Originally Posted by
grammamo
I would prefer that the store/seller tear my fabrics...recently bought 119 inch wide backing...added 1/3 of a yard for squaring...BIG problem...when I tore it to square, I lost over half a yard...the fabric was folded so crooked, that I lost 9 inches on one side and almost 12 on the other....which meant not enough for the back of my quilt....NOT happy...it's not as bad wne the fabric is 40-44 inches wide...but when you get to wider widths...it can make a huge difference. FYI...I took it back (LQS) and they had enough that they tore what I needed...(they tore the first edge to square it up....and the difference between the selvages was over 9 inches...
When I worked at a quilt store I noticed that the wide backs were actually marked by the manufacturer with the recommendation to rip, rather than cut - for this exact reason. Not that the store did that, but at least the manufacturer understands the issue.
We have one store in town who rips and refuses to do anything else. When I bought a black fabric from them and saw the white specs that showed up after ripping, a good 2" into the fabric, it became clear how damaging that technique is (What I was seeing is threads that twisted, so the undyed backside was showing on top). I shop there very seldom now, and always buy extra for trimming if I have to purchase there.