I had never bought or worked with Batiks but today I bought some because it was the closest the store had to water/sky material. One piece I bought to make the skyis a bly/lt. blue mingle and the inside has little gold leaf looking things inside. Which side is in and which is out? I didn't use it as I had enough fq to make what I needed for dustin's quilt. What could I use it for?

I was told at the LQS to use the side that I liked the best, so that is what I do.

I love batiks and I think you can use them in just about any project. As far as which side since they are dyed I think you can use either side.

There isn't a right or wrong side to a batik, they are dyed with 2 right sides :D:D:D

A quilting teacher I had once said something that changed the way I looked at fabric - she said "you paid for both sides of the fabric, that means you can use whichever side works best!"

The side with the gold is probably considered the 'right' side, but I've used the back side of one like that once when I really didn't want the metallic look. On batiks it's often hard to tell right from wrong anyway.

I agree, use what ever side YOU like!

Some batiks look the same on both sides but with others you can tell which is the right side.

Pick which ever side you like best for what you want to do. Use a leftover bar of bath soap to mark the other side. (that way you'll always have the 'right' side showing) The bath soap will go away when the quilt is washed.

I love batiks, I use them with everything. With every fabric. I use them as blenders. The ones that are printed all the way thru are great because you can use both sides alot of the time without worrying if it is correct or not. I give each piece a quik look and just use the side I like best. Simple.....

I would use which ever side I like the best. Sometimes even in Hawaiian Aloha shirts, the wrong side is purposely used. It can be very pretty as opposed to the "bold" printed side.

There are two catagories of Batiks, real batiks, where they are the same on both sides and Printed batiks, where a batik pattern is printed on one side as in other fabrics.

With real batiks, there is vertially no difference in the two sides. Use whichever you want. Obviously in the printed batiks, use the printed side.

Use whatever side you like. I am using the back side of a Moda paisley print because I like the softness in beige tones.

I agree the gold side was intended as the right side.

I also have a hard time figuring out which side is the "right" side of a batik. So, I flip it over a few times and decide which side I like best and use that for the right side. Sometimes there's a slight difference in the richness of the colors between the sides and that's how I decide.

Thanks ladies.

Yeah, I don't understand why batiks are such a question for folks.

You're right-which side looks good, use it. I used to think batiks were so ugly, but now i think they are just pretty. I sometimes use the wrong side of a button because it looked better than the right side. You're the designer - you choose! :)

Use either side, both sides ... maybe do a test on the gold part and see what happens when you put an iron to it. At some point if the quilt is laundered a lot, the gold might wear off.

warm quilt hugs, sue in CA

Material has two sides, and the side you like the best for the purpose you want is the right side, after all you pay for both sides. LOL, just teasing with you, but you can use both sides on any material. Generally speaking batiks don't have a right side, they are pretty much the same on both sides, unless the metallic is on one side, and not the other, but you can still use the non-metallic side. Just have fun, and be adventurous. I love working with batiks.

The choice is yours. I would go with whichever side best suits the project.

if there is gold than that usually "right" side but use what ever side suites you.