Has anyone ever used a dark colored thread to quilt a quilt using white backing? Is this even done? One of my quilting girls told me her mama told her to always use thread the color of the backing. Well, the top I'm quilting is the one on my avatar. Deep purple. And, my backing is white. What do you think? Should I use purple thread or white to quilt it?

Well, if you use purple you will be able to clearly see the quilting from the back. If this is what you want than it's my opinion that you could use purple. However, sometimes I am not so confident about my FMQ and I like the quilting to blend in.

can you use purple for your top thread and white for your bottom?

I did a blue denim quilt a while ago and used red thread to quilt it which looked really awesome, but at christmas was doing a red and green quilt with a black back and it looked wrong having coloured threads on the back so i did coloured on top and black on bottom...

need to get your machine tension just right though...

Two colors would be OK, too.

Unless your quilting is perfect, I'd go with what matches the backing. IMO, if a backing is a solid color and the thread is a contrasting color, the quilting really pops out when you view the back. And for me that means every little mistake is magnified. Mistakes (or less than perfect quilting) is not so obivious on the front because the front normally has more pattern to it.

I guess I should have said that I am quilting this by hand!! My stitches are pretty good when I take my time. But, not perfect by any means. I hate to take out what I've done and start over. Hind sight!!!

If you are hand quilting, you really don't have a choice for the back. Use what ever you would think looks best for your top. Depending on the pattern, I have used more than one color on my top. The back takes care of itself.

Its the top you see not the back. Use what works on the top and let the back go.
No set answer. Use what pleases you and works for the quilt and your machine.

I love to SEE the quilting even on the back. Even if it sin't perfect (show me one that is) I think go with the color.

I almost always hand quilt with a color to compliment the top and show on the back. I feel it gives me two quilts for the effort of one that way....sort of makes it "whole cloth" looking on the back, you know? Why shouldn't a quilt have two sides?!

Jan in VA

Yes. I also enjoy the back of the quilt.
I machine (domestic) quilt. I think the stitches create their own design and I enjoy the art on the back of the quilt when it is finished.

I would use the purple. I have quilted my last two projects ( a tree skirt and a quilt) with variegated thread. I was really happy with the results. If you have some scraps, you might just try a few test runs and see what you like best. You might even use white in the bobbin and purple on top. Let us know what you decide. The quilt in your avatar is beautiful! Sorry! I just read the post that said you were hand quilting! I like to hand quilt with white thread. I think it is just more traditional since at one time all most ladies had was white, gray, or black thread. I think you should use the one that you like best. And I think the purple would look great! As another lady posted, it's the quilt top you see! I wouldn't worry about the back. And besides purple and white look great together anyway!

I use what looks good on the front and don't worry about the back. You will have a quilted design on the back when you are done. I ususally hand quilt but occasionally will machine quilt.

Me too!

I thinnk the purple would make the front look awesome! Added bonus-a quilt on the back!

I'm doing one with red thread on top and the backing is a white on natural print with white bobbin thread.

Most of the backing looks very good, but I learned a lesson with this one - to clean out the bobbin area extra well before starting.

The machine was acting up and throwing tiny red loops here and there on the bobbin side of the quilt. That's not normal for that machine, and I should have investigated but I didn't. I just kept adjusting tensions, thinking I wasn't balanced well enough.

Finally, I removed the needle plate and there was a blanket of lint around the feed dogs, even though I had been careful to brush out and blow out from underneath every time I changed the bobbin. Once I got that lint out of there, she settled right down and didn't give me a single hiccup for the rest of the quilt.

I'm hoping that laundering will pull out the worst of the red "pokies" on the back side.

I'm with Jan as I'm a hand quilter also!!!

What you *could* do is use the lighter pink as the thread, so it shows but "not too much".

I have done darker thread in my earlier days of quilting and it did not turn out as spectacular as I planned. If you're fairly good at quilting, the dark would work. But it WILL show, KWIM?

Match the front, and let it show on the back! Never mind what someone else's mama said! As long as you like it! If you are not sure about liking it, do some basting stitches both ways, just enough to see the colors on both sides.

I love to see the quilting on the back, and also love when it's different colors so the quilting really stands out. I follow a blog of a LAQ who frequently uses color (see the link below). It's machine quilting, but if you look at the June 18 entry, you can see an example. I say you shouldn't worry about the color of the fabric on the backing.

http://greenfairyquilts.blogspot.com...1_archive.html

I just used white fleece for the backing of a lap quilt. The top is burgandy, mauve and white. I used mauve thread in top and bottom machine decorative stitch,just stitched around blocks, but ther bsack looks really pretty. ( except for one spot where the thread sort of jumbled up) Right in the middle, and not too big, but it does show. I can't pick it out either. But I still love the color pattern on the white!

Hi, I used red thread on a white backing. It looks great, so, go ahead.

I am pressing forward using the purple thread. We'll see if it is a diaster or a designer! Thanks for all of your input. I just really wasn't sure about this one.

have fun w/ your project!! I will pick the backing fabric to blend w/ whatever color thread i pick to quilt w/. Although, i will admit that i got "skeered" on my next project - i will be quilting in just a natural color thread, but toyed w/ putting a medium country blue fabric on the back.

But this is for my mom and very special quilt (& I want it perfect), so i went ahead and put a pretty tone on tone white floral on the back - it'll be pretty, just not dramatic :roll: :-D

I like to use a light cream on a white backing. It gives just a bit more depth to the quilting lines.

I think purple on the back would be GORGEOUS!!

On my daughter's quilt, the LAQ used pink for the quilting on a ivory backing & it looked awesome!

I love to look at the back of hand quilted quilts. I think the purple would look good!

I have done it both ways. I used a white backing one time and a varigated thread to quilt both top and bottom. It looked awesome...the quilting really stood out and other ladies in our group thought the quilt could be reversable because of it.

The last quilt that I had quilter on a longarm quilter we used a
dakr thread. This shows the quilting patern very nice on the back white linning. I like it some maynot.

Put purple on the top of your machine & use white thread in the bobbin.

What about using a varigated purple to white thread. It would blend in more on the back.

Purple. It will look beautiful. I just had a quilt quilted using light colored thread on a deep purple background. The quilting looks
wonderful on the back. It shows up more. I would say go
ahead and use the purple.
:thumbup:

I frequently use a contrasting color, and like variegated. I have even used glow in the dark thread on the back just for fun. It just depends on the kind of quilt you are making. Some quilts just need to be whimsical and fun, some are more serious.

Remember, if you quilt with purple thread, it will "change" the look of your quilt. White thread will show what you now have...purple thread will make the colors blend in and you will have a different look to your quilt top. What do you want your quilt to look like after you have done all of this piecing, etc?

I think it would add alot to your quilt add another dimenison and show off your quilting skills. Just make sure the thread will not bleed. Also the front of the quilt would be busy enough without the white thread.

I agree! :)

It's your quilt, do what ever you like there are no rules.

Try the purple on a orphan block with the same backing, I would do it about 12in square. I would also quilt the smae type of pattern that you would be using on the large one. If you like it Great. If not , well you diffentaly will know. Lots of luck.

I used color on one of my tops and white in the bobbin and because tension was not perfect the white created a tiny pop up thread on navy blue top since I FMQ I now use same colored threads top and bottom. Choosing a thread color is fun with all the choices out there! In one quilt book I read that varigated threads on a busy top are wasted. that is an individual choice I guess. They would look pretty on the back.