I'm lucky I live in a relatively affluent area and I can find fabric in thrift stores, at the rate I sew I couldn't afford the $12/yard I now figure on as "average non-sale price". It is in my area at the local (non Joann/Hobby Lobby) stores and chains. It's what I see on line -- plus postage. Fabric is hit or miss, but I've gotten every name brand you can think of and not just weird or badly printed or what you might think and I'm typically paying $1-2 a yard.
I have "buying full price fabric" as a very rare option to me, and I'm usually not comfortable spending more than about $20. For the first time in years I bought two yards of fabric on line that weren't on sale, think it's about $27 including postage. Last year I bought a couple yards of the perfect fabric for a project, in both cases $12 a yard, plus gas and time to go to the not-quite so LQS. I'm comfortable doing a queen sized top per month, that's 10-12 yards of fabric and $100+ just for the top.
Price is a very real factor. I'm just happy as I can be when I luck into something I could and would use at $1 a yard, wherever that may be.
Final thought, last year I did a top from a thrift store bag of mixed mostly Walmart and a few Joann fat quarters. The quality of the fabric varied quite a bit, I think some of the Waverly ones (polka dot and such) are actually commercial runs of high end baby lines. In general, the more seasonal and trendy the design is, the lower quality. If it's seasonal and folded/bound, it's like "craft" weight/weave and not "quilting". It's just meant for a table cloth or napkins or accents, that doesn't mean it's bad either just that it has a different use. Same thing with the poly blends.
The problem bleeder fabric I got that ruined a top was "quilt shop quality". I've had pieces of a few of the known-name designer fabrics that once washed and the sizing and such gone were simply bad quality greige goods. As well as I'm more likely to be "shorted" on a stated bolt size width of fabric and have a barely usable 40" width even before washing with the designer names than with the medium brands.
Last edited by Iceblossom; 09-02-2020 at 06:34 AM.