If you can't tell, it don't matter. ;)

I bought a purple solid once and couldn't tell the difference between sides, until I sewed the blocks together. I could see that the purple had different shades to it. but it was ok. our world is not a perfect world and we don't need perfect color matches. the difference is ever so slight. who will look that carefully?

The only black I've run across that is different on the front and back is RJR's Cotton Supreme. It does have a little more sheen on one side than the other. But as long as you're consistent, I don't see why you couldn't choose either side as the "right side".

Solids usually don't "care" which side you use. And in prints, I don't call it the "wrong side." It is the "other side" which often suits my color scheme better.

however, it is good to use the same side because light might reflect different sides.
Look at the selvedage. You can usually tell if one side is more evenly woven.

Another thing I try to watch for is that all blocks are cut on the same direction of the fabric. Lengthwise or crosswise. And, many of us probably remember the nightmare of cutting that home ec skirt and having the panels look different in the light because we inverted half of them.

These days wouldn't that just be considered chic?

As it comes from the bolt, usually the right side is folded to the outside. Once it's cut though, it's sometimes difficult to tell. I was told then to tug on the ends of the piece (crosswise grain) and the outside should pucker toward you.

When I work with a fabric I'm not sure about the right and wrong side , I picked one as the right side and put a mark with a piece of chalk on the wrong side. Doing that, I don't worry about shine .

now that we are talking about black fabric, I have another problem. I stated earlier that I'm making my daughter a sunflower wall hanging. I would like to ;use black on the back and the outside binding. Will the black fade and ruin the rest of my hanging? What can I do to prevent this?