Fabric by the pound
 

There is a local fabric shop that has scraps by the pound for $15.00. Do you think this is a good deal?

Normally I buy my fabric from Joanns or Walmart - I just can't handle the fabric store prices....I do love scraps but I am not really sure if this is a good deal or not..

What do you think?

A pound of fabric is usually the equivalent of 4 yards. This means that you are getting a yard for slightly less than $4. In Canada this would be a good deal as quilting fabric retails for $12-$18 per metre. If fabric is a lot more reasonable in your part of the world, this may not be such a great deal. It would also depend on what the fabric is and how big the scraps are. If it was large chunks of number one quilting fabric in some of the latest designs, it would be a great deal. If it's small pieces of older fabric, I'd look elsewhere.

Hmmm, that's tough. It seems to me that at yard sales I've been to where quilters were parting with their stash, they sold it by the pound and it ended up costing about $4-5 dollars a yard, which was a good deal. It would be hard to know how much fabric yardage you were getting in if you are getting it in scraps and if it adds up to $15.00 worth of value.

Maybe visit the store and ask how they came up with their price. They may have already measured out a pound of scraps and can tell you approximately how much yardage you'd be getting for the price.

Well, one pound of fabric is usually about 3-3 1/2 yards. That would work out to about $5 a yard. There are several online stores that offer mystery bags or scrap bags so I think I would shop around a little. Of course, you would have to factor in shipping costs if you order online.

I love scrap bags because they force me out of my comfort zone and often add some colour and excitement to a scrappy quilt.

I bought Moda scraps from a quilter for $1.00 per sandwich baggie ... all I could stuff in that baggie. I had enough to make 4 placemats and still have some leftovers. These were strips up to 4" wide, but most were 1" to 2". I thought I'd struck a great deal and can't wait to find that quilter again. I'd say go for it ... scraps make some creative quilted projects!

I would be really careful about what was in the bag. Do you want quilting fabric or won't it matter if there are denim pieces in there?

When you say fabric store what types of fabric do they sell there? If the grab bags are all quilting fabrics and you are into scrappy I would say go for it.

Ish...our local shop has fabric by the pound and it's only $4 per pound. She often has flannel included in it. She won't cut it unless there is at least 5 yards left on the piece.

You'd be surprised how fast the weight adds up.

This week she had her regular fabric for 50% off so it is now $3 to $4.50 a yard. I know I'm spoiled but I love her little shop.

I love to make scrappy quilts. But I also make other kinds of quilts, generating a lot of scraps of my own. And I pick up scraps on the free table at guild meetings. I wouldn't be interested in paying around $4 per yard for scraps that I wasn't able to personally select. If the scraps are perfect rectangles, and they're excellent quality fabrics, then I might be interested - but if not then I think I'd rather buy some of the sale fabric online for $4 and less per yard.