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Fabric and Surface Pattern Design

Recoloring a quilt and a fabric Giveaway!

July 9, 2025July 9, 2025 3 comments

Hi friends!

Today I wanted to chat about recoloring a quilt.

And yes, there is a fabric giveaway at the end of this post. And, this post contains an affiliate link, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!

Recoloring a Quilt

Often we see a quilt pattern and are either drawn to or turned off by the color. I admit, if I see a quilt in browns and tans, I am not going to look any further! It is not a color scheme that I like. Nothing wrong with it, just not my thing.

And even though I love floral fabrics, it has to be the right kind of floral. If I don’t like the floral, I may not look at the quilt. So picky!

But the quilt might be a great design and a really fun one to make. I just haven’t looked at it closely enough.

An Example

One example is my Pink Delight quilt from my new book with C&T Publishing, Patchwork Braids. I love how this quilt came out.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Kate Colleran Designs, shares about a quilt from Patchwork Braids and tips on recoloring a quilt. Image is a braid quilt in pink, red, purple and white fabrics.

I used various shades of pink, purple, and red from the Spotsy line from QT Fabrics. Using a range of colors and not just sticking to pink, kept if from feeling too cutesy. And the addition of the dark blue squares both grounded the braids and added a little depth to the color scheme.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Kate Colleran Designs, shares about a quilt from Patchwork Braids and tips on recoloring a quilt. Image is a flat shot of pink, red, purple, blue and white fabrics with spots.

But, let’s be honest, not everyone likes pink. No matter the shade of pink!

The Recolor

So, sometimes you have to play with color!!! Here is the same quilt in my newest batik line with Island Batik called Just Dandy.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Kate Colleran Designs, shares about a quilt from Patchwork Braids and tips on recoloring a quilt. Image is a braid quilt in blue, green and white batiks.

Since the original quilt was in pinks, I went with blues this time! Well, a range of blues and greens.

The Just Dandy line has a great selection of blues and greens in it.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Kate Colleran Designs, shares about a quilt from Patchwork Braids and tips on recoloring a quilt. Image is a row of blue, green and white batiks.

Of course, this quilt would look great in any color scheme. A monochromatic or analogous color scheme works really well with this quilt!

What colors would you use?

Another Quilt

The cover quilt in the book is also a great color story! For this quilt, called Blue Diamond Iris, I used a complementary color scheme.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Kate Colleran Designs, shares about a quilt from Patchwork Braids and tips on recoloring a quilt. Image is a blue and orange braid quilt.

Blue and orange are complimentary colors meaning they are across from each other on the color wheel. Together they create a dramatic color scheme!

Usually though, you want to pick one to be the main color and use more of that color than the other. In my quilt, I used equal amounts of each to create a bold design. This quilt shows a really good example of warm and cool and the effect of color- see how the warm orange braids pop off the quilt and the cool blue braids seem to be the background?

Top US quilting blog and shop, Kate Colleran Designs, shares about a quilt from Patchwork Braids and tips on recoloring a quilt. Image is a blue and orange braid quilt hanging on a lifeguard chair at the beach.

The Colors

But, did you notice that each “color” is actually a range of color? In the orange braid section, there is orange, red, scarlet and even a gold.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Kate Colleran Designs, shares about a quilt from Patchwork Braids and tips on recoloring a quilt. Image is a flat shot of a orange, red and gold solid fabrics.

And the oranges are all darker shades of the color; even the gold is not a real light color.

The blues are primarily medium and light shades with a couple of darker colors.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Kate Colleran Designs, shares about a quilt from Patchwork Braids and tips on recoloring a quilt. Image is a flat shot of a range of blue solid fabrics.

This quilt could work in any complimentary scheme, like purple and yellow green, though you don’t have to use a complimentary scheme. It could be just scrappy with one braid using light fabrics and one braid using dark fabrics. So many options.

Hmmm…. I may have to try the scrappy light and dark thing!

Want help with putting fabric together? The Ultimate 3-in-1 Color Tool is my go to helper! I use it to pick colors that will go together or to find a combination to get me started. Check it out here.  If you have some  questions about color schemes, you can check out this blog post from my exploring the basics series.

Fabric Giveaway!!!!

As part of my ongoing celebration this month, Christmas in July, I thought it would be fun to share some of the fabrics from my 2 versions of Pink Delight; the pinks from the original quilt and the blues from the remake!

I have 4 sets of FQ bundles to give away! So there will be 4 winners!

Two sets of the Spotsy with 9 FQs in it.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Kate Colleran Designs, shares about a quilt from Patchwork Braids and tips on recoloring a quilt. Image is a stack of pink, red and purple FQs with spots.

And two sets of the Just Dandy with 8 FQs in it!

Top US quilting blog and shop, Kate Colleran Designs, shares about a quilt from Patchwork Braids and tips on recoloring a quilt. Image is a row of blue and green batik FQs.

To Enter the Giveaway

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this blog post. You could tell me your favorite of the 2 FQ bundles though if you win… well, you get the one that is available!

The giveaway closes Tuesday July 15th at 9pm ET. I will email the winners and if I don’t receive a reply in 2 days, I will pick another winner.

Don’t know how to leave a comment? Scroll to the bottom of this blog post and look for the Leave a Reply box. Enter your comment in the box and then click on the Post Comment button! Easy peasy!

Happy quilting!

Kate

p.s. Want to check out the book patchwork Braids? Click here.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Kate Colleran Designs, shares about a quilt from Patchwork Braids and tips on recoloring a quilt. Image is the book cover with a blue and orange braid quilt and a pastel pouch with a braid accent.

p.p.s Have you see the post about our new Christmas In July Block Party?

Click here to learn more!

batiksbraid quiltFQ bundleJust Dandy batiksPatchwork Braids
About Kate

About Kate

Hi! I'm Kate Colleran, a designer who creates quilt patterns, fabric and surface designs. I lecture and teach about quilting. Welcome to my online home!

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3 comments

  1. Carol Filler says:
    July 10, 2025 at 12:39 pm

    I like the Just Dandy.

    Reply
  2. Lisa England says:
    July 10, 2025 at 8:03 am

    Your quilts are gorgeous! I have made a few braid quilts and they are fun to do. The fat quarters are fabulous. I tend to be drawn to blues and greens but now that I have a granddaughter I find myself using pinks more often.

    Reply
  3. Pat A says:
    July 9, 2025 at 4:37 pm

    I like them both, but I think I like the blue green set better.

    Reply

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