Walmart - good and bad news
 

I needed 1 1/2 yards of something black for the backing of a wall hanging. Got to Walmart's fabric dept planning to call customer service as soon as I got there to ask for a clerk to cut the fabric, but ... there was a clerk at the cutting table! This was after 6:00 PM even! They had the perfect black I needed, the shelves were full - they have been a bit skimpy lately - and the clerk said she had 50 new bolts coming in. The bad news is the prices are up a bit. I had expected to pay $4+ for this - about what I've paid in the past. This basic black on black was $5.44/yard. Yes, a WHOLE lot better than what I'd pay anywhere else, but makes me wonder what the new bolts will be priced at.

I'll be checking in soon to see what new things are there. I love to get holiday fabrics, fabric for my grandboys nap sets for preschool, backings for wall hangings, table runner fabrics - especially seasonal ones. Love my LQS and spend as much as I can there, but ... glad we have an alternative too.

our has some NEW fabrics that came in at $10+

I was at Hobby Lobby last Friday and found some bolts marked at either $12 or $14 - I was so in shock I forget which! these were 100% cotton children's prints. They were really pretty, but prices like that seem designed to FORCE me to get deals online.

more reasons to shop with coupons and/or wait for sales. glad I have a stash!

My Walmart still does not have fabric.

OMG! So much for bringing back the fab, uh?

Well, for $8 and change I got the backing for a wall-hanging and at my LQS would have been $15 so ... better. Not a quality I'd wish for if something was going to be washed frequently, but for a wall hanging no problem.

My avatar is a nap set for a grandboy. Made it in August with fabric from Walmart at $4.44/yard. He had 2 sets through the fall so it was washed every couple of weeks and ... still looks as good as the day I made it. He now has 3 sets so it won't get washed even that often so may even make next year, too. The only one that hasn't done well is a pillowcase style nap-mat cover with flannel from Hobby Lobby - it has pilled and faded. It's the reason I made a 3rd set - that and Walmart had some Dallas Cowboy fabric and he LOVES the Dallas Cowboys! For these novelty fabrics that will be used only a short time - a year or two I consider a short time - I can spend $5/yd and be a happy camper. Now if I can just keep finding that $5/yard is the issue.....

The way fabric prices are going up some of us are going to be rethinking how we buy fabric. As for me no more buying fabric just because I like it. SOB, SNIFFLE, CRY, Now I only buy when I need it and shop my stash first. Fixed incomes only stretch so far before they snap back and hit you in the face, LOL OH well it is still fun to look.

i'm with you sister, may in jersey

I'm still in shock about the $10-12 a yard fabrics. I started building my stash back in 2007 and thankfully I have a lot on hand. HOwever every once in a while you need just the right fabric for a border or backing and can't always shop from the stash. I try to buy with coupons at Joann's or shop on line at fabric.com or Connecting Threads, or Thousands of Bolts. Usually try to check out their clearance items first. I'm on a fixed income now that I'm retired so do have to watch the budget.