SO FRUSTRATED: Dye Lot Lesson
One of my favorite fabrics comes from a wide backing. It ends up being very economical since it's 108" wide. I have it in black, red, and my favorite, a color that I think of as khaki but is probably ecru. Darker than cream, lighter than tan, not even what I would call beige since it has a green undertone to it. I have three large projects going where I am using the ecru color as a consistent background.
I knew I'd need more yardage so I bought two more lengths of it. The package arrived, then sat for a while because I was working on other projects. A couple days ago I finally opened the box and OH NO the color is NOT a match -- the new fabric is two or three shades darker and, to my mind, is quite noticeable. My husband says it will "blend" but I didn't want it to blend, I wanted it to MATCH!
There is nothing actually "wrong" with the fabric. I compared the documentation on this order versus the previous orders and the item numbers are the same, the SKU's are the same. Obviously the company that manufactured the fabric (Benartex) has changed their dye lot slightly. Wouldn't matter a bit if I was using the fabric as a backing, but it does make a difference when using it on the front of the quilt!
After stewing and dithering back and forth for a couple of days, I have decided to take all of the projects apart and cannibalize the parts to go into the project that I have the most interest in finishing. All 3 projects use components that are the same size, so the only thing wasted will be the thread I used in piecing and a lot of sewing time! By taking them all apart I can scatter the lighter fabric in with the darker fabric and hopefully avoid the "oh look, she ran out of fabric" effect.
The main lesson I've learned: when I'm working with a consistent background (or any consistent fabric, for that matter) finish it up instead of letting it drag on and on and on ...