I'm starting to plan my first bargello quilt using a pattern from Eileen Wright's Twist & Turns Bargello book. My question is if I want to use batiks, does it look ok to mix in non-batiks or are they so much their own style you wouldn't mix-n-match? I'd love opinions. Thanks!

I have mixed batiks with quilting cottons and it has looked great

eileen wright is a member on this quilt board. she popped in one day and said if anyone has questions on quilts from her book, send her a pm and she will be glad to assist. her board name is eileensquilting.

but you can mix batiks with other fabrics.

I've seen bargellos with batiks and regular cottons mixed in that look beautiful! I think the color flow is the most important thing. Don't forget to come back and show us what you choose!

I have always felt that if you find a fabric that you like and it works for you GO FOR IT

lots of people mix batiks with other fabrics- just make sure you pre-wash the batiks- even if you don't normally pre-wash-
batiks are 'hand-dyes' and pretty much always have excess dye in them that needs to be washed out before using- otherwise they WILL bleed/run in your finished project

I just finished one with batiks and cottons and it looks great. As long as the colors flow the way you want, mixing works!

I used anything that had the right color values I needed. Back when I did my first one, I had never heard of batiks

Why not. There are no quilt police here. I have mixed them and love the outcome.

My personal preference is to use a combination of batiks, blenders and tone on tones that seem to just flow from one to the next.

I think that the pieces are so small that you won't notice that one is a batik or that another isn't. I have one in progress and am using solids and prints. I prefer to use a small print/solid because it makes the transition to the next shade smoother and less obvious. But others like the way a large print looks. I guess it depends what final look you are trying to achieve. I think batiks would be great, just usually out of my price range. Good luck with your fabric search!

I agree with a lot of the opinions here - the color flow matters the most. One thing you may want to try is putting the fabrics together and then backing up a bit. At about 4 foot away you won't notice so much that it is batik or other - but get a sense of the color flow.

I've mixed fabrics and they look find. Have fun Barb

Mix. As long as the pattern is small enough to look good in narrow strips there's no problem. If you think about a large pattern cut in strips the color changes too much for a bargello.