Originally Posted by
Butterfli19
My questions are when using white, is it best to use a flat white or a lightly patterned white, and do the whites have to match? Like if a colored fab has a lot of white in it, I suppose you would try to match the white as close as possible, unless you are looking for a slight contrast, but to get that floaty look, they would have to match.
What whites do you have in your stash? Can you post pics? Do you ever do white on white?
I also love quilts with lots of white, and I love all kinds of white. When I've had colored fabrics with white, and need a white background or sashing, I take lots of time choosing the right white. I use the hue of the white in the printed fabric as a guide, but they don't have to match exactly. Recently I ended up choosing a white I liked best with my fabric, and then I had to go back for more, and they had a different white that was so much more beautiful with it, I practically swooned. So I bought that one instead. I think you should try different whites until you get that swoony feeling, and that is the right one.
I recently used a bright, pure tone on tone white for sashing with fabrics that had very soft off whites in them, which I thought was a no-no, and I was quite worried about it initially, but it was the only thing that set off the soft whites enough, and no quilt police came for me.
I've chosen both solid and tonal whites for sashing depending on the quilt. Solids work well with modern fabrics and patterns. I think whites also mix beautifully with each other, though I haven't yet made a quilt using more than one white fabric (if that's what you meant by white on white). Normally I choose my whites in person, or audition on-line fabrics (which can be costly), but once I ordered the whole amount of sashing fabric on line, and it was perfect. That was from The Fat Quarter Shop, and they have good color representation, in my experience.