Originally Posted by
oh munner
I've been told that just because a designer puts their name on a product, that doesn't necessarily mean the product is good. Designers sell their "designs, patterns call it what you will but the same print can be put on any type of weave. The thread count is what's important. So, just because the big box stores are selling a fabric with a designers name on it, that doesn't mean that they are selling the same quality fabric.
This is very true. Top fabric designers, however, usually work with one manufacturer and they work together to determine the quality of goods the fabric will be printed upon. Higher-quality fabrics will also have a lot of quality control on how the finishing is done. It will be interesting to see how successful, in the long run, designers are that allow their names to be put on cheap, poor quality fabrics.
Thread count is somewhat important, but just because you have a high thread count, it doesn't necessarily mean you have a high quality fabric, or a fabric that is desirable for quilting. You can have a very high thread-count fabric made with extremely thin or cheap thread and you probably won't like it very much for quilting. Take for instance, 800 thread-count bed sheeting. It's nice to sleep on provided it is made from high-quality threads, but you wouldn't want to use it for quilting.
Most higher-quality quilting fabric is made from fairly thick threads and is a 60 square fabric (60 threads per square inch). Some higher-quality fabric is printed on 75 square using a slightly finer thread, which gives it a finer feel. Batiks and hand-dyes are often on much higher thread count fabric but use thinner threads in the weave. The better Indonesian batiks and hand-dyes have a higher thread count than the better printed quilting fabrics, but actually weigh quite a bit less since they are a lot thinner. The high thread count in batiks is required because of the dyeing process they use in producing those fabrics. The higher thread count is what makes batiks more difficult to hand quilt.
There are a lot of other factors that determine the difference between cheap fabric and fine fabric, including the quality of the designs and original engravings, the quality of the dyes and printing processes, and the quality of the finishing.
Most of the highest quality quilting fabrics are produced in limited quantities and are reserved for sale by LQS's and small online stores. Some of the quilt fabric manufacturers have been really good about working to ensure that shops and small online stores have a fighting chance against the big box stores and the online giants, but it's still tough to compete against them when they have such huge advantages in purchasing power and in preferential shipping rates.