batik question
 

I want to make a new quilt for our bed and will be using two different shades of blue plus a white for a Carpenter's Star. I can't find a white batik that I like. Is it okay to use another kind of fabric or should I stick to all batik fabrics?

Sure. White on white looks great and plays nice with batiks. Try to find a white fabric that is as close as possible to the thickness and texture of the batik ... it will make piecing a whole lot easier.

There are cream and ivory or light tan batiks that would do nicely ... if you want to keep with the batik theme and you like these colors. I'm looking forward for pictures of your progress.

Finding a really really light batik is tough. I would go with a White on white, or even a solid white . Just be sure to prewash/ or pretreat those blue batiks for potential bleeding.

I agree with the other posts. Either a white-on-white or off-white would be great. I THINK Hoffman, in their 1895 line has a solid or nearly solid white batik - go figure - - - it's what they use as their base so the thread count would be the same. You might have to ask your local quilt shop.

Please keep us posted. OOOOOhhhh - - - please be sure to PRE-WASH your beautiful blues to prevent color bleeding.

Jane

I have recently made 3 batik and white quilts. I opted to use a nice white on white fabric. But, I ended up using the wrong side of the fabric. I thought the white 'print' was a little too obvious when I put it next to my gorgeous batiks.

Clever!!!!

This may sound stupid, but what is "white on white"? Is it two tone white?

Hi Jeanne! White on white (WOW) are white fabrics with a white print on them. The print adds dimension to the white fabric so the solid white doesn't look flat. Go here and you will be able to see what WOW fabrics look like. This site darkens the pictures so you can see the design but the fabrics are really white in color. http://www.this-n-thatfabrics.com/cg...oduct=wow_main

Hancocks of Paducah's new catalog #59 has an interesting near-white 1895 batik on page 2 at the very bottom....it's called "dewdrop". In the catalog it looks white/VERY light gray and would be pretty with blues, in my opinion. Here's the link.... http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/Item...2#.UEzfNY2PV4s

Jan in VA

Thanks, everyone. I knew I could count on your help.

you can certainly mix any fabrics you want with your batiks- they are just cottons too- some have a tighter weave than the printed fabrics you often use but that's not an issue- just be sure to pre-wash the batiks- sometimes they run quite a bit- you don't want to turn your white light blue or gray-

I have mixed them many times and as long as they are a similar thickness then it works well and if it isn't it still works good. I hope that you post a pic soon.

You can mix them. I used the backside of a cream on cream recently. It was the only color I wanted, but the roses were too distinct on the front. I wonder if my daughter knows. She's pretty observant.

I would love to post a picture when it's done, but I'm scared to death to do so. I've read so many posts about pics being "too big". I love to quilt but not too savvy on resizing pictures and posting. I have pictures of quite a few quilts I'm proud of but didn't know how to post them.