Paris Letters Quilt Along Week 1
Welcome to Week One of the Paris Letters Quilt Along! We are really looking forward to our time together over the next 7 weeks and seeing all of your beautiful quilt tops come together!
Be sure you have a copy of the Paris Letters quilt pattern and let's get started! The pattern was emailed to you a few days ago. If you haven't received it yet you can sign up here.
ABOUT THE QUILT ALONG
If you're new to this Quilt Along and you haven't read through our Paris Letters Quilt Along Details page, be sure to do that first. There, you'll find information about choosing fabrics, available quilt kits, and more.
During week one we’ll be covering:
- How to choose your fabrics (stash or kits!)
- Planning your project in a way that works for YOU
- Tips to set up your space for a smooth sewing experience
- This weeks giveaway prize and how to win by simply sharing your progress!
Let’s dive in. 💌 Here's a look at our schedule:
CHOOSING YOUR FABRIC
There’s no “right” way to pull fabrics for this quilt—and that’s part of the fun! The Paris Letters Quilt is super flexible. You can go bold, scrappy, minimal, romantic, rainbow, or anything in between.
Use a Quilt Kit
If you purchased a Paris Letters Quilt Kit from Fat Quarter Shop, hooray! These kits were specially curated with balance, variety, and flow in mind. You’re ready to go!
Tip: Still waiting on your kit? That’s okay—use this week to prep your tools and read through the pattern.
Shop Your Stash
This quilt is a stash-lover’s dream. I am actually making a second version entirely from fabric I already had—and I love the creative challenge of seeing how it all came together.
Here are a few ideas if you’re curating your own palette:
- Go Gradient: we used a warm-to-cool color shift in my quilt that gives it a soft, glowing flow.
- Try Monochromatic: Stick to all blues, pinks, neutrals, or whatever speaks to you!
- Scrappy and Joyful: Mix and match your favorite prints and solids—just make sure there’s enough contrast between pieces.
- Add Texture: Don’t be afraid to mix florals, solids, stripes, and text prints.
Pro tip: Lay your fabrics out in order, snap a photo, and switch it to black and white to check value contrast. It's a complete game changer.
COLOR AND LAYOUT INSPIRATION
The quilt in the photo above is our original version—the one you’ll see on the cover of the pattern. It’s made using prints from my Love Letter and Mademoiselle collections with Art Gallery Fabrics, and it’s all about soft transitions and gentle storytelling through color.
- Layout: Each block uses strips that move from light to dark as they spiral out, giving a subtle but beautiful sense of motion and flow.
- Color Palette: We worked with peachy pinks, dusty blues, warm neutrals, soft teals, and rose reds. You’ll see the colors gradually shift across the quilt—from cool tones to warm, then back again.
- Effect: It’s delicate, dreamy, and cohesive. There’s just enough contrast between fabrics to make each block stand out, but the overall quilt feels like a soft watercolor wash.
If you love a layered, vintage-inspired look, try using:
- Low-volume background prints
- Romantic florals
- A mix of warm and cool tones that gently fade from one to the next
Don’t feel tied to the cover quilt style—this pattern looks amazing in a wide variety of palettes. Here are a few directions you could go:
High Contrast Modern
- Color Scheme: Black, white, and brights
- Effect: Crisp, bold, graphic
- Tip: Use solids or tone-on-tone prints for sharp lines
Rainbow or Ombre
- Color Scheme: Every color in the spectrum!
- Effect: Playful and happy
- Tip: Arrange your blocks so colors cascade across the quilt in rainbow order
Earthy + Natural
- Color Scheme: Olive, terracotta, sand, ochre, dusty blue
- Effect: Warm, grounded, serene
- Tip: Choose fabrics with natural textures like linen blends or small botanicals
Scrappy and Eclectic
- Color Scheme: Anything and everything!
- Effect: Vintage charm and cozy personality
- Tip: Use one fabric for the center square of each block to create a unifying anchor
TIPS FOR CHOOSING FABRICS
Feeling overwhelmed? Here are some tried-and-true tips to help you pull your palette together:
- Start with One “Hero” Fabric - Choose a print you love with multiple colors in it, then pull coordinating fabrics from the shades in that print.
- Use a Value Range - Include lights, mediums, and darks so the design has depth and contrast. Even soft, tonal quilts benefit from this!
- Mix Print Sizes - Combine small-scale prints, mediums, and maybe one or two larger-scale motifs to create balance.
- Try the B&W Test - Snap a photo of your fabrics and convert it to black & white. This helps you see value contrast without color distractions.
- Organize Your Pull - Once you’ve got your fabrics, arrange them in the order you think you’ll use them (light to dark or by color family). Take a photo so you can reference it later.
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Give Yourself Permission to Evolve - It’s okay to swap a fabric out halfway through! Trust your eye and let the quilt evolve with you.
PLANNING TIPS
It’s time to make your plan. Not a rigid, stress-inducing kind—but one that gives you room to enjoy the process while staying on track. Here’s what I suggest:
Things to do this week:
- Print your pattern or have a digital copy ready
- Highlight or underline key cutting instructions or block tips
- Make a checklist of each week’s goals—nothing fancy, just something to keep you moving forward
- Add sewing time to your calendar (even just 30 minutes a few times a week helps!)
ORGANIZE YOUR WORKSPACE
A clean(ish) space = a calm(er) mind. You don’t need a Pinterest-perfect setup, but I promise that a little bit of organization now will make everything more fun later.
- Clear off your cutting and sewing areas
- Gather your tools: rotary cutter, rulers, cutting mat, pins, seam ripper, etc.
- Replace your rotary blade if it’s been a while—you’ll thank me later
- Use Ziploc bags or small bins to group fabric pieces by block or step
- If you’re prewashing fabrics, make sure they’re pressed and ready
If you’re sewing at your kitchen table, tuck everything into a basket or bin so you can easily move it between sessions.
WEEK ONE PRIZE
- Share the "I'm In" photo below to your Instagram feed. Please note that we are only able to see your entry if your account is public.
- Tag @becca.plymale.creative, @pattybasemi in the photo AND in the caption.
- Use the hashtags #ParisLettersQAL.
- Enter by June 28th at 8pm EST. Winner will be announced in the Week 2 post on June 30th.
There’s no one way to make the Paris Letters Quilt. Don’t stress over perfect matching fabrics or staying “on schedule.” This quilt along is all about creating something meaningful—and having fun along the way!
Whether you’re sewing in big chunks or squeezing in 20 minutes at a time, you are part of something beautiful. And we aere cheering you on every step of the way.
Next Week: Cutting Your Fabric
Get those rotary cutters ready! In Week 2, we’ll talk about cutting strategies, organizing your pieces, and how to avoid the most common cutting mistakes.
Until then—let’s sew! 💕
Becca & Patty
