No it is not plain white fabric. It is a fabric design popular in the early 1900's. White background with small scattered geometric designs usually printed in black but could be in other colors , red navy etc. I usually associate with Gibson Girl blouses but most popular for men' shirts. Think barber shop quartets and handlebar mustaches. Very popular in reproduction quilts. I found one close up on the web that shows it in the quilt in detail. I don't believe the quilt would look the same with solid white. You can most likely find fat quarter packs of the fabric.