Let's Talk Shot Cottons

I have been working with shot cottons for over ten years. The first ones were those of Kaffe Fassett. While the colors were great, the "hand" was pretty flimsy. They were quite pricey, but so thin that I honestly didn't enjoy sewing with them. Here are a few of my quilts made with the shots. Beautiful to behold, though!

My Zig Zag quilt

My Cobblestones Quilt is a combination of shots (for the solids) and the bold Kaffe Fasset florals. Two easy blocks alternate using a variety of textures. You really need "solids" to showcase the beauty of print fabrics.

Cobblestones Quilt

And my "famous" Princess Feather (a free pattern, btw). That ochre colored background for the feathers is a Kaffe Fassett shot cotton. This appeared in my Supersize 'Em Quilts book and is a remake of one I made for Windham a few years earlier. The free pattern is on the Craftsy site and was made with the Regency Dandy fabrics by Windham.

Princess Feather, beautifully quilted by Leslee Evans of Atlanta

The next group of shot cottons are those by Windham Fabrics. I showed a few of these last month (July 2016).

Shot Cottons mimic solid colors

But it's the woven strands of threads of two different colors that sets them apart. Can you see the red threads on the edge of this magenta piece of fabric?

Fat quarter bundle of Artisan Cotton

From the Windham web site, describing these fabrics:

Artisan Cotton by Another Point of View is a beautiful cross-dyed quilter's weight cotton that acts as a solid but with a zing! The rich, saturated colors truly pop and are simply spectacular. These solids are a mixture of pretty pastels, zesty brights and rich neutral tones.

These fabrics also have a good feel (hand) and are just as "weighty" as good quality quilter's cotton. That's what I like!

Yellow/Green shot cotton by Windham

And I've also had the pleasure of working with Peppered Cottons by Pepper Cory. They have a wonderful "hand" and are a real joy to work with. Let's see a few of my shots by Pepper. Don't you just love these colors? They are produced by Studio E Fabrics.

A set of fat quarters I bought in Atlanta at Intown Quilters in March 2014

And 3 one-yard cuts I bought last month. I wanted some neutral colors as background for some projects.

3 one-yard cuts of Pepper's shot cottons by Studio E Fabrics

OK, you say. Yawn. Let's see some things you've MADE!

Winding Ways block using Windham shots and Kaffe Fasset florals

And what does it look like on the back?

Can you see some of those yellow threads on the edges?

And how about some of my Hosannah/Palm blocks using Pepper's shots and some light gray fabric?

10 Palm paper pieced Palm Block using Pepper's shot cottons

3 more colors from Pepper's shots

And 3 more colors

Do you remember this block from last year, my South Carolina Star? It is still a FREE PATTERN. I made the entire thing using shot cottons. It was to honor those who tragically lost their lives in June of 2015. Go read the post.

South Carolina Star

I'm going to blog about piecing the Winding Ways block. I've cut out enough for 20 (gasp!!) and have sewn 11 so far. All the backgrounds are shot cottons and the centers use a variety of Kaffe Fassett florals. Here's a little sneak peek at the cutting using my template set from John Flynn. Can you see those awesome blue threads?!! For a khaki reading color. Go figure!

Cutting for my Winding Ways blocks

And let's see some more of those threads!

Yellow and blue threads woven together make a nubby gray color.

I'll be back in another post with some more of these awesome blocks. And a tutorial on how a Winding Ways block is drafted. Fascinating, believe me! All done with circles. See you then.