Once you have selected your fabrics and are comfortable with the colors it’s time to focus on your pattern. There are no hard and fast rules, so relax and enjoy this next step. An architects’s blueprints are the maps for construction workers. Well, your pattern is much the same...

As I continue to write this blog to help others, I must pause and reflect on areas with which some beginners are having difficulty. And so, before continuing with step 8, let’s talk more about fabrics. I tell students to choose large and small prints in darks, mediums, and lights. I avoid certain fabrics, such as batiks and solids, in favor of directional patterns that help build the collage...

Take a closer look at the animal you are trying to create — is it wild or domestic? Does it live near a lake, mountain, ocean, forest, or desert? What makes this animal happiest…lying in a sunny spot, rolling in the mud, or chasing a butterfly? In Part 1, I directed your attention to light, medium, and darks of the colors you wish to use. But which colors should you choose?