I've just finished reading Freestyle Color Collage Quilting by Carly Mul and shared my book review on my blog at ihanna.nu where you can read the review in its full length. Here's my abbreviated (!) thoughts:

Initially I got extremely excited by this title and the inspirational image gallery that starts the book of. I love the idea of anything freestyle that involves bright colors, which is not a big surprise if you know my style. I also really enjoy my own version of collage quilting (although I prefer hand-sewing and embroidery to actually quilting on a machine). From the initial gallery of art in the book I immediately knew that I wanted to try this method of being creative, but my own interest wore of as soon as Carly got into all the materials needed. I own a sewing machine (actually two) but still… this feels a bit too overwhelming to me, I am sad to say. Let me explain.

For me, new fabric, batting and fusible webbing is expensive, and to create a colorful collages like the author demonstrates, you will need a substantial stash of FQ with big patterns, very unlike most quilting fabrics that I already own (and perhaps; that most quilters own). Our stash often consists of small prints that can be divided into squares and strips, the kind of patterned fabrics that are used in most blocks… But here we’re doing raw-edge applique using forms like spirals, big flowers and organic pieces instead.

Going into a creative outlet like this you will need to make a big investment of time and money. The need for space to store your materials will emerge quickly, or at least that’s my worry when reading the book. Quilting is not cheap. Not that that’s her fault of course, it’s simply the reality of her chosen art form. She even warns the reader in her introduction:

"It would be difficult to make a freestyle color collage without a fabric stash because achieving the look we want requires a tremendous amount of fabric.”

In this book Carly Mul reveals how she works to create a yummy and personal expression of flowers & colors, using a stash she’s been building for years. And how lucky are we that specialty books like this still gets published, am I right?

I still wanted to review this book because it is beautiful. The quilts are swoon worthy and unique. I’m pretty sure anyone who is a fan of bright, happy color will adore them and feel inspired by looking at the photos of them, wishing you could crawl even closer or run your hands over the surface to learn where the edge of each fabric piece is. The whole point of this kind of quilt, or art piece really, is that you can’t tell where one fabric scrap ends and the next continues. Put together right it will look like a painting and all of these quilts are masterfully done. They look magical to me.

Question of the day: is the fact that the author is indeed an artist deterring or encouraging us? you might ask. To me it’s both. The examples are indeed inspirational, but also, that level of detail orientation feels foreign and far fetched. I’m sure it would take a few years of practice to master free-styling color collage quilt in this way, without fabric puckering, colors looking disjointed or you running out of the perfect next scrap option, but I also think you could enjoy the process of it all while you are learning. The book will really hold your hand in that way, and what more could you wish for in a craft or artist inspiration book?

Again, I’d argue that buying all those fabric bits would be difficult and the biggest hurdle to get started with fabric collage in this style. Carly agrees and admits that it is choosing the right fabrics that is the hardest parts for her students. This is why she gives many suggestions on what kind of patterns to look for and hosts workshops in her own studio in the US.

Carly explains how to divide the scraps into the correct piles and how to “build” the quilt using the different scrap categories to achieve the desired effect. Using lines and pathways through the color wash you will learn how to place each piece so that it fits into the whole, and compliments it.

I like the layout of the pages, and that is important to an aesthetic person like me. I also like the beautiful photos of the artwork and the many different types of examples we get inside the rather short but well-packed book (96 pages). Carly’s technique descriptions are comprehensible even to someone like me, who does not have English as her first language. Each step comes with easy-to-understand descriptions and includes many image examples, which makes it easy to follow along.

Overall I really like the book and only feel bummed that I myself can not jump in to create a collage quilt like this straight away (not that I need another hobby anyway). I am not an artist with such a big fabric stash (or the desire to start one) that I could pull it of, unfortunately. But even if you’re not going to get started with color collage quilts, this book is a joy to the eye.

If you have such a stash in your studio already, I am confident that you will find this book a great inspiration as a workbook. If fabric collage interests you at all, you’ll want to check the book out for sure.

Read a longer version of this book review and many other reviews on creative book on the blog Studio iHanna. www.ihanna.nu. Thanks for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this quilt book! It's a great walkthrough for anyone who wants to give color collaging a try. It'll really hold your hand through topics like color selection, flowing from one color to another, and composition. For an art form that really feels open ended and artsy this is a nice technical explanation of the process that opens it up to anyone who wants to give it a try.

I could feel my quilty urges tingling by the time I was half way through, I wanted to run upstairs to my studio to start going through my fabrics.

Well written, easy to understand, and accessible for an intermediate quilter looking to explore a new technique.

While I personally enjoying doing needle turn applique, I did find this book informative and would be useful in creating a collage quilt. Good tips on color and fabric usage, and was interesting to read. Would recommend.

If you’re a fan of fabric collages, this book is a must-read. The author delves into every aspect of the craft, including color and print selection, supplies and techniques, and finishing examples that go beyond quilting. The book is incredibly detailed, and the first time I read it, I found it overwhelming. However, the second time around, I gained a much deeper understanding of the subject matter.

This review is entirely voluntary and reflects my personal opinions.

I took a collage quilting class and made a project with my mom. It was fun. But part of it felt very wasteful. What I like about this book is the emphasis on scraps as well as other things to help blend everything together. I do like how she talks about color technique, and pathing. But one of the things that annoys me is that there is the right way to do this type of applique. It gives you rules to follow, etc. and I thought the idea was to be freestyle. Freestyle means little to few rules. Overall, I like her designs, and I think the book works well especially if you’ve never collaged before.

This unique Collage Quilting Pattern book demonstrates that you don’t need to follow strictly to a quilting pattern and style. By using a freestyle color collage techniques shown in this book can give a professional look to your home.

All this artist is doing is taking commercial fabric and using it to create her collages. There’s nothing artistic or original about it.

The work in this book is gorgeous! As stated in the title this is about freestyle color collage quilting. I was interested to see what all that entailed and I’m glad I picked up this book! Typically you see the quilts that all our grandma’s made, you know the uniform perfect square quilts. This book however breaks away from the uniform and helps encourage you to do whatever you want! I definitely will be giving this a try as I’m in my cozy home art era (I’ve picked up crochet and sewing) and can’t wait to see what I make from the help of this book!

The concept feels complicated, but Mul presents it in such a logical and easy-to-grasp way. I was inspired to pull out some fabrics and play.

Freestyle Color Collage Quilting is an interesting concept. I found it very interesting as the author described her process. I did find it difficult to completely understand the step by step instructions as I was reading in a digital format. I hope that later I can read it again while being able to actually create a piece from fabrics. I think that will help me to understand it.
I would have liked more detailed pictures.
The digital copy that I had of the book was confusing because the photos weren't easy to see while reading the accompanying text. I do hope that this is fixed (or was never a problem) in the printed edition.

A vibrant and inspiring guide that encourages quilters to embrace creativity and bold design. The unique approach to fabric selection, placement, and color combinations is beautifully explained, making the process feel accessible and exciting.

With stunning visuals and clear instructions, this book sparks endless ideas and inspires quilters to step outside traditional boundaries. A must-have for anyone looking to create bold, one-of-a-kind designs. Thank you for the ARC!

Thoroughly enjoyed reading Carly Mul’s Freestyle Color Collage Quilting.

Her examples are clear and concise with nice visuals and would be a welcome reference for anyone interested in collage quilting.

The concept of leaders, followers, connectors and kisses may not be completely new but make it easy to remember when auditioning fabrics.

A worthy addition to any quilter’s library.

I have seen Carly Mul’s quilts and am thrilled she has a book showing how she makes them.

Mul’s collage technique uses fusible applique with fussy cut prints. That technique is not new, but the way Mul uses color, value, and prints to smoothly flow across the quilt is unique.

Mul shows how to pull together fabrics from your stash and scraps, then sort them into ‘Leaders’, or focal fabrics with specific, larger, design shapes; ‘Kisses’, or smaller, specific shapes; ‘Followers/Blenders” which supports the main fabric color; “Connectors” which are prints that bridge between Leader fabrics; and solids.

With detailed photographs and description, Mul shows how to creates ‘paths’ of fabrics that flow between Leaders, considering value and color.

Small scraps can be employed in this technique. Steam-a-Seam2 is fused to the fabrics before the shapes are cut out with Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Scissors; I use both products in my quilting.

The essential instructions for using this technique are beautifully laid out in the book. The technique looks to be intuitive, but there are, as in all art, clear rules. Trying out different fabrics for flow will make apparent those that work and those that do not.

The instructions continue showing how she machine quilts and her unique way of binding off the quilt.

The book is a fantastic way to understand Mul's art.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.

As a fiber artist, I am always drawn to books that cover the techniques of various artists. I enjoyed exploring Carly’s journey of collage. The way that she relays her chosen word terms for items, ie. kisses and leaders, etc. to describe her process is very intriguing. I will say i have a new found appreciation for pattern ease as a foundation product. I would definitely recommend this to individuals that are new to art quilts and fiber making. It would be also great for someone just learning color and values. She provides great examples of this.

As a utilitarian quilter, I’ve made quilts that don’t match colors well, such as my “God-Awful-Ugly-Crazy-Quilt-Without-Embroidery.” It’s not that I’m opposed to beautiful things. Far from it—I love to look at sparkly, beautiful items. But the truth is that I am far too busy feeding my family (i.e, gardening and raising animals), trying to keep up to date educationally (reading 100+ books and research articles a year), and striving to keep my family and friends piled in quilts during the fall, winter, and spring seasons. And we are ROUGH on our quilts with weekly washings and dryings (many people still use wood and coal to heat their homes in my area); 95% of people don’t have water softeners and most use well water while some don’t have running water at all, using the local rivers or springs instead. Time is short and the needs are high.

Many will use the words ‘quilting’ and ‘art’ interchangeably. I am definitely not one of those people. But Carly Mul is different. Mul is Dutch and, like the great Dutch painters, she doesn’t just see a quilt—she sees a canvas. And where others see fabric and thread, Mul sees paint.

Like any painter, Mul sees in color and her attention to detail is extraordinary. I come from a family of artists that includes drawers, painters, wood carvers, and even bronze sculptors. With all of my recessive genes, I’m not surprised that the artistic gene is decidedly absent from my genetic makeup. I did try painting once, however, and while my skills were, and remain to this very day, in a sorry state, I began to start seeing the world differently—the trees weren’t green anymore; they were a mixture of millions of different shades of greens, blacks, yellows, reds, and other colors. As I drove down the black top highway, I saw bursts of color whereas before, all I saw was the black asphalt road. It was a fascinating experience for me and one that I remember well so, when I began reviewing this book, it drew me backwards into my short-lived artistic experience.

Mul’s method focuses on five primary “tools” which she calls leaders, followers, kisses, connectors, and solids. Using these five, she teaches readers how to create artistic masterpieces. However, this is a long process, and the author duly informs readers of this by informing us that it takes time to retrain one’s eyes. This isn’t just quilting, Color Collage Quilting is an art form. In fact, Mul’s work appears in both art **and** quilting competitions. Not content with just showing her work, she also teaches at those same shows. This book is a perfect companion for quilters who dream of entering either.

The author reveals how to make a collage using small sized pieces, with most being between 1 and 3 inches. Although Mul informs readers that the end result can appear on clothing, pillow covers and shams, and even suggests that one can use this system to make a large quilt (gasp!), the book primarily features wall hangings.

For the vast majority of people that I know, the ability to make a 46” wall hanging or something smaller is a relief because, at least until one learns to retrain their eyes efficiently, this could be a laborious process. However, the labor seems much easier if one follows the author’s advice, particularly when Mul states that ”…The goal is to always make a line…” using related color and that no single piece should be cut using straight lines.

Mul is clearly a professional—a true artist—and I knew this definitively when I discovered that she used Superior Threads. And while I also only use this same brand and am NOT an artist, this proved to me that she was dedicated to high-quality items. When combined with her detailed instructions, I knew that I could trust her expertise.

In short, this book isn’t for the fly-by-chump looking for a quick way to get a utilitarian quilt together. This book is for people who are willing to invest time in an artistic craft. Of course, you don’t need to actually make one of your own projects and can easily use this book to inspire the use of color in your own quilts. But if you **do** decide to make one of your own collages, I’m pretty certain you’ll end up with a masterpiece.

I received an ARC of “Freestyle Color Collage Quilting,” by Carly Mul from NetGalley, Fox Chapel Publishing, and Landauer Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Wow...who knew so much went into a fabric collage. Having made a few by winging it, I can see where this book wo7ld be so helpful! The idea of leaders, followers connectors and kisses really made sense!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

A beautifully crafted and thorough guide, this book offers an inspiring dive into the art of collage quilting. Rather than being a pattern book, it serves as a resource for understanding and mastering freestyle techniques. The clear explanations, numerous examples, and a wealth of vibrant pictures effectively complement the written instructions, making it a visually engaging and highly informative read.

While the book begins with the basics of collage quilting, it assumes readers have foundational quilting skills. Familiarity with techniques like cutting, piecing, and basic stitching will make the concepts easier to grasp and apply. For seasoned quilters or those with some experience, Freestyle Color Collage Quilting offers advanced insights and techniques to take your projects to the next level.

Its structure strikes an excellent balance, providing enough depth to inspire and challenge experienced quilters while remaining approachable for those building on their skills. The thoughtful explanations and the abundance of images ensure that readers can follow along and feel empowered to create stunning collage designs.

This book is a treasure for anyone passionate about quilting and eager to explore the creative and colorful world of collage. Highly recommended for quilters ready to expand their repertoire and take on a new challenge!

Freestyle Color Collage Quilting : A Unique Method for Creating Bold Designs with Fabric. This is an interesting and creative book on freestyle quilting. The instructions are clear and easily adaptable to your own style and needs.. I liked the guidance on colour, and organising your material. A good inspiring book that would make a great gift for seasoned crafters allowing them to dip into something a bit different.

Carly Mul’s latest quilting guide is an absolute gem, offering a fresh and approachable take on vibrant, free-form quilting. If traditional patterns make you feel boxed in, this guide’s collage-inspired techniques will have you diving into your fabric stash with excitement. Mul’s step-by-step advice makes it easy for beginners to follow along, while her innovative ideas push seasoned quilters to explore bold, new directions. From sourcing supplies to gathering inspiration from galleries, this book is a treasure trove of creative possibilities.

Quilts have a way of capturing memories, don’t they? I’ll never forget the quilt my grandmother made, pieced together from leftover scraps of my childhood dresses. It was a kaleidoscope of colors and memories, each square telling its own little story. Mul’s guide brings that same spirit of personal expression into every project. Whether you’re working with cherished fabrics or leftover pieces from other crafts, the end result isn’t just a quilt—it’s a reflection of your life, style, and creativity.

This book inspired me to experiment beyond my usual quilting comfort zone, and the results were uniquely “me.” If you’re ready to craft quilts that are more than just functional, this guide will have you stitching together something truly one-of-a-kind.