Swatch Book Tutorial

Hi there, I'm Christina with Kindred Quilt Co!

I'm a quilter and small business owner from Dallas, Texas. Over the years I've made countless quilts - quilts that have been gifted, commissioned out, or made just for me. Last year I tried to count out exactly how many I've completed, only to be met with the harsh realization that I don't remember them all! And I certainly don't remember which fabrics or colors I used, even in some of my most favorite creations. Before I was a quilter, I was big into scrapbooking - so I thought why don't I make a scrapbook for my quilts?! I wanted to have something to look back on, with physical swatches of all the fabrics used, to remember each quilt (and it would double as a reference in case I wanted to order more of the same fabric for another project). Since then, I've made a few different "quilty swatch books," and I'm so glad to have this space today to tell you all about them.

Before I get started, just know there is no wrong way to make one of these quilty swatch books. This is just another way to express yourself, so don't stress over it too much if you decide to make one. The whole purpose of mine is to showcase swatches and fabric names, but some could be more notes focused, resemble a planner, or be used by a quilt pattern designer as a design journal. So with that said, let's get into it! 

The Book

First things first, let's talk about the "book" part of these swatch books. This is where you can let your individuality shine! Real moment: I hate planners. I have ADHD, and remembering to fill out my daily tasks on those pre-dated pages is something I've given up on a long time ago. I always end up skipping a week (or two), and then the whole planner is trash (wasteful, I know. This is why I don't do paper planners anymore).

But you know what I love? Bullet journals! I love their lack of structure and the creativity they allow. My friend Taylor from @homelylocal recommend this journal to me and it has quickly become one of my most favorite things ever.

It's technically not a bullet journal, but I love the gridded paper. I've recently started designing quilt patterns, and these pages are perfect for sketching out quilt block ideas.

I especially love this journal because the pages are high quality and I've never had an issue with them bleeding through. They also have little notches on every 2nd line, and dots on every 10th, making the grids easy to count. An added bonus is the overall simplicity. Like I mentioned earlier, I have ADHD and get overwhelmed by all the things printed on most pages. This journal has no unnecessary bells, whistles, or extra designs - just nice, simple and practical, just like I like it.

I usually add quilty stickers to the cover. Since this swatch book is new, I don't have it all filled out yet, but these stickers are from Toad and Sew. They're so cute! (PS from Amber - Alderwood studio now has stickers too!)

I promise this isn't an ad. Just genuine enthusiasm for a great product. I got mine from Amazon here.

 Prepping The Swatches

When I'm finished with a quilt, I'll cut off small squares from the scraps to save for my swatch book. To keep the edges from fraying, I'll trim them down with pinking shears.

My favorite part of doing this is planning the layout of the swatches. Each page looks a little different. Some pages have sketches of the quilt block with the swatches around, while others look like the page above. Once I have them all laid out, it's time to attach them.

Attaching The Swatches 

There are many different ways to attach the swatches to your pages. I've done a few of these now, and my favorite way is to stitch them down. I'll reuse an old needle and leftover thread, line up my swatch, and sew it directly onto the page. Keep in mind, this will be difficult if using a thick or rigid journal. If that's the case, you can always use staples or glue. An Elmer's glue stick or craft adhesive spray will usually do the trick.

I like to allow my swatches to fold over so I can write the names of the fabric underneath.

 More Examples

I hope you enjoyed learning about my swatch It's another little way I like to express myself while helping to document what I love most - making quilts! Before I go, I want to share a few more pages from my most recent swatch book, as well as other examples using different journals.

This is one of my favorite fabric pulls to date. There were 21 fabrics in total, and I'm so glad I'll be able to reference this book in the future. 

Here is the full page from my Lily Quilt. The Lily Quilt pattern reminded me of archways in a castle, and I wanted to give the whole quilt a princess and fairy vibe.

Fabrics used: Freckles in Acorn - C+S, Morning in Goldenrod - Ruby Star, Add it Up Lavender - Ruby Star, Primavera Stars Peach Metallic - Rifle Paper Co, Ditzy Plants in Orange - Figo, Tiger Lily Floral Pink - PBS Fabrics, Tiny Flowers in Melon - Ruby Star, Moonscape in Orchid - Dear Stella, Grid in Pink Metallic - Ruby Star, Starry in Goldenrod - Ruby Star, Simple Daisy - PBS Fabrics, Icelandic Poppies in Caramel Copper Metallic - Ruby Star) 

Lastly this amazing image was sent to me by Michelle Grab of @calvins_quilts. These swatches were leftovers from an Eyelet Lace Quilt that she made. You can get the Eyelet Lace Quilt pattern (designed by me!) here.

Admittedly, I know very little about Happy Planners, but Michelle said this works for her and I think her swatch book looks fantastic! This would be a great option for people who do love planners and are looking for something to use in conjunction with their planner. The pages here can also be taken out completely, which makes the swatches much easier to attach with a sewing machine.

Michelle used the Happy Planner Big Notebook, Big Planner hole punch (which she purchased using Joann/Michaels coupons), and 32 lb paper.

If you zoom in, you can see her pages are bulleted. She told me she used Canva to design her pages with a free dot grid layout and free fonts to add the printed text. She also made the box under “quilt details” in Gravit, the free vector graphic software Amber uses for the Pattern Writing Academy.

If you've made it this far, thank you so much for taking the time to read. I really enjoyed putting this post together for you all. These swatch books are not only fun, but really practical - I love using them with my Kona color cards for future quilt projects. But more importantly, I will always have a record, a little piece, of every quilt I've made. And I think that's really special!