Twice the options

Working on my lantern piece reminded me of the importance of really evaluating what you have in your stash. In this instance, I was looking for muted fabrics for several areas in my sketch. While I came up with a few possibilities quickly, I needed more.

It was looking like I was out of luck. However, I then remembered an old tip that once you purchase a fabric, you can use it any way you wish. Flipping pieces to their back, I suddenly had a new range of options and my problem was soon solved.

This tip won't work with every fabric - particularly batiks. But, particularly if you happen to have a collection of dark value prints, it is worth checking the second side. You are likely to find a lighter version of a pattern that you like.

Two examples where the 'wrong side' of the fabric was right.

I used the fabric on the right. It's right side would have been too yellow to blend with the fabric at a diagonal but the backsite was just right.