Dog Days August Quilt palette
A sultry summer fabric palette for the dog days
The Dog Days of August are here, the stretch of summer that feels equal parts languid and electric. Traditionally, the term refers to the hottest, most sultry days of the season, when the rising of Sirius (the Dog Star) coincided with the blazing summer sun. It’s a juicy time steeped in mythology and symbolism: lush blooms still cling to life, fruit is at its juiciest, and twilight skies glow in hues that are so saturated they’re surreal. That’s the energy I wanted to capture with this month’s palette.
So here is the “Dog Days” quilt color palette: a restless riot of color that’s anything but sleepy. This palette mixes deep, rich eggplant with glowing violet, fiery poppy orange, and two greens that vibrate with vitality, electric lime and earthy peridot. Together, they embody that August paradox: the lush ripeness of late summer and the simmering anticipation of fall just around the corner.
August is a month of bold personalities. Its birth flowers are the gladiolus and poppies, both of which stand for strength and remembrance. Its zodiac signs, Leo and Virgo, embody creativity and warmth, with Leo leaning towards charisma and charm while Virgo leans toward precision and practicality. Perfect astrological combo for quilts! We’ve got bold, charming art that is also functional and warm.
This palette pulls inspiration from all of that: the theatrical drama of Leo, the rich earthiness of Virgo, and the lush vibrancy of summer’s last hurrah.
How It Looks in Quilts
When I started playing with “Dog Days” in quilt mockups, I knew these colors needed patterns and fabric prints that could handle their energy. This isn’t a palette for timid layouts or minimalism. It wants movement, bold shapes, and a little drama. Below, you’ll see how these colors shine in a few different designs, from modern statement quilts to lush boho layouts, to playful pieces that lean into my fave pop-art vibes.
Palette Picks: fabrics that fit the bill
Dog Days call for lots of lush bohemian florals, and nobody does boho better than Art Gallery Fabrics. Coming next month, the collection Geobloom features a tiled floral print with sophisticated muted tones of our Dog Days hues.
The newest collection from designer Maureen Cracknell, Starling, features full blooms and curious blackbirds, and that stripe print is radiating August heat.
My favorite print from the Stillwater collection from designer Katie O’Shea is this vivid hummingbird floral in just the right shade of citrusy chartreuse.
And finally, we had to turn to manufacturer Andover to find these electric peridot-hued prints from designer Giucy Giuce’s new collection, 40.
Although I tend to think of prints as the stars of the quilt show, solids are the necessary backup players. Especially with so many big personalities competing for the spotlight in this cast. I’ve grounded them all with some Art Gallery Pure Solids:
Cabernet
Purple Pansy
Coral Reef
Parrot
Electric Lime
Coconut Milk
And though I am loving all the new offerings from Art Gallery Fabrics this month, I simply cannot leave out my favorite Ruby Star Society staple prints. New shades of both Starry and Speckled in our steamy August colors.
The Showstopper: Perfect Quilt for maximalists
Scrappy Trip Around the World Peridot quilt
This doesn’t usually happen, but there’s no need to create a mock-up for the August maximalist quilt. Because I just happen to have already created this perfect Peridot gem of a Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt! What a timesaver. (just kidding, quilts take forever).
August babies, this one’s for you. Peridot is the birthstone of the month, and this scrappy trip around the world quilt is practically shimmering with its earthy-green sun sorcery. It’s a lush mix of juicy lime, chartreuse, grassy spring green and nearly-neon yellows.
It’s got strong Leo drama, practical Virgo balance, and yes, it is all ready to come home with you. Check the ready-to-ship shop.
Late Summer Glow: Best for gradient fans
And who doesn’t love a gradient? These ones are honestly super popular, so I’m just giving the people what they want here! This one is an ombré journey through the “Dog Days” palette, melting from zesty lime and peridot at the top to melon and coral in the middle, settling into deep, moody plum and eggplant at the bottom.
Unlike my usual graphic or pop-inspired leanings, this one is dense with florals and full of organic movement, you can almost hear the cicadas and crickets, see the fireflies flash. The intricate prints bring a lush, layered texture that plays beautifully with the gradient, creating a quilt that’s romantic and wild.
Perfect for anyone who loves gradient color transitions (again, that’s everyone, right?) and wants their quilt to make a statement that lingers.
Best for dopamine decor: Playful pop art celebration
This Disco Stars quilt, pattern by Modernly Morgan, really brings the groove and the hot August energy with it’s witchy purple accent stars (that’s really what that shade of Starry is called! Witchy!), rich eggplant background shadows, bursts of poppy orange, coral, and electric lime that pulse with life, echoing the pulsing beat out on the figurative dance floor.
The Dog Days palette brings drama and vibrancy to a design already full of both. Compare it to the cool, sparkling mirror ball aesthetic of the original quilt I made when I tested this pattern for Morgan.
This shimmering piece radiates creativity and confidence, and would turn any space into a gallery of color and energy, a daily reminder to embrace the bold and dance to the beat of your own disco.
Perfect for contemporary spaces: a breezy knuffel quilt
Usually I compare the Knuffel quilt to a hug or maybe a knit stitch, but in this month’s palette, with those plump and rounded snowball blocks? It’s like a big juicy bowl of fruit salad. Grapes and melons and plums and guavas, squeeze of electric lime.
Because I can’t resist featuring a fussy cut print in the centers of my Knuffel blocks, I used this standout stunner hummingbird print from the Stillwater collection by Katie O’Shea. Maureen Cracknell’s summery stripe from the Starling collection made an absolutely perfect binding, so I went ahead and added it to the mock-up. See? I was powerless to resist.
If you, too, are finding it difficult to resist, DON’T! Just go ahead and find the Knuffel pattern in my shop, and stitch this baby right up. Or reach out via the contact form, and I’ll go ahead and kit this exact one up for you.
One quilt Pattern, Two Ways: best for boho botanica *or* two tone simplicity
This pattern is still in process, so shhhh…let’s keep this hush-hush.
Never mind, when it looks this good, we must shout it from the rooftops!
This is the Stargazer Lily quilt (quilt pattern coming soon…) and I don’t usually make 2-tone quilts but check out this versatility! I might have to start paring down those fabric palettes more often.
In the Stargazer Lily quilt, curved pieces give a wiggly movement to the star shaped blocks, punctuated by mini color wheels to give it a twinkly wink.
Stargazer Lily pattern with prints from Maureen Cracknell’s Starling collection
This version of Stargazer Lily feels lush and layered, like late-summer blooms. The Dog Days palette brings an irresistible vibrancy to its sweet petal shapes. Zesty lime and peridot paired with warm poppy orange and eggplant, swimming in a background sea of Coconut Milk. There’s a free-spirited energy here, perfect for anyone who loves a mix of color and pattern that feels both curated and a little wild. Because we can’t contain its chaos, and we shouldn’t even try.
Sometimes, restraint makes the loudest statement… Just kidding, you know that’s not my design ethos. Which is why my version of restraint includes a color called “electric lime”.
This take on Stargazer Lily pares the palette down to just two strong hues, electric lime and parrot in this case, to reveal secondary patterns that baffle our eyes and our minds. The result is basically like getting two patterns for the price of one: it’s hard to believe these two quilts are made from the same pattern.
The 2-tone version is striking in its simplicity: bold geometry softened by organic curves, creating a quilt that feels modern, intentional, and perfectly balanced. Electric AND elegant.
Keep your eye on the La Bizarra Quilt Patterns page to grab this pattern when it’s released.
perfect quilt for quirky eclectic spaces
Summer Shower is a pattern that loves to play, and in the Dog Days palette, it’s a subtle playful wink in an otherwise elevated floral quilt. Its pixelated design and clever 3D effect give it a nod to retro 8-bit graphics, evoking Saturday morning comics or 80’s video games, but here it’s dressed in lush florals and juicy, saturated hues. The result? A quilt that feels like a summer garden party with full tea service, but all the party guests have a wry sense of humor and get your pop culture references.
This is a piece for the bold decorator who never fears mixing patterns and palettes. Whether draped over a velvet armchair or covering a 4 poster bed, it brings a splash (or a full deluge) of color and creativity to any room.
The Summer Shower quilt pattern is out and about and available in the PDF pattern shop, coming to print version too, so ask your favorite local quilt shops to stock La Bizarra Patterns.
August Colors for those who sew them and show them
This palette captures the Dog Days of summer energy: hot, bright, untamed. Whether you lean super mod or more classic, love crisp geometry or lush florals, there’s room to play with these colors in your quilting AND in your home.
For quilt makers, I hope these mock-ups spark ideas for your own projects so you can spend these long hot days channeling that August energy into something beautiful. Grab those deep plums, poppy bright oranges, and of course the electric lime and create something daring.
For art lovers, every quilt shown here carries major August warmth and drama. If you’re craving a space that inspires your creativity and radiates sultry vibes, a quilt is an excellent way to bring art to more than just your walls. Turn your livingroom sofa into a gallery, and your bed into a statement piece.
Whether you’re planning your next project or just enjoying a little colorful inspiration, I hope these ideas and this palette spark creativity and joy. Until next month, friends!
