I got an answer back from A.E. Nathan as to whether Walmart gets a crappier quality of fabric than the quilt stores. I've heard it on here and at other places that even if the fabric looks the same, its actually a lesser quality.

This never sounded right to me, but I don't know much about stuff like this, so I emailed a couple of different fabric companies, and simply asked them. Here's their reply:


Good Morning Stephanie,
This is total nonsense. We don’t have the time or the energy to make different fabrics for the shops and walmart. So in short, the answer is NO. Everyone gets the same version.
Thanks.
Scott


I am still waiting to hear from the other companies.

The answer would be the same for Cranston/VIP. I've seen their warehouse, and it all gets pulled from the same stock.

yes, but every company has seconds, where do those wind up?

Ptquilts, evidently not Walmart, LOL!

There is a company called "Mill End Textiles" that has several outlets in Minnesota. Some of them may end up there.

Some of the fabrics have flaws -
Most seem okay to me - one does need to pay attention to what one is buying there.

I found David's Textiles fabric is many quilt shops while traveling. It is the exact same as the David's Textiles at a nearby Walmart that has the Quilt of the Month program. The fabric dept. manager at that Walmart orders directly from David's Textiles and AE Nathan. She told me any Walmart that has fabric, the manager can order directly from those companies for the Quilt of the Month fabrics. Walmart has a contract with them. The quilting cotton wall and other fabrics come from Walmart's warehouse.

I believe they end up as flat folds

I really have like David Textile fabric and when I heard they can be sometimes purchased at W.M. I've changed my snooty tune.

I like you, girl!

i have absolutely seen the same David's fabs in WalMart that i had purchased just a few weeks earlier in an LQS.

today, i was in a chain fabric store. several of the exact fabrics i have in my stash from walmart are selling there for $8.99 per yard!!!! i paid $2.97 per yard.

I've noticed the same thing. Some of the exact same David's Textiles fabric that I bought from WM at about $4.50 a yard was being sold at the Hobby Lobby in town for $8 a yard. Hmmm....

Our walmart sells precut crappy fabric. Making an hour trip with my mom this week to a walmart with real fabric. And to eat at a neat old restraunt.

I think that one of the reasons that Walmart can sell their fabric for a low price is the volumes they order. Think about how many Walmarts are in the US.

However, we did have a speaker at our guild meeting years ago that told us about fabric runs. She said that runs are made on lower quality fabric to test the pattern. If you have ever seen a flat fold fabric with the design printed a little off, it is probably one.

I have fabric that has been stored the same place and way, but some of the older fabric from Hancocks is fading away. I, also, have a quilt made from a football field panel that I purchased at Hancocks for $1 and it is fine after many years. Not all fabric is equal.

That being said, I buy what I like. For many years, there were no quilt shops near me. I do buy quilt shop fabric today, but Walmart had Spiderman fabric and my DGS loves his Spiderman quilt.

So does this mean all fabric stores , shops and LQS get the same crappy stuff?..............LOL

J/K

The quilt stores I shop in won't stock anything you can buy in a Walmart. Walmart does not stock Moda, Hoffman, Kaufman, RJR, and a long list of other manufacturers.

Mine too. But, I have seen Michael Miller, Alexander Henry, Kaufman and Blank on the shelves at Joannes.

And as a rule they're almost as expensive if not more expensive than any LQS.

I had heard that too. That a test run is done first, and that these fabrics are then sold. I also read somewhere that there are three grades to the fabric, and most quilting stores pick up the top grade (best quality), while companies like Walmart pick up the lower end (test run) cheaply.

This is what I asked them, and they said that it wasn't true, at least with that one company anyway.

I've heard this exact thing many times,and I am trying to find out if it's true, or if it's something that got started and is not taken as fact.

As, this company has said, they don't do that, they don't waste the time and energy to make 3 different types of fabric, it seems too inefficient to be true.

I will wait on the other's replies, though, before I believe anything, LOL!

And there's also the issue someone else brought up, WM doesn't sell a lot of name brands. So, if its true about the 3 different types, what do those brands do with their lesser quality?

I would just buy what fabric feels and looks good to me and not do a lot of worrying. Yes, there is a deffernece, but not everyone can afford $10 a yard fabric. I would never criticize anyone for using Walmart fabrics, if that is all they can afford.

I'veI don't know what they are selling now, but in the past few years, I've seen VIP, Timeless Treasures (or is it Fabric Traditions?), David Textiles, RocLon muslin, Springs Industries.

i don't dispute the fact if the manufacturer is the same, but go into walmart and try to find South Seas, Moda, etc... This same concept applies to hobby lobby as well. the manufacturers are 90% of the time not the same. walmart buys in bulk at the lowest cost from the lowest priced manufacturer. it's not set in stone that walmart does not have nice fabric, it's just a general rule that quilting shops have a much much larger selection of better quality quilting fabric. take this test. go pick out your favorite fabric at walmart, hold it up to the light, and i can almost guarentee you that you would be able to read through it, then do the same with your favorite fabric in a quilt shop. it's like the difference between broadcloth and kona cotton. i go for the better quality fabric, no matter where i purchase it, so i am assured that it will hold up over many many many years and washings to come. i hope that makes sense. :) :) :)

Unfortunately, I have to go to WM tomorrow so I think I'll check out the "craft" section to see what they have now.

i always find this subject frustrating (sometimes infuriating) and hysterically funny at the same time.

1. if i pay $3 per yard and the fabric is worth at least $3 per yard, then i got value for my money.

2. if a fabric manufacturer is stupid enough to ship two or more different grades of the same print under the same name we will know it. we will be insulted by their assumption that we are suckers and chumps. we will not buy their products at any price from any source.

3. if they sell those different grades for a fair price under a different name, why should i care? the only thing that matters is whether or not the fabric is worth at least the price charged.

4. there are good and lousy fabrics to be found at every pricepoint along the spectrum. therefore i do not need to obsess over the source. i only have to make sure that i buy fabric i like for a fair price.

5. as long as those who insist on paying only the highest prices for fabrics continue to shop thusly, i do not have to compete with them for the same caliber fabrics available at lower prices. i hope they cling desperately to their delusions for years to come so that i may reap the benefits in peace and prosperity.

now i think i'll go roll around on my mountain of lovely fabric purchased at great prices ... and feel quite smug in the process. :-)

The question isn't whether Walmart sells Moda,etc. Obviously we all know they don't. Or whether the quilt stores have a bigger and better selection. Again, that much is obvious.

The question is whether the brands they DO sell that the quilt stores also carry is of a different quality for the exact same patterns.

Patrice, you crack me up.

Patrice, you are always a sane voice of reason!

Wal Mart bashers like to justify spending more money at LQS thinking they are getting better quality. I buy what I like and not over pay for it. I never shop small stores or bigger ones that have over priced fabrics that I can get at WM for less money.
Just me.

just so you ALL know, i pay between 2.79 and 3.98 a yard from my lqs, that is where I am coming from. done.

Oh, if we could just have those feed sacks in stores now. That fabric would still be around years from now. I wish I had saved my pretty dress that Mama made me when I was in the sixth grade. You would have thought she bought it from the top designer, when she showed it to me. I thought I was in high cotton wearing that. "Oh, by the way! I was in cotton wasn't I?" LOL

You mean when "they" chose to put down someone for being a thrifty shopper. That's the only time I call anyone snob, LOL!

I never said anything about anyone doing things different, only about when they choose to put someone else down for doing things different, actually. I said something about WHEN "they" put others down, not for what they actually do. Big difference. You need to re-read what I wrote.

So, you are right, its not nice to put someone down for doing things different ......

I never called anyone anything for ONLY shopping at quilt stores, actually no one said anything about that.

I only said that people who ACT like their stuff is better than someone else's is a snob. And they are, no one can argue that.

They aren't a snob for only buyingquilt shop fabric, not at all.and I never said that.

I said when they ACT Like they are better....

Not all of us are blessed to have ANY LQS or even Joann's close by. For me it is WalMart or drive at least a half hour or more for any kind of fabric be it good quality or not.

And I've discovered that most stores have a range of quality and a range of price points. Not all of the lower priced fabric is lesser quality and not all of the higher priced fabric is superior quality.

And besides, some fabric is just pretty...even if it won't pass the 'superiority' test!

And where do you put Tula Pink in all this? :shock:
http://tulapink.com/2010/09/19/outraged/

I don't see where anyone posted anything that should offend you. If they choose to spend their $$ at Walmart and you like to support your local shop, that's everyone's choice. I don't understand why you're offended. No one here is battling with you.

And btw this is why so many local shops are going out of business. I don't blame anyone who shops walmart or joanns but somehow the distributors and/or manufacturers need to give the smaller shops a better deal so they can actually compete.

I think she needs to take it up with the company who manufactured it.

I have to admit, I'm a recovering fabric snob. I'm calling myself that, but I wouldn't call anyone else one. It can be taken negatively. My recovery program isn't easy, but I still won't buy garbage. But, I would buy the AE and David Textiles from WM if I had a WM in my area with a fabric dept. Good quality is always subjective and I would really like to read a written statement from several fabric manufacturers about the gossip and rumors that float about regarding the different "grades" of fabric.

I'm a fabric snob too but I'm a snob about a lot of other things too, like my shoes for example. I have both quilt shop fabric and inexpensive joann's type fabric in my stash and when I'm sewing it, I can tell the difference. This is probably not the brand name stuff from Joann's though-just the Joann's house brand. I've only bought fabric from Walmart a couple of times and not any quilt fabric. Our Walmart doesn't have fabric any more.

I buy 98% of my fabric at LQS-the rest from a combo of online, Joann's and I have bought fabric from Walmart. My question is...what makes you think that because you write a letter and *ask*, that you are going to be told the truth? If in fact Walmart does get a lesser quality from the same maker do you really think that it's going to be admitted to? Can you imagine the backlash that everyone involved with that would get? Of course the company is going to say it is nonsense...what else are they going to say; "yes, we send the crappy stuff to Walmart"?

If you give me your email address, I can send you the one that A. E. Nathan sent me, I posted it here, the OP, but I can forward it to you also.

I also sent some emails to other brands, but they haven't replied back, I guess they arent going to by now.

I really appreciate your honesty. You are just so nice, though, I can't see you ever being a "snob"!