Mustard Yellow Quilting Fabric

Mustard is happiest next to its opposites and neighbors — navy and teal for contrast, rust and olive for a warm autumn palette, or gray and cream if you want it to be the only loud voice in the room.

Used everywhere, mustard can overwhelm; used as an accent it wakes a quilt up. A common trick is roughly one part mustard to three or four parts neutrals and quieter colors, so the gold reads as sparkle rather than glare.

It's a personal call, but prewashing relaxes shrinkage and removes excess dye before the fabric goes into a quilt. If you skip it, wash the finished quilt in cool water with a color catcher the first time.