How to Build an Autumn Quilt Around a Floral Main Print: Color, Cutting, and Pairing Tips
Every successful collection quilt starts with a fabric that sets the mood, and a main print is made for exactly that job. The Awe of Autumn Main Orange from Riley Blake Designs is that kind of anchor fabric. Designed by Sandy Gervais for The Awe of Autumn collection, this 100% cotton print features clusters of flowers and leaves in warm orange. It is sold by the yard at 43"/44" wide, and the collection is made for quilting, apparel, and home decor.
Calling a print the "main" print matters. It usually carries the largest scale and fullest mix of motifs in a collection — here, flower clusters and leaves gathered together rather than scattered as a small coordinate. It is the fabric you build around, not one you add at the end hoping it fits.
Let the Main Print Choose Your Colors
Start by laying the fabric out in good light and reading its palette. The orange ground sets the warmth, and the flowers and leaves layered on it will suggest the supporting colors for the rest of your quilt. Pull coordinates from within The Awe of Autumn collection first, since they were designed to work together, then add tonal prints, plaids, and near-solids that give the eye somewhere to rest between busier pieces.
A useful balance is one main print, a few medium-scale coordinates, and at least one quiet tonal or solid. If every fabric in the quilt competes at the same scale, the main print loses its starring role. Let the floral clusters be the loudest voice, and let the others support it.
Cutting a Main Print So the Motifs Shine
Main prints are wasted when they are cut into pieces too small to show the design. Choose block sizes that keep the flower-and-leaf clusters readable: larger squares, rectangles, and simple framed blocks all work well. A block that shows a full cluster tells the story of the fabric far better than confetti-sized scraps.
Before cutting, press the fabric and look at how the clusters repeat across the width. If you want a motif centered in a special block, cut that piece one at a time with a clear ruler over the cluster you want to feature. For the rest, straightforward cutting is fine — the print is forgiving, and not every block needs to be fussy cut.
Reserve enough yardage for the places a main print shines brightest: a generous border, wide sashing, or large alternate blocks. Because the fabric is 43"/44" wide, plan border lengths and backing choices accordingly, and order with your layout in mind rather than discovering a shortage mid-project.
Project Ideas Beyond the Quilt Top
In a quilt, try this floral as the center of a medallion-style layout, as large setting squares in a simple patchwork, or as a border framing smaller autumn blocks. Its warm orange coloring suits fall table settings too: a runner or set of placemats made from a main print needs very little piecing to look finished.
For home decor, the same print makes welcoming pillow covers and seasonal accents. For apparel, it works for pieces where structure matters, such as a simple skirt, vest, or child's dress. In every case, larger pattern pieces show the clusters best.
Care
Follow the care given for this fabric: machine wash cold and tumble dry low. Washing in cold water and drying on low helps protect the warm orange color through repeated laundering, which matters for quilts and table pieces that will be washed often through the season. Press with a warm iron as needed before cutting and after washing.
Used well, a main print does most of the design work for you. Give The Awe of Autumn Main Orange room in large cuts, support it with quieter coordinates from its own collection, and it will carry an autumn quilt — or a whole room's worth of fall sewing — from first cut to final binding.
Shop the The Awe of Autumn Main Orange 43"/44" Fabric Per Yard at Linda's Electric Quilters.
