Terrazzo flooring turns stone chips into art; Riley Blake's Elementals Terrazzo program does the same trick in cloth. It's a speckled, organic near-solid that comes in two forms at Linda's — hand-dyed batiks in saturated color stories, and printed Expressions cottons in soft neutrals — plus a bench of ready-cut precuts. Together it's one of the most useful blender programs in the shop.
The Batik Color Stories ($12.49/yd)
Terrazzo Berries — the purple-pink-red wall
Twelve jewel colorways: Stone Blue, Purple Haze, Calypso, Orchid, Mardi Gras, Grape Soda, Lollipop, Masquerade, Mountains Majesty, Splash of Grenadine and Purple Outburst.
Terrazzo Jungle — the teal-green story
Smoky Teal, Dark Insignia and Coastal Path.
The Expressions Prints ($12.40/yd)
The printed-cotton siblings in quieter tones: Oyster, Frost, Powdered Pearl, Indigo Dye, Sunshine and Watermelon.
The Precuts
- 5" Squares (42 pcs): Berries ($21.99), Jungle ($18.79), Rocky Mountain ($18.79), Frosty ($21.99)
- 2.5" Strips (40 pcs): Berries ($59.99), Jungle ($53.09), Rocky Mountain ($53.09), Frosty ($49.99)
Note the precuts include two color stories — Rocky Mountain and Frosty — available at Linda's in precut form, so a strip set is the way to sample those palettes.
How I'd Use It
Terrazzo is what you reach for when a solid is too flat and a print is too loud. The speckle reads as texture at distance, hides quilting wobbles up close, and — because it's non-directional — wastes nothing when cutting. Batik versions bring the tight weave batik lovers want for applique edges; Expressions versions match regular cotton hand for mixed quilts. A jelly-roll race quilt from one Terrazzo strip set is a genuinely great weekend project, and the Berries story makes a spectacular bargello.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between the batik and Expressions versions?
The batiks are wax-resist dyed on batik-weight cotton — tighter weave, color saturated through the cloth. Expressions Terrazzo is conventionally printed quilting cotton in softer tones. Both share the terrazzo speckle motif.
Do batiks need special handling?
Prewash to release excess dye (especially the Berries reds and purples), and use a sharp or microtex needle — the dense weave rewards it. Otherwise they sew like any premium cotton.
What quilts suit terrazzo blenders best?
Anywhere you'd use a solid but want life in the fabric: bargello, jelly-roll race, watercolor quilts, applique backgrounds and stained-glass style patterns.
