Originally Posted by bearisgray
Question for seller:
How much is on a "bolt" of fabric?
I bought a couple of "bolts" of fabric - and when I remeasured it, it was less than what the bolt said. (And I measured finger-nail to finger-nail).
Is the fabric really taut/stretched when it's put on the bolts?
We've had bolts as short as 8 yards and as large as 20. It depends on the maker and the collection. I would say that the most common size is 15 yards.
But... we've found that for certain manufacturers, the bolts come in up to 1/4 yard short fairly consistently. And, on occasion, we find a bolt that's really NOT what it's marked, either up or down by a yard or more. So, what we do, is to weigh each bolt as it comes in. We get a feel for what the "typical" bolt of that brand weighs, and so we can catch those that are glaringly off.
However, for bolts that are only 1/4 yard off, while annoying, it does not pay to unroll, measure, and re-roll each bolt just to find out how much we're being shorted by. Costs too much in labor costs, plus the time spent trying to resolve the issue with the manufacturer. So we only pursue it when the measurement is off by a yard or more. And yes, we report it to the maker either way, whether the error was in their favor or ours.
We've found that, in addition to just being the right thing to do, honesty pays handsome dividends. When you've established yourself as a trustworthy enterprise, if you report a problem or concern, you will be both taken seriously and believed.