BY MODA FABRICS
With 324 colors of Bella Solids - so far - there are always questions about them. That's today's topic.
Know more about the cotton used to make Bella Solids? Bella Solids are a premium-grade 100% cotton, and all of the cotton are grown in the United States. (And if there was any way to have it manufactured here, we'd do that too.)
Why aren't the color numbers marked on the selvage? The application of collection names and color numbers is done with printing. Bella Solids are dyed so printing even the numbers on the selvage would be an additional step, adding to the cost of the finished fabric.
If you need to identify the shades of white there's an easy solution to that and you can mark your own fabric with a Sharpie marker and make your own color card booklet or Moda Fabrics also offers a color card with fabric swatches.
Here is a digital copy of a digital Bella Solids color card.
Do you use Bella 97? If so, be careful. This fabric is PDF - Prepared for Dyeing. That means that it has not been treated with any finishing process or chemical that will prohibit the absorption of dye - it's designed to absorb dye. So if it has been used in a quilt with a saturated color like Red, Navy, Purple, or Dark Green, there is a strong chance that the White fabric will absorb some of the excess dye that is often released into the water when the quilt is first washed. While many quilters have used Bella Solid 97 for years without any problems, the potential is always there.
Bella 9900 97 - Bleached White PFD
Bella 9900 98 - White Bleached
Bella 9900 200 - Off-White
Bella 9900 436 - Super White - or Optic White (This is new and will be in shops in September.)
Do you use Bella 97? If so, be careful. This fabric is PDF - Prepared for Dyeing. That means that it has not been treated with any finishing process or chemical that will prohibit the absorption of dye - it's designed to absorb dye. So if it has been used in a quilt with a saturated color like Red, Navy, Purple or Dark Green, there is a strong chance that the White fabric will absorb some of the excess dye that is often released into water when the quilt is first washed. While many quilters have used Bella Solid 97 for years without any problems, the potential is always there.
Moda Fabrics wrote an article about this more a few years ago - Which White is the one for me...
What is a Bella Silky? A Bella Silky is the result of a Bella Solid getting the same final finishing process as a Designer print, giving the fabric a subtle sheen and a silky feel. There are currently eight colors of Bella Silky, including the coming-in-September Super White - 9900 436S. The other colors are Snow (9900 11S) - White Bleached (9900 98S) - Etchings Stone (9900 178S) - Porcelain (9900 182S) - Steel (9900 184S) - Zen Grey (9900 185S) - Soft Black (9900 199S).
Good to know, thank you!
That info is very helpful-thanks so much.
Thank you for sharing that information.