SherylM

I'm in the process of putting together a quilt with a white-on-white background and a Tula Pink fabric. It's the MSQC Wedge Diamond pattern and it has fairly large areas of the white background fabric, which is something that I've never done before. All of my other quilts have had darker colored backgrounds or very small areas of white, so I never ran into this problem.

The problem is that no matter what backing fabric I sandwich a block with, when I hold it up to the light, I get horrible show-through. I've got a whole roll of Quilter's Dream request batting, which is pretty thin, but I tried it with two layers also.

The other day I bought four yards of fabric for the backing - white background with a fine but not very dense vine-y, leafy design, that I was sure wouldn't show through. Well, guess what? It sure does! This morning I found two yards each of some fabric in my stash that I got at Hobby Lobby a few years ago. Different prints, but same line, so the same colorway. They're also much darker that the one that I just bought, with very bold prints, but the lime green and the aqua go much better with the Tula fabric than the almost kelly green of the leaf fabric.

I've pieced different fabrics for backings before, so I was thinking of just sewing these two prints together for the back.

I'm making this quilt for me, so I have more lee-way than if I was giving it away, but I would like a solution to the show-through fabric (this is why I've stayed away from quilts with a lot of white. That, and I tend to spill stuff...) I can't afford to buy different batting right now, and like I said, I have a ton of the Request.

I don't want to back it with solid white; I just finished a quilt with Kaffe Fassett fabric that I backed with white and while I love the quilt, I'm not fond of that solid white back. I thought about layering the top with some thin muslin, or since I get show-through no matter what fabric I use, maybe just back it with the fabric that I like the best, suck it up, and learn to live with the show-through. And vow to never, ever make another quilt with such large areas of white fabric again.

What say you? Any ideas?

sewbizgirl

Why are you holding it up to the light? No quilt can pass that test! Instead, look at it laid out on the bed. If no show-though, don't worry about it.

juliasb

I use a lot of WOW fabrics for backings and never have a show through. Even when using black or dark reds. I do buy my WOW 108" -120" wide made for quilt backing. This could be the difference. I usually use a W&N batting to and that too can make a difference. I am just finishing up a quilt that uses a Hobbs 80-20% and with the many bold colors in this quilt I am getting no show through or see through problems. These two factors combined make the difference. To resolve without changing one of these elements I would think about adding additional batting since it is so thin or taking the added expense and replace the backing to something heavier. Try a sampling first before spending a great deal of money.

juliasb

If my quilt is very thin, and I haven't made a very thin quilt in years, I too would hold it to the light to make sure it was heavy enough. A lesson learned in my early days. I no longer use a thin bat for this reason. . You're a sweetie Sewbizgirl. I don't hole them up anymore either.

SherylM

Julia, it's the WOW background in the top that's the problem, not the backing fabric. But now that you mention it, my Kaffe quilt with the white backing has no show-through either. That never occurred to me.

SewBizGirl, you may have a point. I'll try that and see how it looks.

This is the pattern : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJaPo9oKkEY&app=desktop

BTW Julia, it looks like we're neighbors! I was just in Waterford the other day, visiting The Little Quilt Shop. Cute little store!

SherylM

Thank you...problem solved!

Even with one thin layer of the Request batting, there's next to no show-through. I'll decide later if I want to use two layers of batting. It's a 62"x62" throw and I just want something lightweight to throw over my legs.

Peckish

I was going to suggest a layer of solid white between your top and the batting, or between the backing and batting, or both.

Iceblossom

Echoing what Peckish said, sometimes using a thin natural muslin as a backing layer can work well. With white fabric, I find sometimes using a bright white underneath it (whether batting or fabric) actually emphasizes the issue, while off white softens it. Same sort of reasons why wearing a beige bra under a white top is a better solution than a white one.

The white seam is one of the reasons I prefer to press my seams open, just can't stand what happens when you put two pieces of white together with a side seam.

SherylM

Iceblossom, that makes sense, though all I have is white muslin.I may spring for some natural, or decide to just leave well enough alone. I was just telling a friend that I learn something new with every quilt I make.

I press my seams open too. I was just looking at a picture online of a quilt top, same pattern I'm using, and WOW those white seam allowances really stuck out!

Watson

I, too, would add another layer of light coloured fabric between the backing and batting.

Do you spray baste? If so, it will be easy to spray baste these layers together and presto, you're all set to quilt it.

Watson