I have this very very large piece of black cotton fabric. It's about 4 yards. I just cut a yard so I can make strips to border each of my blocks, but when you look at the fabric, you can't tell the right side from the wrong side. I'm wondering if I should just wing it and guess which is which?

Well, I guess I would just go with it...if you can't tell, you can't tell. Someone else on here may have a better answer for you.

Hi Jen, I just had the same problem with black making bias strips for stained glass appliqué and I figured, if I couldn't see the difference then no one else would!

K x

I've had a few fabrics like that. Mostly dark ones. I just hoped if I couldn't tell no one could. So far no one has. Tee Hee

I believe that most solid color fabrics are yarn died, meaning the yarn is died then woven into fabric. There is no right or wrong side (think homespun). A print is made of woven fabrics then the design is applied. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm working on a quilt that has some solid red -- couldn't tell which was which and I figured it I can't tell, neither can anyone else.... :-) :D

And if they can tell, and I did it all wrong, then they need to speed that car up to 45 mph when they look at my quilt!!!! :evil:

sometimes you can tell by looking at the selvedge. but as long as you stay consistent, what difference does it make? some people even plan on using the wrong side a print in order to get a lighter version of the same print for a perfect color match in a different value.

Sometimes you can tell from the weave...it's usually flatter on the back and more dimentional on the front...but like everyone said, if you can't tell, others probably can't either. If I think the difference will be noticeable, I mark the backside with chalk. Of course, the smart thing would be to do this before cutting, but sometimes I forget. I just finished one that I didn't even attempt to decide which side was up and it looks great. I can probably be less fussy about it than I am.

I wouldn't worry about it, just make sure you cut it all the same.

You could try laying the 1 yard piece up, then place the other three yards on side of it one side at a time. You likely won't see a difference. But if it's going to be different it will show up then. Place in good sunlight to try it.

Yes, I've done that! :D Two fabrics for the price of one! :wink:

K x

I just did that this weekend. I was looking for a yellow in my stash for a quilt I was working on. Everything was just too dark. I finally thought about looking at the backside and found the perfect shade. The only problem is that I'm so accustomed to RST, that I sewed 2 strips on backwards and had to get out my frogger.

I think all fabrics now are folded with the right side out so if it hasn't been washed, the right side is probably on the outside. If you have older fabric the right side may be on the inside of the fold. I remember when I was much younger, the right side was inside then one side was turned up and over the bolt so you could easily see what the fabric looked like. To see the price, we had to look under the fabric.
In any case, just make sure you keep it all with the same side up (mark it to make it easier).