dbeedle

A very wise quilter once told me, "You own both sides of the fabric so use the one you like best."

rufus2

I was told a long time ago to take the piece of fabric and put it on your knee and lift it up a little bit and you can see the difference. It is slightly shiner on the right side.

polly13

I was taught the same rule as Gal, but some of my fabrics don't seem to have the little holes. Perhaps they're hooking them another way now. All things change with time.

zz-pd

I cant see a difference on the white I have. :| sorry. Penny

Kutnso

You can usually tell the front side from the back of any cotton fabric by feeling both. The back side is a bit rough and the front side is snoother. This is how I've done it for 26 years and it really works well for me.
Good luck, kutnso

GailG

I agree with this, but sometimes the selvege is a give-away. On the wrong side of the selvege there is a thread from the loom that runs directly on the very edge and is obvious. Occasionally it is so close and not visible. I just use either side in that case. One thing I do try to do is use the SAME side for all of the "right sides" of my pieces.... Especially if I don't know how the fabric will look after it is washed. (I don't always wash my fabrics first.)

AnnaK

I'm with Gal from New Zealand. Sometimes when we don't think it makes any difference, you can't tell until you've put the quilt together that the light hits it a little differently one side and another. Hope this helps.

AnnaK

Good idea, Katier

pollyjvan9

Like so many quilters I use both side of the fabric when I want to get a different look. However, you can tell the right side by looking at the selvage. Most fabrics have the color choices and the name of the fabric mfg. You can read it from the right side.

ktbb

seams to me the trick will be learning to tell the difference when there is no selvege...like after you've cut all the strips or squares, stacked them nicely and then the cat or dog comes along and wants to get involved...that's the important time to be able to tell the difference!