KatyQuilts

I’ve talked a bit before about “nothing” fabrics. I love them and I’m always on the lookout for them. This binding fabric that I used on my Abe and Friends quilt that I shared yesterday was made from a nothing fabric. In fact, that’s why I made 16 yards of binding for a 26 inch square quilt! I know I’ll find a home for the rest of this binding soon since it goes with nearly everything.

Here are a few more fabrics that I call “nothings.”

Let me define this for you, since as far as I know, I coined the phrase. A nothing fabric is something nondescript. It will often read as a solid at a distance. They are never large scale prints, never flashy, never ever show stealers. They seem like nothing compared to most fabrics. But they play a very important role as the supporting cast.

What do you notice first when you see this bundle? The pinks? The blues? The reds? Of course! But they stand out because of the neutrals, the nothings.

There really aren’t any nothings in this next bundle. As a result, it looks more chaotic than the last. They are lovely fabrics, to be sure. However, to really make them shine, they could benefit from a good nothing fabric.

My all time favorite nothing print is in this small quilt, though it isn’t used as a nothing here. Can you spot it?

In this next photo, I’ve used it as a binding. This is without a doubt, the most useful fabric I’ve ever owned. I wish I had a bolt of it. Sadly, I used the very last bit in the little quilt above.

The background fabric in the following quilt is another good example of a great nothing. It is an unobtrusive print that points TO the focus fabrics instead of drawing your eye away.

Nothing fabrics may seem boring, but they are what makes the other fabrics in a quilt sing. I’m always on the lookout for these fabrics. You may want to watch for them too. And when you bring yards and yards of this home and your husband asks what you bought, you can just say, “Oh, nothing.”

Have a great day!