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How to Design a Man's Quilt

A quilt can be flowery, pink and pretty, but that does not mean that quilts are only for women. Any man can appreciate cozying up to the warmth of a handmade quilt without the embarrassment of a feminine design. You don̵7;t need to buy a specially designed pattern to make a man's quilt. However, skip the wedding ring and Dresden plate patterns, and keep the velvet or silk fabric for another quilt. Instead, create masculine quilt design with the clever use of color, fabric and quilt patterns that appeal to a man's taste.

Things You'll Need

Online design tools
Color printer

Instructions

Size and Patterns
- 1
  Decide whether the quilt will be a throw or bed-size quilt to determine the quilt's size. Use large-scale patterns on a large bed quilt and smaller scale patterns on a small quilt.
- 2
  Choose a theme or motif that a man would like. Consider nautical, outdoors, animals, nature or transportation-related themes such as trains or cars.
- 3
  Research traditional and novelty quilt patterns. Look in quilting books or find patterns online at sites such as FreeQuiltPatterns.com. Print or copy the instructions and materials list from your top three pattern choices to refer to later.
Choosing Colors
- 4
  Start with a pre-selected fabric or his favorite piece of clothing. Use similar colors or complementary colors in the fabric for the quilt.
- 5
  Use a color wheel tool, found at craft and quilting stores, to help determine colors that complement one another.
- 6
  Look online for color combination or color palette ideas at a website like ColorHunter.com. Print off a selection of palettes using a color printer for fabric ideas.
Testing Designs
- 7
  Print off enlarged copies of the block diagram you choose in black and white, then color the squares to see how the block pattern looks with color.
- 8
  Cut sample fabric pieces and place on the block diagram to see how the fabric appears.
- 9
  Try the design online with colors, patterns and fabrics in a virtual quilt to see what will work for a man's quilt. Quilt design websites, such as QuiltingStudio.com, offer tools that create realistic virtual quilts to print off for reference later.
- 10
  Take all the printouts, palette choices, patterns, any fabric estimates and pre-selected fabric, if applicable, with you to a quilt shop to select and purchase the final fabrics.

Sewing