I went into a local quilt shop, the only one I know of within 30 minutes, to look around. I was amazed at the selection, but I was also amazed at the prices. Most were $9+/yard and some were on sale for $6. Is this normal? I am new to quilting and to be honest most of my fabric up to now has come from Wal-Mart. Is this a case of you get what you pay for as far as quality or were they taking advantage of the fact that they are the only shop around? I also asked if they did classes and they said no. Bummed,
Jamie

Yes... this is the going price for quality fabric (LQS fabric). There is a definte quality difference between LQS fabric and Walmart fabric. I buy most of my fabric on-line.

http://www.fabric.com/

is a website with good prices and selection and they have good amount in their clearance section. There is also a coupon "CLEAR1026" you can use for 30% off. I am not sure if that is also off the clearance fabric.

Around here that's pretty normal. Occasionally Walmart has good fabric as long as you purchase the ones that are higher end and stay away from the $1 or $2 a yard.

Now, that said, we all have to live within our budgets and there are some ways to cut back on the cost of fabric. As long as you're not putting your quilt in a contest you can shop thrift stores for cotton sheets to be used as backing, new fabric at our Goodwill is 72 cents a yard, 100% cotton shirts from garage sales or thrift shops can be cut up for blocks, etc. Get creative.

the LQS here has prices starting at $11.98 and goes to $16.98 for batiks.

i hand dye most of my fabric and the fabric i do purchase comes mainly from Fabric.com for the reasons listed above by the previous poster.

Jamie- there are lots of good tutorials on Youtube and Missouri Star Quilt Company- Youtube has many beginner videos.
Those are just 2 that pop into my head and are excellent.
As for fabric I find quilt shop quality online much cheaper.
Fabric.com, Delta Patchwork, Fabric Shack, there are many other good ones as well.
I hope this helps :)
And the board can help you anytime!! There are many talented people here. Good luck!

For the amount of time it takes to make a quilt, I try to get as much quality fabric as possible.

So much depends on what you are going to make and for whom. I make a lot of Linus quilts and I will admit that they are not made from quilt shop fabric. Most of it comes from Joann's bargin markdowns or their children's fabrics that I was able to use a coupon to purchase. I only indugle in "quilt shop" fabric when I am making a special quilt either for a gift or for myself or immediate family. Again if it is just going to be a quilt for my grandkids to snuggle under while watching TV it usually doesn't come from a quilt shop. I am a step-mother of three all of which have almost grown children. Neither my step-daughter or my two daughter-in-laws know much about or appreciate handwork. Over the years they have all received quilts or quilted items from me but they were made with attractive but less expensive materials. While there is nothing wrong with constantly redecorating your home I am not willing to spend the time it takes to make a handquilted masterpiece only to see it religated to the dog's box the next time one of the children redocrates. My step-daughter is a medical professional and puts "all" of her bedding through the wash everytime she changes the bed, quilt included.

My favorite quilt shop just over an hour away has raised prices. We were paying $10 and some of the new lines are now $12.50!! I don't shop "stash".

Has anyone tried This-n-That Fabrics?
They have good prices too.

Yep, the cost have gotten SO high! Check out our classifieds here for some good prices! I also look at garage sales and online, too! There are bargins for sure, sometimes just takes a bit of time to find what you want or need!