Supplies Students to Have:

The most important thing about the materials you use, aside from their being good quality, is that they inspire you. If you love color, have as much color as possible at your disposal. If pattern is what you live for, choose fabrics with great pattern and movement. If you want to explore value by using neutrals or grayscale, stock up on a variety of tones that run the gamut from darkest dark to lightest light.

Some fabric suggestions:

• Solid colors – go through your solids, if you have them, and choose a good selection. If you don’t have any, a good fat quarter or half yard bundle is a great choice.

• Prints and patterns – prints and patterns add lots of movement to your elements. I’m a big fan of stripes and directional patterns, but that’s just me. Whatever you like, pull together a sweet collection to sprinkle among your elements.

• Neutrals and Grayscale – working with black, white, and the myriad grays in between has been a revelation for me in my work in the last few years. I love the way they play together and the way they play with color. Grays are extremely variable and you’ll find that some are pinkish, some are blueish and so on, making the variations much more complex than one might expect. Again, a good fat quarter or half hard bundle is great. You might have to look to several manufacturers to get a real variety.

You will also need:

• A sewing machine in good working order. Extra needles, full bobbins, thread and machine oil in case you really work your machine extra hard.

• Cutting mat, ruler, rotary cutter and fresh blades

• Shears, snips and paper scissors

• Smartphone or camera for taking pictures

• Paper and pen for making a few notes

• Printer with paper and ink/toner to print instructions and paper templates