lfletcher

I wouldn't try to build a stash. It will grow naturally with your left over fabric from projects. I thought I needed a stash when I first started and hit a lot of sales, but most of that fabric I have never used. I would rather have the space that my stash takes up.

bkay

I have accumulated 5 large totes of quilting fabric, mostly at estate sales. I started quilting about a year ago. I live in a large city (Dallas), so there are lots of estate sales. I'm on an email list for one very busy company. There is also a company that catalogs estate sales https://www.estatesales.net/ by zip code. They post photos and lists of what is in the sales. I only go to those that have sewing machines, fabric or quilts. If I have time, I go to any estate sale I pass, because many are not advertised. I go straight to the bedrooms, looking for the fabric. A couple of weeks ago, I bought 36 completed squares of a Dresden plate. It will make a beautiful full size quilt. I paid $15.00 for it. I bought a huge basket of fabric for $10.00, but not all was quilting fabric.

I went to an estate sale yesterday. The lady had been a seamstress. They had a bunch of fabric, plus patterns, sewing machines and trim. The pricing was $6.00 for large, $4.00 for medium and $2.00 for small. I went up front and asked what constituted large, medium and small. I had a two or three yard piece in my hand, and she said that looks like small to me. After looking at the fabric, a sale lady came in there. We were alone in the room and I asked something to the effect, of this is a lot of fabric, you've done it before, when will you start selling for $25.00 per box. She asked what size box, which we talked about and she brought me a box about 18X12X12 and I filled it up and paid $25.00. I got a huge amount of gingham in all sizes and colors + lots of other stuff, including a world map. I think the gingham will make a great card trick quilt by just adding some white and a little solid color.

A few months ago, I bought a quilt kit for a Dresden plate for $5.00. I've bought bags of quilting scraps for $2.00. I bought a quilt kit for a baby quilt yesterday for $4.00.

So that's how I've built my stash inexpensively in a short time.

bkay

humbird

I agree with Ifletcher. I have given away a lot of my earlier purchases.....fabric on sale that I thought I needed to grow my stash. I only buy now for a particular project. The left overs go in my stash for scrappy quilts. Why buy fabric that you aren't sure what your plan is? I have told my DD and DGD to please come check out my stash before buying!

willferg

I check Craigslist regularly, searching on "fabric" and "quilt" or "quilting." I've come across lots of scores that way.

quiltingbuddy

Like Jeanne S and SuzzyQ have said your stash will build on it's own, so concentrate on one quilt at a time is my suggestion. When I started over 20 years ago I really had no idea what I liked. I went to the fabric store after making a small table topper of 3 safe fabrics (basic blue, pink and white background) and started buying several fabrics just because I liked them. Some of them I still have and they don't excite me anymore so I'm trying to use them up in scrap quilts. Trust us, your stash will grow with just the extra fabrics from the quilts you make one by one. You'll be surprised how quickly this will happen.

You can also do the thrift store thing, but you are still paying for fabric and for me to spend money on fabric I have to really like it/know what I want to do with it these days. I don't shop willy nilly like that because quality does matter if you want to have the quilts you make for others last more than 5 minutes.

I also don't recommend telling people you would love fabric for gifts. My husband and son love to buy me fabric, bless their hearts, but their likes are not always my likes and much of what they have picked out are still sitting in my stash unused. And who says it will go with what I do like and end up buying in spite of their choices for me.

So just find a project you are excited about and buy for that project (adding a little extra if you really love the fabric knowing you will probably use it). Believe me your stash will come.

quilterpurpledog

Mine just grew up all by itself. It happened over lots of years and projects. It was certainly not intentional- In other words I did not say I am going to buy this piece so I can add it to my stash. I rarely buy fabric at full price. I want only first quality fabric and wait for sales. I like estate sales for the best fabric as the least prices. One day I happened onto one that was selling lots of attractive fabric for 50 cents a yard. I bought all they had for about $75. I have very little of it left. I also trade with friends fairly often. From time to time I purge my collection and give things to my guild or a charity effort I admire.

Dolphyngyrl

I build kits instead of just accumulating random amounts of fabric. this insures I have enough of a fabric for a project and I don't have fabric that I don't know how to use in a project.

Daylesewblessed

I agree about estate sales. They are wonderful for low prices and can have not only nice quality current (or nearly) fabrics, but they are a good source for vintage fabrics also. Garage sales can be good too. When I go to them, I always ask if they have fabric or sewing machine attachments. It is amazing what comes out of the house when you ask.

I frequently check the newspaper, Craigslist, Thrifty Nickel, and the estate sale websites mentioned in an earlier post. Each community seems to be different in where estate sales and garage sales are most advertised.

The other wonderful source that I have is the guild and charity sewing groups. Not only does fabric come through them, but the friendships that I have made with fellow quilters often results in opportunities for trading and giving each other the fabrics needed for projects.

IrishNY

Instead of asking for fabric as a gift, ask for gift certificates to quilt stores. There are some online places that are very reasonable, like Connecting Threads. All the large quilting sites, like Fabric.com, Fabric Depot, etc, usually have clearance fabrics for good prices too.

mom-6

I started really building my stash at the point that many Walmart stores were deleting fabric from their inventory. My local store fortunately was not one of those and got lots of fabric from the close outs. It was selling for from $1 - $3 per yard so I stocked up big time. In my inexperience with quilting I did purchase some that was less desirable but it has still been used in scrappy quilts without major problems. Did need to do wider seam on some that raveled easily. And discovered that one melted with too hot an iron. Oops!
But the one thing I learned was that I tend to be drawn to "focus fabrics" and have to remind myself to shop for blenders. I don't use many solids because I prefer the softer, more textured look of blenders.
Also I tend to buy larger quantity than needed for any project I do so there's almost always some left over to use later.