Fabric prices
#32
Power Poster
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: East Oklahoma - pining for Massachusetts
Posts: 10,477
Batiks are about $11-12 here. Have found some nice prices online though. I've heard people over the years say that quilting is so nice because it is not expensive. Oh boy, could I tell them a few things.
#33
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 903
Around here, it's common to see 10.99 to 11.99 for most quilting cottons. I was in a shop in Kansas City yesterday and almost fell over when I saw 13.99. Sadly, that's why I do most of my shopping on line. I will buy at the LQS when I must have it today, or they are having a sale.
#34
most places 12 bucks a yard, my old shop has 9 bucks but she doesn't carry nearly as much fabric as she used to so its hard when you are looking for somethin particular. You might be able to find 10-11, but there are just not many shops near me any more, when this one goes I will either have to drive far or wait for quilt shows or buy online which I don't like doing unless I have seen it first. Its about twice as much in europe so count you blessings
#35
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: just west of Gilroy, Ca.
Posts: 235
I had sticker shock also. I was in San Francisco last weekend and thought I would take a look at one of the downtown fabric stores for cotton velveteen. They had many beautiful colours BUT they ranged from $29 to 70.00 a yard. I just needed a bit so got 3 pieces of 1/4 yard and spent 26.00...............gasp
#37
I, too, have noticed the price of fabric has risen. I'm paying $3.50 for fat quarters at the LQS which works out to $14 per yard! Yikes! I've noticed some people prefer online buying, but I wonder if with shipping if the cheaper prices really are that much cheaper. Some of you also have to pay sales tax on your purchases. Ouch! (Glad I live in NH - no tax except on meals and lodging.) JAF and Hobby Lobby will have more of my business now and occasionally Walmart, too.
Anita
Anita
#38
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Centralia, WA, USA
Posts: 4,890
I can't pay full retail of $12 to $15/yd for premium fabrics. I shop the sales and use coupons to get what I need. I also buy pieces at thrift stores when there's something I like. Some of my favorite fabrics have come from them.
The east coast used to have a lot of textile mills. It became cheaper/ more profitable for the manufacturers to move overseas just like a lot of our other industries did. We can complain all we want but we're all a part of that problem. We can complain about unions too but when you look at the wages and working conditions in many of those old mills something had to be done. We accepted the corporations' decisions to move overseas and bought their products instead of refusing to. Now the mills are pretty much gone and there are no other choices. Also poor quality isn't necessarily the fault of the overseas producers. It's the fault of the people requesting the product to be made. Many of them ask "How cheaply can you make this?" instead of "How well can you make this?". It's a complicated issue and there are no easy answers. Also fuel prices are high and the cost of energy drives the cost of everything else.
I think there will come a time when fuel prices outweigh cheap labor and we will start producing more goods at home again.
My 2 cents,
Rodney
The east coast used to have a lot of textile mills. It became cheaper/ more profitable for the manufacturers to move overseas just like a lot of our other industries did. We can complain all we want but we're all a part of that problem. We can complain about unions too but when you look at the wages and working conditions in many of those old mills something had to be done. We accepted the corporations' decisions to move overseas and bought their products instead of refusing to. Now the mills are pretty much gone and there are no other choices. Also poor quality isn't necessarily the fault of the overseas producers. It's the fault of the people requesting the product to be made. Many of them ask "How cheaply can you make this?" instead of "How well can you make this?". It's a complicated issue and there are no easy answers. Also fuel prices are high and the cost of energy drives the cost of everything else.
I think there will come a time when fuel prices outweigh cheap labor and we will start producing more goods at home again.
My 2 cents,
Rodney
#39
Our LQS fabric is $18.99/metre. I am happy to pay it as quilting is something I love.
I also love cross stitching and my last project kitted up was $60. 3 skeins of silk threads, hand dyed linen, pattern and a bit of fabric to finish it off. It took a week to stitch. I find joy in my hobbies and purchase what I can afford when I can.
I also love cross stitching and my last project kitted up was $60. 3 skeins of silk threads, hand dyed linen, pattern and a bit of fabric to finish it off. It took a week to stitch. I find joy in my hobbies and purchase what I can afford when I can.
#40
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Tulsa, OK
Posts: 48
My LQS averages $11-$13 per yard. They also have a huge selection of sale fabrics averaging $7. I give them quite a bit of my business just because I believe in supporting small local businesses. I also shop online, there are so many nice online quilt shops! Many of them have great sales (like 50% off!) and often free or very reasonable shipping...plus I can shop in my PJ's!
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