Thread: Fabric Cost

Everything in the world has gone up. And, so has fabric. I am a non-smoker, and wonder about the logic of paying $50 a carton for cigarettes. At least there is something left of the fabric.

I recently saw many fabrics at JoAnn's in the $12.00 range. Either way, my fabric diet has had to kick in by necessity.

I shop at LQS in small towns and larger cities as I travel often. What I have concluded is where there is competition the prices are lower. Where there is no competition the prices are higher. I went in a shop in a small Virginia town where the policy stated it you purchased everything for your quilt in this shop and at one time, you were given a 25 percent discount.
I had gone in the shop only for the main fabric for my next project and ended buying everything to finish it including the backing and batting. I plan on returning often and think this shop owner is indeed a smarty.

Originally Posted by Jennja

Wish our LQS had material for $15 mtr, mostly we pay around $21 and upwards. They wonder why we buy online, even with postage it still works out cheaper than our local QS. Mind you, we have to watch what the postage costs are, some are way over the limit, but mostly for material the postage is not too bad.

When I read this I thought we were seeing this difference because of the exchange rate, but I checked and the Australian dollar is barely any higher then the USD right now! That is a shocking price!

Cotton has gone up for various reasons affecting the supply worldwide. Even the chain stores around here - where there is plenty of competition - are charging much more than they did last year. After the new Jo-ann's opened in our neighborhood to much fanfare and a coupon blitz, a whole lot of people were in there shopping. A couple of weeks later I went in to buy thread and found the store practically deserted. Either everyone is at home sewing what they got earlier, or sticker shock is setting in. The reality is that the products that they sell are not necessities of life (except to those of us who are addicted to fabric). The consumer can force the price down by not buying when the prices get too steep, but businesses that operate on a narrow profit margin will not be able to afford to compete that way. Your store owner may be over a barrel and offering the best price she can right now.

On the other hand, something tells me that if there is a bumper crop of cotton next time, the prices are not going to go down accordingly. Over the years I've noticed that a bad year is a reason to raise prices on anything, but the recovery isn't passed on to the consumer. Back in the 1970's there was a sugar shortage and the price of sugary things, such as soda pop, went way up. I don't think it ever came down. A similar thing happened with the price of orange juice when a freeze killed the crop. Once the purveyors have established what consumers are willing to pay, they see no reason to get generous with us.

I think some shops have to mark their fabric up more because of the overhead to keep their shops open.

At the LQS where I work, new fabric is coming in now at $10.69 or less. It seems to have leveled out finally. Two years ago it was coming in at $8.99, and then it started escalating dramatically. I hope it's done rising for awhile at least.

Like Jennja I mostly buy my fabrics on line. It is just to expensive most of the time. Would love to suppport the LQS but being retired I have to watch the money and paying Over $20 is too much. Most of the time I wait till I get either free postage or cheaper postage and stock up. Makes for a great time when the parcel arrives

I would definately pause at $15.00 per yard if not put the brakes on buying completely. If the shop is the highest price in the area... it will be a real struggle to maintain customers.