A Sweet Print That Works Like a Neutral
Some novelty prints shout. This one whispers. Love You Always Hearts Cream Cotton is a 100% cotton quilting fabric, 43"/44" wide and sold by the yard, designed by Sandy Gervais for Riley Blake Designs. Part of the Love You Always collection, it features scattered hearts on a pin dot background, worked on a cream ground. Riley Blake Designs describes the collection as great for quilting, apparel and home decor, and that range makes sense here: the hearts give it a heartfelt theme, while the pin dots and cream ground keep it calm enough to use in generous amounts.
That balance is the key to using it well. Up close, the hearts and tiny dots reward a second look. From a few steps back, the fabric reads as a soft, textured cream — so it can do the quiet work of a background or blender while still carrying the message of the quilt.
What This Fabric Is Best For
In a quilt, this print shines as a background for appliqué and pieced blocks, as wide sashing, and as alternating plain blocks where the scattered hearts can show between busier prints. It is especially well suited to gift quilts — anniversary, wedding, baby, and friendship quilts — where the heart motif says something the maker wants the recipient to feel every time the quilt is used.
Beyond quilts, the same qualities work for apparel and home decor: a pillow cover, a table runner, a gathered skirt, or lining in a handmade bag. Anywhere you want romance without a large, loud print, it fits.
Cutting and Piecing a Scattered Print
Enjoy the forgiving layout. A scattered design does not demand the careful alignment a stripe or a strict directional print does. Pieces can be cut in the order your pattern requires, and small shifts from block to block will not break the design. That makes this a relaxing choice for beginners and for scrap-friendly projects alike.
Mind the hearts in small pieces. In large cuts the hearts spread naturally. In very small units — tiny squares, narrow strips, small triangles — a heart can be clipped by a seam or lost entirely. Before sewing a stack of small pieces, check a few cuts and adjust so at least part of a heart lands inside the finished unit where you want the motif to show.
Let the pin dots help you. The pin dot background adds subtle texture that hides the slight variations of piecing better than a flat solid would, and it softens the transition between this cream and neighboring prints. Press seams consistently, keep a standard quarter-inch seam allowance, and the dots will do the rest, giving the surface a gentle, even finish.
Color Pairing and Project Ideas
Cream is a warm neutral, warmer and softer than bright white, so pair this fabric with companions that respect that warmth. It sits comfortably beside other prints from the Love You Always collection, and it gives stronger, darker, or more saturated prints a place for the eye to rest. In a scrappy quilt, use it as the repeated constant — the same background in every block — to pull varied colors and prints together into one coherent top.
Five easy ways to use it: as the background for heart or star appliqué blocks; as sashing that separates bold pieced blocks; as a whole-cloth-style backing for a small quilt where the hearts can show uninterrupted; cut into charm squares for a simple patchwork gift quilt; or as borders that frame a central panel or group of blocks without competing with them.
Care
Follow the care given for this fabric: machine wash cold and tumble dry low. Washing yardage the same way before cutting is a sensible habit for quilts that will be washed often, and it helps the finished project behave evenly. Press as you piece, and store finished quilts out of direct sunlight.
Shop the Love You Always Hearts Cream Cotton 43"/44" Fabric Per Yard at Linda's Electric Quilters.
