vicki

I have also been told Walmart is doing aswy with the fabric department.

I haven't been given a date yet, but they say they are replacing it with paty and wedding supplies.

VICKI

mimisharon

Thanks for the links, ladies, I'm thinking it's just a shame that the fabrics have gone up so much because the textile business has been outsourced to other countries and that we have to order offline instead of in person. I love the feel of new, unwashed fabric......sighh

I have the other two websites opening in new tabs to check them out and save them to favorites. Thanks so much for sharing.

Sharon

patricej

tearing is an easy way to test the quality and weave of fabric. really good fabric has a nice, even weave. it goes onto the bolts evenly and comes off the same way. if you tear fabric (snip just through the selvage then let 'er rip to the other side) then lay it back in place, selvage to selvage, it should line up evenly along both the selvages and the torn width at the same time. if it doesn't, you have to choose whether to align your cuts with the straight of grain (where it tears) or to just fold it flat, ignore the weave, cut a straight line across the bottom with a rotary and ruler, and go from there.

tearing is also a good way to test how badly the fabric will fray, how strong it is, and whether it's cotton, a blend, or pure polyester. (it's usually really difficult to tear polyester and blends. if they will tear, you'll often see serious distortion and rippling along the tear line.)

if you want to tear as a test or just to save time, i'd recommend you buy at least 1/4 yd more than you need, just in case it doesn't have a nice even weave. you could have two or three inches at one end of the torn strip (sometimes more), and 1/2" at the other. you could "waste" several inches of your puchase finding the straight of grain.

whether or not to tear is like many other things in quilting ... it's a personal choice. neither right nor wrong. personally, i often tear off at least one strip just to find out what i'm working with. fewer unpleasant surprises later. (no matter what they say, price is no indicator of quality. the only thing price tells you is what customers are willing to pay.)

CountryMom'sDaughter

:) Hi, thank you so much for your comments on tearing the fabric. I have learned so very much. Great information. I'm so glad you took the time to share. CountryMom's Daughter.

Handful

Here in England quilting fabric is £8-9 a yard!! That is about $15-17!!
So I am so thankful that Thousands ofBolts exists so hat I can afford to buy fabric to make quilts for Project Linus for whom I am an Area Coordinator.

Even with the mail cost of $11.99 for up to 5-6 yards, the fabric is still less than half the price in our shops.

If I buy less than £30 each time then Customs are not bothered!

Thank you Thousands of Bolts, (and the one nut!)

Bevanger

Thanks for sharing

Handful

I do tear fabric sometimes BUT only cotton and only lengthwise.

If the tear is crosswise, the waeve may not be straight which can be be bad if the pattern is alo off. Also the croswise tear will fray more and curl up a bit.

kd124

Thank you so much.