Last week AllFreeSewing and FaveQuilts were able to make it to the International Quilt Festival in Rosemont, Illinois. To put it in a word, we were ecstatic. As one would imagine, we’re pretty happy when it comes to seeing what can be pieced together with a needle and thread. Browsing through the amazing finished quilts and cutting edge products had us absolutely giddy.

But to keep all of our discoveries and newfound treasures to ourselves would be selfish, so after a few days of calming ourselves down from the madness, we’re here to report the top trends from the International Quilt Festival.

Top Trends from the International Quilt Festival

3D – This is an age of innovation in the world of free motion and hexie quilts. No longer are we confined to keeping things flat with fabric. Ladies and gentleman, it’s time to go big, bold, and home with dimensionality in your quilting projects & products.

Color! Now you might be thinking, “Duh, AllFreeSewing and FaveQuilts, color is always at a quilt festival,” but we’re here to tell you that it was like a color explosion in Rosemont. Brights prominently made their way into every kind of quilt and fabric available at the show.

Novelty Fabrics – Along with wild colors were uninhibited prints on tons of fabrics we saw available. Movie characters, animals, and even popular Pins made their way to the show this year.

Embroidery – Designs and long-arm machines made our mouths water at the International Quilt Festival. We were particularly excited to see a lot of fabrics that made use of sparkly thread as a detail, similar to inlay thread.

Needless to say, we’ll be returning next year. Watch out, 2015! Here we come!

Have you ever been to a quilt festival?