French Braid Quilts Book 52495 by C&T Publishing

- One great technique, a variety of different looks!

- Learn to Use Value: Create glowing effects by choosing a gradated range of fabrics.

- Super-easy piecing means fast quilt construction.

- Make it yours with pretty borders, separator bands, and other creative variations.

Accent Fabric

Once you have chosen the braid run, select the accent fabric. This fabric marches in little squares vertically up the center of each braid strip (see Anatomy of a French Braid, page 7). If you are trying to achieve a calm, subtle quilt, pick something with a low degree of contrast or something in the same color family as the braid fabrics. If you want a more exciting look, a stronger or brighter accent will be better.

Examine your braid run. If there is a common color in the majority of the fabrics, start there. Lay various bolts of fabric in that color next to the run. Try to find one that has only one or two colors and is not very busy, though a geometric print can sometimes work. Remember that prints will be oriented diagonally in the finished quilt. Don’t worry if your accent fabric fades into one or two of your braid fabrics. Your eye will see the accents as a continuous line whether or not each square is clearly visible.

If one color doesn’t work, try a different one. A slight change in the accent fabric can make a big difference in the look of the finished quilt, so don’t be afraid to try unlikely colors (Braid Runners 1–4, page 35). Again, this is not your last chance for fabric selection; you still might use today’s rejects tomorrow.

Laying Out the Braid

At this point, we must take an essential detour to lay out the braid pieces and examine the overall effect. If you are very good with color or anxious to begin sewing, you will be tempted to omit this step. If that’s how you feel, please stop, take a Zen cleansing breath, reconsider, and at least read this section before deciding to ignore it.

Lay one of the starting triangles on a table with the longest side closest to you (or at about knee level on a design wall). Fold the accent fabric into a long strip and lay it out so it stretches from the top of the triangle upward. Now take the 2 sets of 21⁄2? × 81⁄2? braid segments that you set aside earlier and lay them out in the predetermined order, beginning at the top of the starting triangle and continuing until you have laid out one entire run. Leave space at the center between the braid segments to let the accent fabric show through.

Cornucopia, Finished size: 67 inches × 73 inches

Basic French Braid with Two-Fabric Separator Bands.