Rather than pure hues, the colours are muted and slightly muddy to convey a rustic, well-worn feeling. For the primaries, deep red, warm rust and burgundy fly the red flag, dusty or navy tones of blue reign and mustards and ochres represent yellow. The secondary colours are transformed into warm olive or bottle greens, muted purple and grape shades and dulled orange to tan hues. And there are plenty of tertiaries too – all manner of browns, beiges and rich earth tones. Tea-dyeing is another staple – whether on plain or seeded homespun or used to ‘countrify’ other prints.

Colours don’t often come separately, of course. They’re very rarely used as solids or plains – instead woven and printed patterns abound. There are checks, plaids and stripes, myriad tone-on-tone prints, paisleys and seemingly endless themed designs such as beehives, bird houses, gardens, houses, farmyards, chooks, cows and other country delights.

Rather than working with a limited palette or a mere handful of fabrics, the popular notion is the more the merrier. Checkerboard borders, scrappy Flying Geese and pieced bindings for example add to the visual richness of the finished quilt or wall-hanging while making use of small remnants at the same time. Similarly, appliqué designs incorporate many materials in fresh ways.

There is a longstanding tradition of recycling, economising and using what’s to hand associated with country living – though city-slickers are not strangers to it either. Scrap quilts are the natural result, and they are very much part of the country look. Recycled and leftover fabrics such as shirtings and other household finds may be combined with bits from a patchwork stash and some purchased or swapped pieces to make something practical and useful from almost nothing – or at least it looks that way.

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