cameras–if you can’t find it, read this article).
Hue simply means a color. I chose two purple hues to work with, along with solid white.
Saturation refers to brightness. See how the lighter purple isn’t as vivid as the darker fabric? It’s less saturated.
The trick is to look for fabrics that are balanced–pick one of the factors (value, hue, saturation) to vary between the fabrics, but keep the other two factors similar. My Pippin quilt fabrics are varying saturations of the same hue, with similar values.
Prints can be tricky. Aim for small prints without much color contrast within the fabric. Blenders and batiks work well.
Want to learn more about using transparency in quilts? Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr wrote a terrific book called Transparency Quilts that goes into more detail (and includes ten projects).
