elnan

Country Bumpkin that I was and am, we called it bleached or unbleached domestic. The bleached was often used for lingerie. To me, the unbleached often looks like the cotton bolls were ground up in the threads.
for really nice underwear and lingerie, the lighter weight fabric was called "Diminity" or something that sounded like that. My great-aunt made nightgowns and underwear for Grandma, sewing it all by hand.

Still Sew N

I buy JoAnns fabric, flannel and muslin there. I made a lot of quilts and have done so for 25 years. I believe a person has to look at each fabric line and what they intend to do with it. I have bought from quilt stores, JoAnns, Hobby Lobby, WalMart - I guess all of them. I don't have any bad experiences to share because I really have not had anything awful happen. I do not prewash or preshrink anything because I love the wrinkly, antiquey look that I get when I pull my latest creation out of the dryer. My sister can't bring herself to buy anything from JoAnns as she is convinced it will not hold up even though I haven't ever had that experience. I will say that if the only place I could buy cotton to make a quilt was from a quilt store, I would have given up the craft a long time ago. I think LQS and JoAnns really help support each other in that regard and I'm just thrilled there are so many places to purchase fabric.

feline fanatic

Still Sew N, For JAF Keepsake Cottons which is their bargain basement fabric it won't hold up. When I first started quilting back in the early 90's I didn't know any better and made two bed size hand quilted quilts out of that fabric. Some has faded so badly it doesn't even look like the same fabric, others have become threadbare with very little use and laundering. I find their pricing strategies predatory. If you shop around (mostly on line) you will find many of their product pricing is inflated, drastically so, so they can continue to offer 40 and 50% (and occasionally 60%) off coupons tricking consumers into thinking they are getting a great deal, when in reality in the end they are paying the same as in many other mom and pop shops without a coupon. I recall when LQS fabric was mostly retailing in the $7 to $10 per yard range. Went into JAF and started looking at their batiks and was shocked when I saw $16 per yard on the bolt! The straw that broke this camel's back is when I witnessed an employee rolling their low end broadcloth onto a Kona Bolt. I don't think the employee was being intentionally deceitful in that, more it was a case of not knowing the difference and not giving a rat's patootie. I say that because I pointed it out to her and she just said black is black, it doesn't matter.

WMUTeach

I use it all the time. Have been know to buy a bolt, because I use it so much. I by the best quality JoAnn's has and have always been pleased.

illinois

This has become quite a conversation about JoAnne's! It goes back to buy what you can afford. Just because it comes from JoAnne's, Hobby Lobby, WalMart or an LQS, does not speak to the quality of the piece you are buying. If you are an heirloom/quilt show quilter, LQS fabric may be what you want. If you are a craft quilter, perhaps you'd rather not pay the price. Personally I rarely buy at the LQS because, while I recognize they "usually" have fabrics that are more tightly woven, I don't want to pay the price. At the other stores, I can feel the piece I'm considering and decide if it is the quality for the project. Too, I'm a quilter who buys "some" not knowing what I will use it for and it will go into my stash and I can afford to buy "some" rather than going by a specific pattern. And, when I miscut, there is less guilt that I've just wasted that cut of fabric. I have purchased some LQS fabric that I felt was inferior and it frayed terribly so I wondered what was the big deal. I regularly shop the 3 mentioned and rarely am disappointed. Even the baby quilts that have endured a lot of love and laundry have held up well. As to muslin, I think one of its "downfalls" is the possibility of shrinking or that it may be thin so it is good to pay attention to what you are buying that it is the quality you want for the use you have for it.

ashiecat

It all depends on what you like. Personally I like muslin and would use it anytime, any place. However, you will read on here that there are people that would drive 500 miles to use anything but muslin. It's your quilt, so only you can decide what you want to use. If the quality is good, and you like it - what else matters? 98% of the people that you make quilts for wouldn't know muslin from the man in the moon. Just my humble opinion.

klswift

Greensleeves - if you buy the muslim online when it is on sale, you can use whatever shipping coupon is available (you just can't use multiple coupons with an order). Since you are buying a larger amount, you would probably get the free shipping, but, even if it is the $4.99 shipping, that is still a lot cheaper than a 3 hour drive! Because you have the bolt of the exact item you want - you have the 8 digit SKU number to order and get that particular item. I always tell my customers to save their receipts when they are working on a project or buy a fabric they really love. Then they have the SKU number to get it again.

QuiltingNinaSue

Since retirement some 13 years ago, I do not have a Jo Ann's in the area close to me. I depend on internet more most of the time. I order from Fabric Depot, Portland, Or. warehouse sales and get 40% off buying by the bolt. Good Kona snow, maize, yellow, cream and black for background in my quilts. And it is delivered to my door...I don't have to drive anywhere. On rare occasions, my good 'neighbor' who lives 40 minutes away, will take me to quality quilt shops and we have a ball on those days.

Quilter Grandma

I use JoAnn muslins for both piecing and backing. I feel and look for best quality muslin they have. I’ve never had a problem with any of it. Sometimes if I mistakenly buy a less grade than I need grade, I use that for making sample blocks, small projects, odd jobs.

Friday1961

I agree. JoAnn's Stores carry fabrics from well known manufacturers, as well as their own house brand fabrics, which are or may be lesser quality and are less expensive. Where do people think quilt shops buy their fabric? Same place JoAnn's gets theirs, from fabric manufacturers! I bought good quality muslin from JoAnn's which I used to back a quilt made from 1930s (or reproduction) fabrics. It seemed fitting in that most quilts of that era were backed by muslin.

Hobby Lobby also carries good quality fabrics, and I buy there at times.

Every quilt I've made has been from fabrics bought other than in quilt shops, since there are none close to me, and they've all held up very well.