Black backgrounds: As Bright As it Gets

McCalls Night Light Pattern

We've been talking about backgrounds for a while. Most quilts use muslin cream or white fabric for the background. But what happens if you don't?

Dear Jane Quilt (Civil War Reproduction Fabrics) 

Michel Galan France

Let's look at two Dear Jane Quilts. These are exactly the same paper pieced designs in two different color ranges. This is the quilt made with civil war replicas.

Dear Jane with brights and blacks by Chantal Guyon

This is the quilt with a black background. 

Do I now have your attention?

Quilt made from Laurel Burch Fabric

Most people think of black as funereal and depressing. It may be true about black dresses, but it's not true with quilts. Any time you want your colors to shine, bring on the black.

Amish Quilt From Diary of a Smart Chick

It's not a new idea either. This Amish star is a pre-1940s  quilt. The Amish quilts of that time often featured black backgrounds. The colors positively glow against the black. They knew the value of bright color against deep black.

Albert Hoffman's Orbit by Maria Shell at Tales of a Stitcher

Even thread work glows against a black background. The only color on this awesome stitching is the thread itself. The denser the stitching, the deeper the color.

Meredith's bright and black quilt from Girls in the Garden

 Actually that's what makes a black background so effective. Most exciting art celebrates contrast in some way. You can have contrast in colors, or in print sizes, or in value, the darkness or lightness of a color. Nothing is darker than black. So it contrasts everything around it, making even duller colors shine.

So, don't be afraid of the dark. The next time you want to make a knock-your-eyes our quilt, get out the black fabric and expect to be blown away