QM Tips

Get dynamic results with color and pattern!

Tips & Techniques

 Designs in Motion

Choose Settings with Diagonal Lines

Consider the familiar Nine Patch, made of both horizontal and vertical lines. It is permanent, stationary, stable--and we don't even anticipate that it will move.

When set on point, its balance is uncertain. The diagonal lines make it seem precarious. This form creates a little tension--and it gets our attention. You can see this in Cobblestones shown at right. The quilt has much more energy with the blocks set on point rather than if they were set straight.

Repeat the Diagonals

The more a certain angled line is repeated, the more forceful the motion.

Think of the traditional Flying Geese pattern. Your eyes can't help but travel in the direction the triangles are pointing. The traditional Lightning, composed entirely of offset triangles, zigzags across the quilt -- and at a more compelling speed when in high contrast with the background.

Rotate the Shapes

Dutchman's Puzzle, composed of the same "geese" units but now grouped in pairs, forces your eyes to travel around the square.

And the old favorite Snail's Trail, composed of strategically placed triangles and squares, leads your eyes in and out as you follow the swirls, creating depth as well as direction.