The Value of Value

Written by Diane Harris on April 10, 2017. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Trunk Shows

I wish I’d been the first to say it.

“Color gets all the credit, but value does all the work.”

I don’t know who was the first to say it, but if there were a Patchwork Bible, this statement would equate to Genesis 1:1.

We like to think that our quilts are all about color, but they are really more about value: the lightness or darkness of a fabric in relation to the fabrics around it.

“Framework”* quilt top by Diane Harris

I finished piecing this quilt top* last week. It’s one simple block repeated over and over. The “borders” you see are false. It’s just that I used darker fabrics in those blocks. The value—in this case, darkness—did all of the work.

It was a happy accident that I discovered how value could work in these blocks.

I discovered this idea by accident when I first started making these blocks more than a decade back. I threw a bunch of blocks up on the design wall to see how they would play together. As I stood back across the room, I noticed that darker blocks were creating lines like you see above. (If you can’t see it, try squinting or taking off your glasses.)

I realized that if I sewed more deliberately to create darker and lighter blocks, I could create “borders” in the patchwork. What a cool idea. I made the center of the quilt, below, about five years ago.

I put it aside to work on other projects, but recently pulled it out again. If you squint or take off your glasses, do you see a problem? Near the bottom left of the dark square, it kind of falls apart. There are too many light fabrics clustered together. It kept bothering me so even after I had the entire top sewn together, I took that apart and fixed it.

You can see how value works by using only grays in quilt design software such as Electric Quilt. In this image, I made the center section dark. It acts as a medallion. In the image below, I took out the lines between the patches and blocks. Now I see other interesting shapes emerging—that’s how ideas are born.

Click Here: How to Make a Baby Windmill Block

You can use value to create your design with just about any block you like. Below is a line drawing of Shoo Fly blocks in repeat. I’ve colored in one so you recognize it.

In the next image, I’ve added colors. The darkness and lightness of the colors create the design, which doesn’t look much like Shoo Fly.

Below I’ve taken away the lines between the patches and blocks. The Shoo Fly is hardly noticeable.

You can become a more savvy quilt maker by paying more attention to value: a fabric’s lightness or darkness. It matters in pieced blocks, in appliqué, in borders, in binding—it matters everywhere there is fabric!

Whoever said it, it’s true:

“Color gets all the credit, but value does all the work.”

* * * * *

*”Framework” will become part of my newest trunk show for quilt groups, where all of the quilts are based on that humble little Windmill block. Is your group planning programs? Pass my info along, or contact me today!

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