Quilt Market and Upcoming Trends

Well it's that time again!  International Quilt Market has come and gone and we get a sneak peek at what's coming up in the next year.  Sure, we are already making those orders, but we did see some cool stuff come out of Market we wanted to share.

Creative Grids, our ruler brand of choice here at the shop, is really making a strong effort at making their tools more accessible - they had a slug of new rulers made specifically for left handed quilters.  Diane and Lauren aren't lefties, but Myke here at the shop is and I'm sure he can tell you all about the frustrations of being a lefty using tools designed by righties.  Keep an eye out for those for your favorite southpaw quilter!

Everglow from Tula Pink is getting pushed hard.  If you haven't seen Everglow yet - WOW.  

The picture doesn't do those neons justice - and yes, we will be getting it! 

Last year we saw quilted themes re-emerge in popularity for clothing.  Target had a range of cottage-core dresses serving very much Little House on the Prairie + quilts:

Did I see this actual dress with the quilty stars on it?  Yes. Did I buy it and modify it?  Yes. Fight me.    

Some loved the trend, some hated it, but regardless it really took off.  From the looks of it though, it's not going to slow down one bit.  Quilted jackets were featured at Schoolhouse at Market so we expect to see more in the way of wearables to make it over into the quilting world in the coming months.

The statement this year has been clear - modern isn't a niche anymore and it is definitely here to stay.  What's been really great though is we are seeing more in the way of modern patterns and prints that are more "useable" and translatable for more traditional quilters.   

Interestingly, there are a lot of vintage vibes coming too.  Look for this to come out in retro holiday prints (yep, that kitschy pink will make an appearance for both Halloween and Christmas), calico-esque small prints, and flower child throwbacks.  

Mauves and plaids will be coming in strong, but it also looks like farmhouse chic (think Chip & Joanna) is starting to find its way out.  I'm not gonna lie, my heart isn't breaking there (for the love, save me from wainscoting and shiplap).  For kids, forest animals are a big theme again. 

I can hear mom groaning from here, but y'all...gadgets and gizmos were hot as usual.  It looks like bag construction is making a comeback so we saw a lot in the way of utilitarian tools more specific to bag making and that kind of sewing projects.  Moda is really trying to make those jelly roll rugs happen again, and it looks like they're still going to be a popular technique over the next few seasons.  

Love them or loathe them, digital prints are here to stay.  Fabric companies that have been a little slower to adopt digital printing are now starting to feature some digital lines and it looks like the industry is really throwing support behind digital printing overall.  One of the benefits of digital printing is the sharpness and clarity of the designs, and this is really shown off by the growing number of lines featuring photorealism.  I realize that's not for everyone, but digital prints will be harder to avoid as the months go on. 

Last of all...prices.  We have been singing the same sad song for months and unfortunately, this didn't change with Market.  Prices continue to rise, and they don't appear to be stopping.  Some manufacturers are rising higher than others, but we're seeing increases across the board.  As always, we remain committed to keep prices as reasonable as we can (without violating the various MSRP rules we now must follow) to keep the art of quilting accessible in our communities.  

I encourage you to check out all of the social media accounts for the major companies - Free Spirit, Moda, Art Gallery, Creative Grids, etc. - where you can really get a good (and free!) look at what they have coming.  The only things that won't be super accessible and behind a login/paywall will be from the event itself (since it's not open to the public at the time).  It's always so cool to hear the designers themselves talk about their new lines.  

What are you looking forward to seeing in 2023?  Share in the comments!

2022 Trends

So we've talked some about what we (as in The Cotton Patch) have in store for 2022, but what about what what the quilting industry has in store for us as quilters and shops?

Let's start off with the Colors of the Year.  Both Pantone and Robert Kaufman put out Colors of the Year every year that really set the tone for trends in clothing and quilting:

Pantone's color this year is Veri Peri...Periwinkle.  It's such a lovely bluey purple, and as a random Fun Fact™, periwinkle is one of Diane's favorite colors.  It was the color of her bridesmaids dresses at her wedding!

Robert Kaufman is brining Cosmos, a lovely orchid-y purple.   

So if purple is your favorite color, you're in luck.  We're about to see lots of purple coming through in 2022 lines.  You know what else will still be hot?  Gnomes.  Gnomes are everywhere and you'll see them a lot especially in holiday prints - St. Patrick's Day to Halloween, to Christmas to Valentine's Day and plenty in between.  And as a side note, these aren't your traditional Garden Gnome style gnomes we think of most of the time - they're more in the Scandinavian "Tomte" style.  

Garden Gnome (L), tomte (R).  The tomtes are cute but I do prefer the classic garden gnomes.  

Tonal small prints are back.  Whimsy by P&B (in store now!) is a great example.  Blenders are reflecting the trends too.  More blender lines are incorporating popular textures (like marble) and metallics.  Metallics are making their way into more than just Christmas prints.  Metallic Studio by P&B (in store now!) is another great example, with more to come.  Speaking of holiday prints - pink is making a major comeback in holiday prints.  Looks for more vintage pink style in Christmas prints, and bright pops of pink for Halloween.  Halloween prints this year will have a little more sweetness.  Christmas will be either very modern, or very traditional with little middle ground.  

Wovens are a thing now, but these aren't your grandma's wovens - bigger scale plaids, brighter colors, and a lot of variety.  We'll do a post about this later too, but wovens are super versatile and you can use them in so many ways (and yes, combine them with other fabrics).  We have a lot of these great wovens in store now.  Modern is here to stay, and we're seeing it becomes more and more prevalent as it's more accepted by the "mainstream" quilting community than it was even a couple years ago.  Look for more lines with approachable modern aesthetic.

Greyed down farmhouse has been all the rage the last few years, but it's finally on the way out of fabrics. Wide backs have totally exploded and companies had noted the demand.  Greige good on those have vastly improved than in years past, and there is so much more variety.  but something new for wide backs is we will be seeing more statement style pieces in widebacks.  Looks for unique florals, very large prints, and more color range.  Animal prints - meaning, prints with animals on them versus their fur patterns - are coming back big time.  Domestic cats and dogs, wild big cats, and woodland creatures are going to be in a lot.  Even Tula Pink's Tiny Beasts line (coming in May, we will have it!) features racoons and other forest-y animals.  

We'll be seeing more sophisticated kid prints. The days of super saccharine baby prints are behind us at least for now, as is grey in kids lines.  Look for more brights there too.  Watercolor art in fabrics remains a major trend, especially for florals and seascape style prints.  Colors are vibrant, but soft.  Batiks have undergone some changes in 2022 lines too.  We'll still have a prevalence of traditional batiks, but there is a real movement toward more printed artwork style and again modern aesthetic.  

Something else we'll see is reprints of old fabric.  Some will be old prints in new colors, but many will be straight up reprints especially by noted designers.  For example, Tula Pink has Parisville being reprinted.  This is great if you missed some lines the first time around and had some regrets.  

And finally, digital prints are here to stay.  Most companies have starting putting out digital prints in some capacity, where others have gone nearly all digital.  Digital is definitely the way of the future - it's cheaper for companies to produce, and the detail in the prints is sharp.  It's a win-win there, and for those worried, they are colorfast.  We'll do a post about washing fabrics and fabric shrinkage later.  

What are you looking forward to seeing most this year?  Leave us a note in the comments.