BertieD

It is the greige goods (the base fabric the design is printed on) Kind of like the difference between a muslin 180 thread count sheet compared to a percale sheet of 225 thread count. I bought fabric once in JoAnns that I had seen in a quilt shop because it was cheaper. Taking the one fabric to the quilt shop and comparing it, I saw there was more colors used in the nicer fabric but not enough difference to pay the extra for the project I had in mind. I buy fabric from lots of places; going by the 'hand' of the fabric or if you can see through it, etc. Lots of good advice on this board!

merridancer

The best quality fabric comes from Japan and South Korea, not China, Pakistan or India. Your LQS normally purchase from Japan and South Korea where the fabric is much better woven, both tighter and thicker, the prints are clearer and the metallic fabric is awesome. South Korea and Japan, first world countries with higher labor costs, have higher standards for their fabrics, so I know that anything purchased from those countries will be exceptional.
The manufactures that sell to the LQS, generally don't sell to Joannes. There is one manufacturer that does, except that the fabric sold to Joannes is printed in China and the good stuff sold to LQS is made in South Korea, thus there is a price and quality difference.
The real question that I see is this... You are making a quilt with love for someone. You have spent 20 to 60 hours working on that quilt and alot of people spend the money to have a quilt, quilted for them. So, why have you spent all that time, then spent the money to have it quilted, to end up with a finished quilt made of inferior fabric?
The other issue is of course customer service. If you come into my store, you will get personal help. If you need help with a technique, we give it. If you have problems choosing fabric or colors, we will bring fabric to you that will go together for you to choose from. We have a classroom that you can sew in free of charge and bring a bunch of buddies to sew together. We have classes. Get stuck on a project, we will help you out. Want a demo of anything in the store, we give it. We can custom print fabric, so bring in your pictures and designs. Want to brag and show off what you have done, we would love to see it.
So these are the differences between the chain stores and the LQS. Yes, some LQS need lessons in friendliness and helpfulness. I just hope that all LQS will demonstrate the love that we have quilting.

Meredith, Beautifulquiltfabric.com, Beautiful Quilt Fabric, San Dimas, California

MimiBug123

I buy fabric at my LQS, JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby and Hancocks. I buy fabric by the way it looks and feels. I've seen loosely woven, badly printed fabric at all of the stores. I don't think it matters where you shop. All stores have good fabric and bad fabric. Buy what you like and what you can afford and enjoy it!

Holice

I don't have time to read thru all these answers. It is a myth that only quilt shop fabric is better.
Fabric Manufacturers do not have the luxury of buying different grades of base fabric for different markets.
Some manufacturers as a general policy may do lesser quality than others but you find excellent quality at quilt shops as wel as any and all of the chains. There may have been a time when chains only had poor quality but not any more.
Lets learn to feel and test the quality and make the decision for ourselves. I have used fabric from the same manufacturer and in the same design line and some of it had a different feel in quality than others. Sometime it depends on where the fabric is printed. Please lets get rid of this myth and learn to test the quality ourselves.

Pat75

I took a class from a fabric expert who said that the difference was because of the many finishes that are done to the quilt store fabrics .Only 3 finishes are done on Jo anns and Walmart and 6 or7 are done on quilt store fabrics .These finishes protect the farics life time of wear and ability to hold color.I proved this to myself when I made placemats .THe applique farics from Joanns faded and the quilt store stuff stayed bright and did not crack on the binding as Joanns did. These 6 or 7 Finishes cost money but you can shop sales on line which is what I do and pay Joanns prices for quality.

Pieces2

Quality, the thread count is better. There are lower grades of fabric. Better price, the better the fabric.
Lower the price, cheaper the fabric. Better quality fabric makes better quality quilts.

quiltjoey

I buy where I can, what I like, how it feels, and how much it costs. Quilting is approx. a 4 to 5 BILLION dollar business in America. I posted the US Government stats at one time on the QB. With loss of so much cotton world wide due to storms, floods, drought, whatever; the cost of our beloved hobby will most likely continue to increase in price... Just buy what you can that fits your budget as we do not all fall in the same socio-economics arena. Some of us have lots and some of us have little, but we are all wonderful people who love the art of quilting and do it the best we can!!!

Quiltbaby

Many good point have been discussed. But I think can get a nice piece of fabric from all the places mentioned. Like one person before me, it has to pass the feel test and I must not be able to see through it.

Christine-

Meredith is correct! JoAnn's fabric is not the same quality as LQS fabric. JoAnn quilt fabric, even their best quality fabric, is not the same high quality as you can find at the local quilt shop. The LQS is a step better than JA's best. I know this because I worked there as a manager. I'm retired now, but a local quilt shop is your best bet.

And I can tell which is which in my stash, even though it's all interspersed by color. If I'm buying fabric for a utility quilt, one that will be drug through the yard by a kid, maybe dry off the dog, then I'll use JoAnn fabric. I've been making 6 Civil War quilts during the last year and LQS fabric was used, since I needed reproduction fabrics to make them, something JA doesn't carry. When I make American Hero quilts I use LQS fabric because they'll be put through the washer, placed on wounds that bleed, etc. And I want those quilts to stand up to abuse.

It's all in the eye of the beholder really. Use what you think is best for you.

nightquilter

Quilt store fabric is top grade# 1 fabrics this means there is less than 3 blimishes (weavers knots,start-stop marks,split picks,double picks, ect.) per 15 yards. which is what quilt shops usually order. There is no difference in the tightness or how loose the weave is on the same frame. The looms that make the fabric has a beam that holds the thread or warp threads(lenght)and will not run if it is loose on either end.But some looms will run loose, but from beginning to end.Fabric is graded by number of threads per sq. inch.many companies made cheaper fabric to start with, and more bad places and sell at a lesser price.