Favorite Fabrics

I don't know!!! I'm thinking that it the kind of detailed information that you have to PRESS to get.

And I'll be pressing... because I think that quilters will want to know. Right now on our site we've been describing the fabrics as "medium weight" or "deluxe weight", mostly to distinguish the "beefier" fabrics by Alexander Henry, Michael Miller, Robert Kaufman and Timeless Treasures from most of the rest of the pack. But the differences can be really subtle, and for me I'm mostly feeling for thickness.

I'm searching for a better way of describing the cloth and perhaps thread count will do.

Oh. Robert Kaufman does give weight in ounces per yard of their fabrics. I guess I could ask the fabric manufacturers for that too... but don't you think thread count is a more useful measurement? Unless you're importing/exporting, in which case Customs might care about the weight.

I'm getting a little confused...

fabric whisperer

I like the current descriptions you use... If it doesn't have a nice hand, I won't buy it... and even tho I do a lot of on-line buying, I do still patronize my LQS, so I can do the feel test...

If it feels too thin for my liking, I'll keep walkin'... Moda or not! JMHO (so what weight are your birds on your website haa haa my daughter loves the bluejay / cardinal prints)

b.zang

My problem is with combining fabrics of different weights into one project. I know that we make quilts with different fabrics, but sometimes I just want them all the same for the continuity and ease of use.

fabric whisperer

Nan ~ do you "sew tests" with them when they do these kinds of changes to rock our world? My first choice are the slightly beefy ones that have a very soft hand, just feel like liquidity when fondled, and sew up like a hot knife going thru butter... boy, everyone will think I'm really a nut now... but your're wrong, I'm a cashew, which is a fruit! LOL

ghostrider

Personally I like to know the weight per square yard, but there are very few websites that tell you that info...perhaps because it is not available to them. Thread count by itself means nothing to me and certainly does not mean better or worse, softer or rougher, by a long shot.

When I order online, knowing the weight, the heft of a fabric if you will, is as close as I can come to feeling it and now that the manufacturers are making that more of a variable, it is more important, to me anyway, to have that information available before I buy 'sight unseen'.

How hard would it be for a retailer to weigh a yard of each fabric on a food or postage scale before, or after, they cut it into fat quarters? It just seems like the most objective way to describe weights.

lvaughan

I agree with this, my favorite fabric line is Moda and I wouldn't like the different weights combined in a quilt. I haven't felt the 75x75 so don't know if I would like an entire quilt made with this fabric. I need to go to a quilt shop and feel the difference.

grann of 6

When I first read this thread, that was my main concern. I don't like combining different fabric weights, guess that's just me. I do most of my shopping for fabric online and now I am concerned that I am going to get different weights of fabric for a selected project. I usually choose Moda or Kaufman because I know I will get what I expect. I guess I am going to have to make a trip to my LQS and start feeling the fabrics more. Hmmm, what a sacrifice to make. :roll: :roll:

karenpatrick

I don't know anything about thread count, dyes, etc. I know about weight. What is boils down to is that if I can choose between the light fabric and the heavier fabric, I'll will go with the heavier fabric every time. And since I have been buying online a lot lately I will avoid the Moda fabrics. And I LOVE Moda fabs and have bought a ton of them over the years. And it really makes me sad that I will avoid their fabs.

Tristan

I had heard that the new Moda's were getting thinner. I was hoping it wasn't true. I guess they are following the new marketing strategy of offering less at a higher cost.They probably figure the un-informed consumer will not notice. All I know is, if I spend many weeks or months on a quilt, I want to use the best quality materials to make it worth the time involved.

cinnya

It is absolutly amazing what I can learn on this board. Thank you Ladies.