Straight Off the Bolt

​Do you pick up fabric samples you like and then wonder if they go together? Does this print look right with this stripe? Can a geometric pattern work cohesively with a floral? Fabrics with their wide color choices and infinite possibilities of pattern options can get overwhelming and down-right confusing. There are three main things to consider when choosing your fabrics: color, scale, and style.
Let me try to walk you through some of the aspects of fabric color selections.
First and foremost, the fabrics that will be used together should have similar colors and be in the same tonal families. If your colors are bright and pure, all of the fabrics should have that pure color, although it’s not necessary for them to all have the same intensity. If you have a more muted, greyed out version of colors, the rest of the fabrics that were picked should have that same greyed out color range.
It’s not necessary for all of your fabrics to have the exact same colors in them, but there should be a few colors that are found in all of the fabrics in order to keep them cohesive. So, if one fabric has blue, green and purple in the pattern and another has the same color blue and green but has a mahogany color with it, as long as they are in the same tonal family it should work.
The next important factor in picking fabrics is the scale of the patterns. In order to make different patterns work with each other and not compete, mix up the scale of the patterns. If your main fabric has a large floral design, pair it with two more floral prints by finding ones in a small or medium print. This same tip goes with geometric or striped patterns as well. Also, this rule helps you combine multiple styles of patterns such as a floral with a stripe.
Lastly, fabrics translate as different design styles such as traditional, contemporary, and farmhouse to name a few.  You shouldn’t avoid a fabric just because on its own it doesn’t fit the style you are creating. Mixing fabrics from different styles is what will make your combinations more interesting and diverse. That being said, some fabrics definitely read too strongly of one style to be mixed with another. Below the two fabrics on the left are too traditional to pair with the two contemporary fabrics on the right.  

or

​Those styles are a little too different to blend together nicely.

​Now, take a look at these three fabrics, they definitely read as farmhouse style, 

​but if you take one of these fabrics and pair it with this traditional style fabric,

​they all work with the traditional fabric.

​Since I am having so much fun mixing fabrics, here is an example of a contemporary fabric mixed with traditional patterns.

​The middle fabric is definitely a contemporary style fabric which I have paired with traditional style fabrics.  Any pairing of those surrounding fabrics would look great with the middle fabric.

​Now I think by my example above, I have answered my next question.  Can you mix florals, stripes, plaids and geometric patterns?  Yes, as long as the scales are mixed and the colors are similar with the same tone.  See some more examples below.

​Finally, now is the time to inject some fun into your room by using some fun fabrics that show your personality! Here are a few samples of the type of fabrics out there to choose from.

​There are so many choices of fabrics out there and there are endless possibilities for combining them to create your own individual style!
Now that I have made these fabric combinations, I love them all.  I can’t pick one that I like best! What is your favorite combination of these fabrics?