Ultimate Value Tool: Behind-the-Scenes!

One of my early quilting teachers shared how important value is. What she said stuck with me, but what it meant took quite a while longer for me to understand. The quote was, “In art, it is said that color gets 90% of the credit and does 10% of the work. And value does 90% of the work and only gets 10% of the credit.” Since it carries the load of the project, value is critical. In my quilting experience, I have learned it mainly by trial and error. I have made a lot of quilts and reviewed what I liked and didn’t like. Having something like the Ultimate Value Tool (UVT) would have helped me learn the concept of value sooner and be more confident in my choices.

What I did have for the last 20 years was a color wheel that included value. When it was discontinued, I panicked. Then I thought, “I’ll develop a better tool specifically for value!”

In my book, 3-D Magic! Simple Blocks, Striking Quilts, and my Creative Sparks class, Playing with Blocks: Easy 3D Quilts, I have included a single greyscale. That idea has evolved into a full range of color scales in two different forms, pure and toned. My goal was to create a tool that teaches value without all of the trial and error. With the UVT, the quilter finds success sooner in their journey and has confidence with each project.

First step was to pick the twelve colors. Luckily there is the CMYK system for printing colors that made it easier, though it still took several iterations.

Second step was to select the values of each color so that they were of similar value for the segments. Are there going to be 5 or more segments? I tried 7 but settled on 5 to keep it simple yet effective.

Third step was to decide on the shape and size of the viewing hole. From using the edge to looking through a square or a rectangle or a circle - Oh! …and add another smaller circle to compare to printed patterns.

Citizen Printing in Fort Collins was very patient with me for trying all of the different variations. They were generous with their time and guidance in the printing process for color. After printing 15 copies of the final layout, I punched holes and rotary cut each card. Twenty-seven cards times 15 copies with 5 large holes and 5 small holes per card, there was a lot of cutting and punching to do. Thinking about how cool this tool would be made it an easy task.

Now to have it tested. Several of my certified instructors were willing to try it out and give feedback on instructions, lines, shapes, text, etc. Suggestions were considered and incorporated.

Seeing this all come together into the finished product has been an exciting experience. I have designed several tools for quilting and this has been the most intriguing one yet. Now I have my ultimate value tool!

Try the Ultimate Value Tool and watch your confidence in selecting fabrics and your satisfaction with your projects grow.

Watch my tutorial on how to use the tool: 

My goal in all that I teach is to make quilting even more enjoyable and all of our quilting is even more enjoyable and successful. Enjoy!

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Marci Baker is internationally recognized for her quilting expertise, having been featured in magazines and television. She resides in Fort Collins, Colorado. quiltwithmarcibaker.com