I shop thrift stores 2-3 times a year with my niece. She goes every month. A lot of you all on here post your fabric finds. So what do you do with these fabrics? Maybe I should go more often to see what I can find?

I make quilts with them!! Always wash them as soon as you get them home, you never know what sort of home they have been in.

I'm never lucky enough to find any craft items or fabric at the thrift stores. And I love your little doggie. Looks like my Missy I had.

I never seem to find any fabric for quilting Boo Hoo!! :D:D

I don't ever find any either. =(

Thrift stores in my area supply almost all of my quilting fabrics! Saves me a ton of money, and I always have on hand plenty of beautiful fabrics.. Also, friends give me whatever they run across, so I am truly blessed!

Oh, I do! I love to thrift shop. I don't just get fabrics, I get curtains, bed skirts, sheets, etc. and these can be cut up and made into quilts.

Same here. I found some at the thrift store yesterday 6 bags and nice pieces. Out of all the pieces that were in the bags only one piece had a cut in the fabric but I will cut it into a workable squares and make a quilt.

I dont seem to find much fabric either, but I find lots of quilting magazines!

I work at a thrift shop & we get alot of fabric in. There are a few quilters that come in every few days just to see whats out.There are alot of cotton mens/womens clothing that makes great fabric for quilts, you just have to poke around a bit, like a treasure hunt.

I don't find fabric in mine either. I knew they had sheets. One day when they were open, I went to buy some. The week before they had sheets and pillowcases 50 % off. You got it, the shelves were basicallly bare

I rarely find fabric either but I love a Sunday afternoon stroll and search at the thrift store.

I went today and found several bolts of fabric. I never find this much and of course didn't have much money with me. I did get about 5yds of a white on black print for $5. There were only a few bolts of cotton most of them were poly or satin feeling.

wash...wash...WASH !!

I have yet to find fabric yardage or scraps, at a thrift store.

Some I make quilts with others I add to my stash.

Me too...and I buy clothes to cut up as well. Washing is essential. I bought some the other day and it was well over 25 years old (still had a store/price label on and that particular store closed 25 years ago).

Thrift stores are very "hit or miss". Depends on who donates. For every many many trips I make to them, I might find something. Always fun though.

I find a lot of new fabric as well as some really nice fabric in skirts and dresses. Sometime the piece may be several yards and other time 1/2 yards or less. The price is usually pennies on the dollar compared to what you spend in the quilt shop. Some days they have nothing and the next you go they will have a lot. Good luck.

Thrift Stores around here are to darn expensive...

I found a piece of cotton fabric @ our Goodwill.I wash it & put in my stash.We have a Catholic church thrift that I prowl for fabrics.Saves me money & is so much fun.

quilts

Mixed in with the fabric is often material that won't do for quilting, but will be great for doll clothes, etc. I make doll clothes for vintage dolls that I restore so for me this is great......if a bit a polyester double knit in the bag, I'll send it back next time I have things to send to the thrift shop.

I go home and wash them first then add them to my stash. I love it when I am ready to make a new quilt and I get to go through my fabrics and make the decision on what to use. Most of the time I have all I need to get started! I also go to church sales where the fabric is really reasonable. I must admit shopping for fabric at the sales was better in NJ than IL..lots more quilters in this area!

I love finding fabric at the thrift shops. Once I found three complete quilt kits--pattern, backing and all--for $3.95 a kit. I haven't sewn those yet. But I have used thrift shop fabric (washed) for charity quilts. I also buy 100% cotton scrubs, men's shirts, and sheets for quilts. I love hunting for these things at the thrift shops. In fact, tomorrow, all of the Goodwills in the Denver area are having a 50% off everything sale....I'll be there bright and early!

I pick up 100% cotton shirts at my local thrift store and am now making a plaid quilt out of a lot of them. I'll post a photo when I'm done.

I always check for fabric at the thrifts. Never know what may turn up, and have gotten some nice bargains.
Our daughter went this week and came home with a bag of white fabric. It was all stapled shut no way to feel the quality or anything. When we opened it there were 10 yards of very nice , white, good quality 108 inch wide quilt backing. Now that was the "jackpot"--price, $2.99. I was thrilled, needless to say. Ruth

I just recently found a whole clothes baxket full of fabric for five dollars at a thrift store. The smallest piece in it is 12 by 12 sqaures. I often buy curtains or sheets.

I always check thrift stores also...and prewash is a must, even though most of the stores require donations to be washed before donating...I started my stash collecting in thrift stores in Sacramento, working in outside sales, in between calls, I would hit the thrift stores, and my territory alone had 11!!!!! And Sacto. gets a lot of transplants from European countries, and first thing they do is get rid of their clothes to go "American". And the skirts, dresses and blouses they gave up were made with beautiful fabrics! But I used to buy full gowns of satin, velvet or moires for less than $5! I had such a huge collection that when I moved, I had to trim back to what I really wanted to keep!!!!!

Me neither :cry:

Ditto. I always look for sheets to use for backing. They are generally really soft and you can get some good deals on them. Also, some of them have really cute designs on them.

I forgot to say that I look at men's and women's shirts and blouses to. You can get some really nice looking fabrics and you can get a lot of pieces to use out of them. The thrift stores around my town have raised their prices but it is due to the economy. A lot of people are buying at them because they are cheaper than getting something at Wal-Mart or other department stores. These days we all have to economize as much as we can.

Don't forget to get men's silk ties!!!!!

I dont go looking for "fabric". I shop the clothing racks for clothes made of 100% cotton and wool fabrics. I only buy what goodwill has half price that week. When I get them home they go straight to the washer. The washing step is important because, you know, bed bugs are epidemic in this country right now. When i'm watching TV I take a seam ripper to em. Iron and fold, there you are, "fabric". I once got 6+yards of the most beauitful calico floral on black from a skirt for about $2. Sometimes you get really cool buttons and buckles too.

I dont go looking for "fabric". I shop the clothing racks for clothes made of 100% cotton and wool fabrics. I only buy what goodwill has half price that week. When I get them home they go straight to the washer. The washing step is important because, you know, bed bugs are epidemic in this country right now. When i'm watching TV I take a seam ripper to em. Iron and fold, there you are, "fabric". I once got 6+yards of the most beauitful calico floral on black from a skirt for about $2. Sometimes you get really cool buttons and buckles too.

I have also found deco fabric and am in the midst of trying to recover our futon couch. I've got it matched on the sides really well, but am stumped on getting the top to match, so we're sitting on a fleece blanket stretched over the couch :roll:

If it weren't for thrift stores, I'd have no stash. Altho it isn't as easy to find fabric as it used to be because I don't go as often. I'd ask where they put the fabric, too. Some hang, some bag (around here, someone usually rips the bag open to feel the fabric), some throw in bins...

And lace, sequins, trims, etc.

I received a bag full of fabric cut into 5" strips from my SIL . Very pretty, but came from a smokers home!! Had set them in garage for about 9 months thinking that would help to eliminate odor. WRONG! Then I washed them in soapy water with white vinegar, rinsed well and hung outside to dry. Worked perfectly, smell totally gone.

I am going to take a day and hit all those places in the Kansas City area. We have lots of thrifty type stores.

i haven't found fabric, but a whole stack of quilting books for a quarter each.