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How important is it to use quilt store high quality fabric at 10.00 ++ a yard? I just signed up for my beginner class, and went and purchased my fabric..150.00 later I had everything. Wow sticker shock! I was wondering can i use joann fabric and alot cheaper? If not is there somewhere online that sells quilt store fabric at a discounted price? I really appreciate how helpful everyone is on this board. Thank you
You can usually find suitable fabric at less per yard. I would use what you can afford and enjoy the process. Years ago they used old clothes and made beautiful quilts.
Yes, fabric is one of those things like gasoline that keeps going up and up. There are a lot of on line sources for good fabric at slightly lower prices. Your profile doesn't say where you live but if you are in the U.S. most will have a reduced shipping rate for a larger order. Favorite Fabrics, Connecting Threads, EQuilter, etc. have sites and if you Google on line quilt/fabric shops, there are many others. Fabric from your local quilt shop is usually higher quality than Joann's or Walmart but not always. If a local shop is where you are taking the class then they sometimes require you to purchase their fabric. I'm sure some of the others on QB will tell you some of their favourite spots to get good quality, reasonable fabrics.
Thank you so much for the information. I will update my profile as well, thanks again. Teresa from Olympia WashingtonOriginally Posted by Tartan
when you are ready for a road trip, Pacific Fabrics in Puyallup has some nice quilting flat folds at 5.99 or so a yard.
Thank you for mentioning our shop, Tartan!
Most stores - whether online or local - have "sale bins" where you can find top-quality fabrics that have been marked down. Another way to s-t-r-e-t-c-h your fabric budget.
Mary Jo's Cloth Store in Gastonia, NC. The largest fabric store on the east coast. www.maryjos.com If you've never been there before prepare to be ovewhelmed by the massive number of choices. You need a couple hours just to look at all she has, take a break for lunch to let it sink in and then go back to make decisions. The place has thousands and thousands of bolts of every fabric you can possibly think of.
The first time I went there I overheard the cutting lady telling someone the following story. She had helped a woman the day before who had come from Italy. She was on vacation in Italy, lying on the beach talking to a local. When she learned the woman was from America she said "OH! Do you know Mary Jo's cloth store? I order from her all the time!" She explained many of the Italian design houses would mail order from Mary Jo's and her store was famous in Italy.
The woman had never heard of it before, but before she flew home to California, she changed her flight to include a 2 day stop in Charlotte, just to go to Mary Jo's.
In business 60 years, "Mary Jo’s Cloth Store" started in the back of her Daddy’s Barber Shop on her 19th birthday in Dallas, N.C. You've never seen a fabric store like Mary Jo's.
Last edited by Christine-; 04-04-2012 at 06:41 AM.
You will get many different opinions on this subject!!! There is no right or wrong answer for this question. I am a firm believer in buying and using what you can afford and/or want to use. There is absolutely nothing wrong in using non-LQS fabrics when you make a quilt. Remember, back in the day, quilters used whatever they had on hand. There wasn't money to purchase fabrics just for a quilt. Quilts can be beautiful, usable and durable from fabrics bought at chain stores and LQS. Use what you want. There isn't any quilt police!!!!
No one has ever become poor by giving. - Anne Frank
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheQuiltedPig
You will find as you continue your quilting journey, you'll soon learn what you do and don't like, and what you do and don't need. Certainly learning to quilt doesn't require $10 a yard fabric, but you might want to buy better fabric if you're making a wedding quilt for a gift. You'll also learn to spot good quality vs poor quality and price is NOT always the key. A clue, perhaps, but there are good quality fabrics that are less expensive and some expensive fabrics that aren't the best. Only by your experimentation with sewing, quilting and washing fabrics will you learn what YOU like. Have fun!
I agree with you, Auntpiggylpn! What good is knowing how to quilt and enjoying it if you can't afford to buy fabric.
"Best" really means the "best" you can personally afford and do.
Also, check out thrift stores and places like Good Will or Salvation Army. Sometimes you can pick up very nice fabrics at a low price. If you like flannels and don't mind winter or holiday themes, then buy flannel sheets at the end of winter, when they're on sale.
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