I’ve had my eye out for ages for neon/fluorescent pink quilting fabric. I know there are a few prints out there with neon/fluorescent pink elements (think Cotton & Steel and Tula Pink prints), but I’m after a solid. I think there was a manufacturer that did one awhile back, but it doesn’t seem to be available anymore. And from what I could find online, cotton’s not the best substrate for neon/fluorescent dyes. I think the dyeing process is fairly toxic, and the dyes fade quickly. Maybe that’s why they’re not more common?

Anyway, I was recently in my local quilt shop, GJ’s Discount Fabrics, which has a huge range of quilting cottons but also fabrics for dance costumes. Think nylon and spandex and sequins and sparkly bits. They also have neon fabrics, and lots of them. I couldn’t resist – I bought some neon/fluorescent pink nylon, and some woven fusible interfacing that I’m hoping I can adhere to the nylon to de-stretch-ify it so I can sew with it as if it’s a quilting cotton. I have no idea if it’ll work, but it’ll be a fun experiment!

The next thing I need to do is come up with a quilt design. How to use such a bright pink fabric to its full effect? I’m thinking I need to set it against a dark fabric, but beyond that, I’m a bit stumped. Anyway, this all led to some new designs featuring my go-to star, the eight-pointed star. I’ve made them small so they’re little pops of colour against a dark background.

These are actually square blocks in a standard layout (not on point). Each block is made up of 9 small stars, and I’ve just coloured in the stars on the diagonals. Some of the squares are filled using larger versions of the same stars.

And then some of the larger stars can fit a smaller star within them. Cute!

Lots of options!

I’m not sure any of these are the right design for my neon pink fabric. And I’m also not sure how small I could make an eight-pointed star and still be happy with it (in terms of precision). That’s something else I need to practice.

Whatever design I end up trying with my neon fabric, I’ll let you know how I get on!