What is Ombre Fabric and How to Use it in Your Quilts

Ombre means having different shades and tints of colors blend seamlessly into one another. So what is ombre fabric and how do you use it in a quilt design? Laura Roberts explains how ombre fabric is made and gives you tips for incorporating it into your next quilt design.

Ombre Fabric

There are many different words that can be used to describe colors, and Laura explains how these words describe ombre fabric. Ombre fabric fades from light to dark over a length of the fabric, which Laura explains is a change in the color value. The color in an ombre fabric is all the same hue, with shades and tints added. If the color fades lighter it is considered a tint, as white was added to the original fabric hue. If the color fades darker is is considered a shade, as black was added to the original fabric hue.

Cutting Ombre Fabric

Laura shows how ombre fabric can be cut in different ways to achieve different looks within a quilt. A section of fabric that shows all of the different values of an ombre fabric can easily be cut and added as a strip or large piece in a quilt. Laura also show how the different color values can be cut apart and arranged in a way that makes it look like several different fabrics were used in one colorful quilt.

Matching Fabrics

Many people have difficulty when choosing or matching quilt colors. Laura explains how using an ombre fabric can make matching colors easier. Laura shows how all fabrics have small circles on the selvage that detail what colors are used throughout a fabric. Matching any color circle on one fabric to a color circle of one value found on an ombre fabric will ensure that all other values of the ombre fabric will also match. This allows you to have multiple shades and tints of fabric matching throughout a quilt without having to buy small amounts of multiple different fabrics.