1/4 yd-----WOF
05-10-2012, 06:52 AM
#11
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Sturbridge, Ma
Posts: 3,992
The cutting to really watch is when buying wide backing. It is folded twice on the bolt and even tho the cutter may give a few extra inches, it never comes out right. I have lost as much as 12" on a 3 yd piece. I try to get them to tare the fabric because it is expensive to have to buy extra wide backing.
05-10-2012, 07:01 AM
#12
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 2,189
Go to the stores that rip the fabric. This gives you exactly what you want. The crooked cuts to the straight of grain are because of the way the fabric is loaded on the bolts. Machine stretch the fabric as it winds....
05-10-2012, 07:15 AM
#13
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Live Oak, Texas
Posts: 6,133
I guess I am guilty of over buying, I always buy one half to a yard more to make sure I have enough in case I mess up or decide to change the pattern. Nothing upsets me more than starting a project and not having enough fabric.
05-10-2012, 07:18 AM
#14
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Cadillac, MI
Posts: 6,487
JoAnn employees are taught to cut to the exact amount, but some are sloppy. I have had fleece recut because the amount I ask for is the amount I need, not two inches less on one end. It does get you a dirty look, but I don't care. They are also taught to cut woven plaids on a line, not on the fold, but how many of today's employees recognize a woven plaid? My LQS owner cuts a little extra, but her husband and daughter are more exact. If I need 9", I buy 1/3 yard to allow for shrinkage as I am a prewasher now. I do find more shrinkage in width than length so I could probably get by with the 1/4 yard.
How do you get what you are paying for? Ask for it.
How do you get what you are paying for? Ask for it.
05-10-2012, 07:48 AM
#15
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: S. W. Indiana
Posts: 7,484
Both 1/4 yard wof cuts and fat quarters have their benefits depending on the pattern. I buy 1/4 yards if doing strips that are cut WOF or if I need a smaller piece. I buy fat quarters if I need a fatter piece for a quilt or a small project. There are a lot of small seeing projects that call for 2 fat quarters staked to cut the pattern pieces. Of course, sometimes I buy fat quarters just because they are pretty. No one else has the pretty fat quarter addiction, right?
So if you ask for a quarter of a yard, you just assume you're getting 9" of usable fabric?
05-10-2012, 07:51 AM
#16
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: S. W. Indiana
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I don't know if any stores around here rip. I've been tempted to ask, but so far never ahve.
05-10-2012, 07:55 AM
#17
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: DC metro area
Posts: 1,286
I watch them lay out the fabric and then make them measure from the shortest part. They get annoyed with me too. I tell them that I want a yard, a full 36". Not 36" at one end and 32" at the other.
I had a cutter tell me they couldn't do it and I asked them politely to get a manager. The piece in question was horribly cut previously and if I hadn't made a fuss the cutter was going to give me a really weird shaped piece. The manager came and told her to do what I said.
I had a cutter tell me they couldn't do it and I asked them politely to get a manager. The piece in question was horribly cut previously and if I hadn't made a fuss the cutter was going to give me a really weird shaped piece. The manager came and told her to do what I said.
05-10-2012, 07:59 AM
#18
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Myrtle Beach, SC
Posts: 8,138
Reverse psychology - I tell the cutter that their shop is the best one in the area when it comes to cutting, and then describe what I mean by best. When I'm done, they know what I expect and most often I get it. But it doesn't work every time...
05-10-2012, 08:22 AM
#19
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Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Vancouver, Washington State
Posts: 2,113
They sure wouldn't like me if that happened! I want what I'm paying for, but especially at today's fabric prices. If the person cutting the fabric cannot measure properly they don't belong behind the cutting counter.
The people behind the cutting counter at Joann's are extremely stingy in their measurements, and I'm sure they've been trained to be that way, but I get disgusted when I get home and find that I have several inches less than I paid for, even before I wash it, so I'm also picky about who cuts my fabric.
Then there's the cost of gas these days, and they know that most people won't come back and complain. Ok, so I sound cheap...but it's my money, not theirs.
The people behind the cutting counter at Joann's are extremely stingy in their measurements, and I'm sure they've been trained to be that way, but I get disgusted when I get home and find that I have several inches less than I paid for, even before I wash it, so I'm also picky about who cuts my fabric.
Then there's the cost of gas these days, and they know that most people won't come back and complain. Ok, so I sound cheap...but it's my money, not theirs.
05-10-2012, 09:38 AM
#20
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Piedmont Virginia in the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mtns.
Posts: 8,562
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