How do you tell right side from wrong?

I'm sooo glad you asked this question...I've fought with this for years. I'm ok until I cut the selvage off LOL, then I can't tell anymore either!!

I even have trouble when the selvages are still on!

This is one of the things I have been meaning to ask....what is broadcloth?

http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/Item--i-KC-B-18

Regular quilting cotton, solid not a print.

Thanks! So do most people use it for quilt backs?

I use my trusty reinforcement rings to mark the side I'm using or mark with chaulk....I can't tell a differnce...but just in case I mark somehow.. :roll: :shock: :-)

Not all solids are broadcloth and not all broadcloth is solid. The term broadcloth comes from the extra wide looms that were originally used to weave wool in England. It is a weaving process, originally with wool, but now also cotton (man-made fibers cannot be used), that results in a densely woven, smooth, strong, soft material with a slightly lustrous finish. Because of the higher thread count, it has a heavier texture than regular quilting cotton, meatier some call it. It is a quality fabric and the solids, like any vat dyed goods, have no right or wrong side. There will be a difference in visual color saturation between crosswise and lengthwise grain, however, because of the thread count each way.

Kettle Cloth is no longer made.
This is info from Springs Industries, makers of Weaver's Cloth, the closest thing to it according to all I have been able to find out.
"The Kettlecloth Story
In the late 1960s-early 1970s Concord Fabrics developed a cloth that was made from a poly/cotton blend and comber noils waste. Cloth was woven to emulate osnaburg, an all cotton trash cloth which had irregularities and was inconsistent from lot to lot. Once developed this cloth became an all-purpose cloth which was used in children's apparel, sportswear and home furnishings. With its linen-like look, Kettlecloth went into a variety of end uses. Sometime during the middle 1980s, the fabric was discontinued.

Soon after, M. Lowenstein & Sons developed a cloth with the same construction which it called weavers cloth in the apparel and OTC trades and Harvest Cloth in the home furnishings specialty area. When Springs Industries acquired Lowenstein in 1985, this cloth was added to the Springs family of products.

Springs produces weavers cloth in a 55% poly, 45% cotton blend in 45" width. Fabric is finished in two locations. The Grace facility finishes in white and oyster; at the Lyman facility, fabric is jet dyed in solid colors such as navy, maroon, hunger, khaki, wheat and denim. Although many companies have tried to copy this cloth, none have been able to duplicate its look with any success. Weavers Cloth is sold at leading fabric and store chains such as Joanne Fabrics and Walmart."

JoAnn's online has it http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.j...=search#select

My only question is this: What color is Hunger??? :shock:

It's the color on my face when I can't find exactly what I want to eat. ;)

Maybe a typo and they meant hunter, that would go with the other colors mentioned? Otherwise, I've never heard of it either.

I googled....what is the color of hunger and came up with Red. Strange, huh?

I grew up thinking that broadcloth was a poly-cotton blend that sells for under $3.00 a metre. My Mom always asked for "100% cotton in solid colours" when we shopped at quilt stores. That sells for close to the same price as printed cotton here in Newfoundland.

The broadcloth we have around here (that I have seen anyway) is a poly-cotton blend too.

Same for us around here (ontario)

I know they sell cotton-poly broadcloth, but the process of making it is different and it is not "truly" broadcloth as a result. I did not mean to imply that it was not on the market. Sorry.

From wiseGeek http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-broadcloth.htm
"To make broadcloth, an extra-wide loom is used. The cloth is tightly woven before being dipped in water while being stretched on tenters, special racks which keep up the tension in the fabric. The water leads the wool to shrink when it is pulled out to dry. Next, the broadcloth is rubbed with fullers earth, and beaten with a wooden hammer. The result is a soft, almost felted cloth which is supple, smooth, and very soft. It is also not greasy, which sets it apart from many other wool products.

While wool is the traditional material for broadcloth, cotton broadcloth is also manufactured. Some cotton broadcloth has a very narrow, subtle rib, causing it to resemble poplin, another densely woven textile. Synthetic fibers are not generally used to make broadcloth, because they do not behave like wool and cotton do when the fabric is specially treated. A cotton broadcloth is much lighter than a woolen, although it has the same sturdy properties." (my emphasis)

I'm so glad I stumbled upon this information. My mom made most of our clothes as children from Kettle Cloth. I was hoping to make a couple of dresses for my nieces, now I'll have to use another fabric.:(

I too grew up thinking that Broadcloth was a poly cotton blend. Never touched the stuff at JAF for that reason alone. I now just buy Kona cotton (now comes in 303 colors) from Robert Kaufman from one of the online stores.