quilt color palette for spring

mauve, sweet pea pink, bright mango yellow, olive oil chartreuse, lawn green, and a diamond spectrum of neutrals

April in the Carolinas! I don’t know what April is like in your neck of the woods, but here in North Carolina, spring has sprung and just continues springing. The lawns and trees are just beginning to sprout shoots and buds in that particular shade of yellow green that Crayola creatively dubbed ‘Spring Green’.

The plum trees and cherry blossoms are exploding like pink fireworks. Mangoes, peas and bunches of freshly cut sweet peas are filling the farmer’s market. Easter and Earth Day are bringing us pastel shades and an entire spectrum of greens.

Pastels and springy citrus colors are not typically my vibe. Where is the neon? Where is the fuchsia and hot pink? But something that can take any palette to a La Bizarra level of vibrant is turning up the CONTRAST. So any of these colors in a deeper darker hue might help. Adding a bright white, or a dark charcoal or black can also make any palette pop in that bold way.

So added to my palette for April is the birthstone for the month, diamond. Light bounces off this transparent precious gem in just the right way to make every color brighter, represented in fabric form by the spectrum of white, greys, and black.

Let’s turn this whole month’s palettes into gorgeous textile art!

Palette Picks: modern fabrics that fit the bill

For this month’s palette, I pulled some favorite fabrics that are already in my stash, as well as a selection of newly released collections from the designers at Ruby Star Society. I also added in some Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Solids, my preferred solid fabrics manufacturer. Here I’ve included Dried Roses, Cosmos, and Solar.

From my stash, you might recognize some Alison Glass Sunprints, a pink bird print from Melody Miller, a bright chartreuse Kitchen Window woven from Elizabeth Hartman, and some classic Pearl Bracelets from Lizzy House, recently reprinted in new colors with her Love Letter collection.

New releases include Juicy from Melody Miller, which features her pop juice boxes prints, and her citrus print, which looks straight out of a Warhol exhibit. I love her pop art and printmaking style. Her prints are always instantly recognizable as distinctly hers. Also including prints from Oh Lucky Lucky, the newest collection available from Alexia Abegg. She often has a very folk art and wood block print inspired style, and I just love her snakes and butterflies here.

Not yet released (but I have some anyway!) is the upcoming collection from Kim Kight, Strawberry. By far her most popular prints, her strawberries are printed in such a vibrant and playful variety of colors for this collection.

Perfect Quilts for the Farmhouse

I see this bright, springy Cozy Cabin quilt in a bright farmhouse style living room. Using a pattern by Modernly Morgan, it has a modern simplicity but is based on a traditional quilt block style. The vibrant citrus colors would warm up coastal decor, and emphasize the ‘chic’ in a shabby chic space.

This is a quilt pattern that I originally pattern tested for Morgan using modern and architectural fabrics that gave it a very different look. I’ve made several quilts from this pattern since then, using so many different fabric combinations, and each one turns out amazing.

Perfect quilt pick for Maximalists

Maximalist style is all about embracing abundance, boldness, and eclecticism. It thrives on layering vibrant colors, patterns, and textures to create a rich, visually stimulating environment. Vibrance and texture are the name of the game for me and quilts, so it’s no wonder that my most often-used quilt pattern is the classic Trip Around the World.

Rather than adhering to minimalism’s clean lines and simplicity, maximalism invites contrast, chaos, and personality. So in the scrappy trip around the world quilt, I get to use ALL the colors in the palette, and ALL the prints that fit. With maximalism, MORE IS MORE.

What I love about this design is that the placement of the colors and the rotation of the block can completely change the secondary patterns and the overall look of the quilt. I most often tend toward the diamond pattern of block placement, and I often put the fabrics in an ascending order of volume, so the quilt has contrast that gives it almost a 3D, multi-faceted shape.

This Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt would fit in perfectly in a maximalist aesthetic. It acts as a piece of art that invites the eye to explore its details. You could look at it all day, and still find new things to see, and its many prints and shades would add to the room’s energetic personality.

Perfect Quilt for a Dream Dorm Room

Obviously this quilt would look great anywhere, so why is it perfect for a dorm room? First of all, graduation season is coming up in May and June, and new college dorm season is just after that (the time, she flies). If you’re looking to give a grad the perfect custom quilt gift, you should be ordering now to make sure it’s ready in time for orientation week.

Second of all, dorm rooms are unique, aren’t they? Two to four new adults crammed into the same space with matching modular bunks and miniature desks. One of the only ways to bring personality to your fraction of a dorm room is by making your bed a cheery focal point. Whether curled up for a study session, or experiencing a whole new climate for the first time, this brings the warmth and charm of home to an otherwise impersonal space.

And the big reason this is the perfect dorm quilt? The size! Most freshman dorms utilize odd Twin XL mattresses on their bunks to try to make the most of the small space while accommodating students of a variety of heights. And they’re often pushed up against the wall for similar spatial reasons. The quilt above, made with a pattern called Sparkling Cider (which I love for its efficient use of fabric), measures approximately 63 inches by 80 inches, a great size for a twin bed. Perfect for dorms. Also a perfect size for a quilt maker like me.

Because this size makes efficient use of materials and can easily be quilted on my machine without too much wrestling (quilt wrestling keeps me strong), I offer it as a semi-custom option. These are quilts that I make to your specifications, but with a limited number of pattern options, and only in this size range, so they’re a less expensive alternative to a completely custom quilt. I describe the process more in this semi-custom quilt post.

Explore Semi-Custom Quilts

Classic quilt style, modern palette

A Lone Star quilt is a classic pattern with a rich American heritage. It is a traditional symbol in some Native American cultures, as evidenced by the famous quilt-bearing sculpture, Dignity of Earth and Sky, in South Dakota.

I love seeing a traditional quilt remade with modern fabrics. Here I’ve used Ruby Star Society’s staple Starry and Speckled fabrics in the April palette, and paired it with dark black and smoky grey in the center, as well as adding the arctic blue speckled background to ground the warm colors.

The contrast in the center makes this look like an eyeball from far away, which really appeals to my postmodern sensibilities. Do you see it? Does it see you?

This has such a familiar traditional appeal, but with the balance of fresh modern colors and prints. Perfect for a transitional or contemporary space that could use both a burst of color and some rustic charm.

Knuffel Quilt: one pattern, two ways

And of course I think this palette works perfectly with one of my own patterns, the Knuffel quilt. Knuffel is a Dutch word for hug or cuddle, and in the knuffel quilt block, the elements all hug the central featured piece. This is a great pattern for featuring some ‘fussy cut’ special fabrics in the centers of each block.

On the left, I’ve used a bright white background to make the bright colors pop, and I’ve featured the butterflies from the Oh Lucky Lucky collection in a cream fabric and a sweet pea pink fabric.

On the right, the bright verdant green speckled background really changes up the quilt’s personality. I see bright knuffel flowers sprouting out of a grassy meadow. I’ve featured the iconic juice boxes prints from the Juicy collection in the block centers.

For my fellow knitters out there, this pattern’s secondary motif always looks like a brioche stitch to me. I could have highlighted that effect even more by making each of the columns in the same colors.

Knuffel quilt pattern

Knuffel Quilt mock-up with white background and Oh Lucky Lucky butterflies

Knuffel Quilt mock-up with verdant green background and Juicy juice boxes

Best Quilt Option for minimalists

For the minimalists, I haven’t left you out. A modern and minimalist aesthetic doesn’t always mean neutrals. While minimalism thrives on simplicity, a thoughtfully chosen quilt can introduce a pop of color and texture without overwhelming the space.

The key is in its design—sleek, geometric patterns, and solid fabrics (or subtle modern prints) can create visual interest while maintaining the uncluttered, serene vibe of minimalist interiors. A colorful quilt adds warmth and personality, making a space feel inviting, while its simplicity in pattern and color choice can harmonize with minimalist decor.

Here, I’ve limited the color palette to just the yellow and green hues, and stuck to solid fabrics to keep it clean and simple. I chose the Looper quilt pattern from Miss Make because of its fun, retro, midcentury-modern vibe and its plentiful negative space, which I kept in a peaceful, cool silvery grey.

Were this an actual quilt, you could have some real fun with the quilting design on this. A bright lime green thread in a wild, swirling motif. Or stick to the clean lines, and opt for basic horizontal straight-line quilting in a grey thread.

Looper Quilt mock-up with limited April palette

Well there you have it. I think my favorite fabric designers also had April on the brain when they were planning their spring collections because there are so many great new prints that fit this month’s palette to a tee.

This is not my usual color palette, but I really enjoy stepping outside of my aesthetic bubble and taking inspiration from the world around me. Adding some deeper, darker hues or some sparkling whites added the contrast that I craved, while still keeping the spirit of Spring.

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