$12.99/yd Jo-ann fabric
 

Yes --- $12.99/yd for fabric at Jo-anns. I bought 1 1/2 yds and had a 50% off coupon. Paid $9.74 for 1 1/2 yd so ... came to about $6.50/yd. I would not have bought it without a coupon, but was really shocked at the price. My LQS has some $10.99/yd fabric, but I haven't seen any yet that is more.

Here's my thought ... for what was priced at $12.99 I got to wander around with my little scraps in my hand and pull bolts and look, and muse, and wonder if this was the best I could find. No happy talk, no consultations, pull my number and wait. I showed the cutting clerk what I was trying to match, but got no feed back. For LESS than that per yard at my beloved LQS I get people who will ooohhhh and ahhhhh over what I bring in. I get people who will scour the shop to find what they think is wonderful. I get other customers who join in the oohing and ahhing. I get people who will help me lay out my choices and then step back to let me decide. It's even possible that the next time I go in someone will ask how that project came out.

So why did I go to Jo-ann's? I have trouble getting to my LQS within their store hours and I was lured by the coupons. Had a doctor's appointment in the big city an hour from our little town and took my daughter to lunch and shopped at Jo-anns before my appointment. I'd like this project finished by this weekend and the soonest I could get in my LQS is Saturday. But ... lesson learned ... sometimes it's not the price per yard that shows the quality of the experience.

The green outer border is the $12.99/yd fabric.

That is why I go to a quilt shop. most of the clerks don't even know to sew. Our JoAnns has alot of men who work there just because they need a job. They raise the price because of the coupons.

Great fun quilt idea for you. Like your photo.

While grocery shopping i can get a gift card and what i put down on that helps on gas. But, I am at the point.. I must !! Start using my stash! The toys for quilting i have paid more than wanting..but now i am not wanting 12 dollars a yard! Anywhere! Ouch!

LOL

I like our local JoAnn's, the manager there knows me from before the new store was built. And I always get good service.
I would rather eat dirt and talk nice about my ex daughter in law before I set foot in the LQS across the street from JoAnn's.

Sounds like you didn't get "catered" to like you thought you should be. :P

Everything in that quilt came from my stash - except the outer border. So to see that price for what was just the last bit of the project - pooey! I even have the backing because I bought a dark beige with lighter stars for a different project and then decided not to use it. Not what I would have specially selected for this, but it will do just fine - thank you very much! :)

Alot of stores raise prices when coupons are offered. My personal favorite is when you use the "Safeway" card as an example. They tell you..."You saved $50.95 " , over what? your usual high prices?.....lol

I think the quilt looks great!!

I don't think I expected to be catered to - I just didn't expect to see prices like that. Like the stores where you bag your own groceries and expect lower prices to accompany that. I had a pleasant experience - not quite what I'm used to in my home shop, but I didn't expect that - just made me appreciate more what I get at home. Definately not in the "talk nice about my ex-daughter-in-law" category. :) (I find the hardest in THAT category to not ever ever say what I think about her to my precious grandson. He'll have to figure things out for himself!)

And .. totally agree about the receipts that tell me how much I saved by paying more than I should have in the first place! I wouldn't have BOUGHT the stuff if I'd had to pay what the "real" price was.

Is it just me or has fabric gotten lots more expensive? Seems like not that long ago $10 a yard was the high end of quilting fabric & now...

I think Joann's has priced themselves out of the market. They started with those high prices last year for the premium and designer fabric. I don't think the quality is worth that much. I, too, have only bought some with the 50% off coupon. Better fabric than that is available on clearance at LQS for half that price.

I agree that Joann's new prices ($12.99) are ridiculous. My favorite quilt shop has much better prices and better quality fabrics. Joann's coupons are nice if you can ever find what you want that is not already on sale. Went last Wednesday when they had senior day and had a 50% off coupon. Most of the fabric was on sale, the one I wanted was just $1.00 a yard off though which was only about 10%. Ended up using the coupon for a pattern which I didn't really need. The other fabric I needed was on sale for 30% off and then got 20% off for being a senior.

Have you been to different Walmarts lately? Some are getting their fabric depts back & not just the 1or2 little areas that they brought back recently to many of them. Prices are a little higher but the fabric I find is much nicer than what I have seen at Joanns recently. I go between my LQS & Walmarts but lqs prices are just going up too hign for me. I've seen enough bad material at joannes lately to convince me not to shop for fabric there, not just because of the higher prices. The walmart clerks are friendly &helpful as are my lqs clerks.

Someone gave me 9 trash bags of fabric awhile back. She was a quilter and was cleanig out her stash. I've been making scrap quilts. If I need material for borders or binding I'll probably go to Lancaster. It takes extra gas but it's also a fun day out.

I've seen fabric at one of our LQS for $11.49 a yard. I rarely buy at Joanns anymore because I won't pay LQS prices at Joanns. The ladies are very pleasant there and will help if asked but even with the coupons, it's a pain.

I get great service from ONE particular clerk at Joann's. She helped me figure out the yardage I needed as we went through the fabric I had chosen as she cut (it was difficult since I had a pattern for a baby quilt and different material and colors!). Well, I should say SHE figured out the yardage and it took quite a bit of time. Thank heaven they weren't busy at that time.
One thing I don't like about Joann's is that a lot of the time I can't use the coupons because the fabric is already on sale.

That said, the nearest LQS I frequent is about the same in some regards. There are some clerks that will help with anything and sometimes I go in and never get a glance by anyone. No coupons, high prices but great fabric and thread. They carry thread Joann's doesn't.

I think it just depends on my mood, their mood and the day!

Good morning. I am sorry that happened to you at JoAnns. I work there part time and We just love to see quilts and projects people are doing. There are some there that don't quilt and have no personallity anyways. So I know what you mean. I love to help people. sometimes we will have fabric laying all over the racks until the customer has what she want. And If I have to go cut then I go back to the customer. You just have to make friends with the right person and usually in the evening after 5 or 6pm it better. they are not so busy. Good luck to you. Dawn in Waco

The Joanns here in Jensen Beach/Stuart area is the same. There is a Hobby Lobby nearby that I go to, ladies are helpful and take time with you. Prices are less than Joanns, and they also have coupons for 40% off. I feel Good when I walk out of the store, not like Joanns, when I am wondering WHY I bothered to go there and feel worse when I leave than when I walked in.

Wow, that's more than my LQS!

Suzy

I take my coupons in and buy batting and notions at Joann's, and feel I'm getting a deal. The thing is, the $12.99 fabric there feels awful. It's stiff, scratchy and certainly not the quality you would find at your LQS, although you are paying as much if not more for it. If I want or need to splurge on special fabric, would much rather give my hard earned $$ to the LQS. Believe everyone is feeling the pinch so we have to be mindful of where and how we spend our jingle. Often the people working at the LQS own the place, and are going out of their way to be cordial and helpful because it's their livelihood. A clerk at one of the chain stores often is stressed, underpaid and frankly, could care less.

Batting at Jo-ann's? that's where my coupons usually go. Got some Warm & Natural for 40% off and glad to get it.

The fabric I got had a good feel to it. I did put some back that was stiff.

I have wondered about the quality of JoAnn's top fabric vs the LQS. There are a couple of groups that I like but the feel is generally not as good and there's no way I'd pay $12 per yard! But sometime the hours or selection wins my business...

Or they put it on "sale" for a $1 off so you CAN'T use the coupon! I've given up on them! I use them for batting, thread and notions, with a coupon of course!!!!

All the fabric at The Quilt Shack in Dubuque Iowa is all $ 9.00 a yard and it's the good stuff.

Your Joann's isn't anything like mine that's for sure. The clerks at my Joann's always oooh and ahhh over my things. My favorite clerk will even fudge a bit and make sure I always get enough of the fabric if it's been cut crooked. When I've fussed at her about it she'll tell me in a hurry she doesn't want me to have to come back and complain because it wasn't cut right.

Love my Joann employees!!! In fact, no close enough LQS for me. So I have no choice but to go to Joann's

I have given up on Jo'anns. I really don't like the gimiky stuff with the coupons to try to make you feel like you got a good deal on fabric that was over priced to begin with.

If I am going to pay that price I will shop online or in local LQS. The same fabric I saw at Joann's that was 12.99 was at LQS for 12.50 an I know it is top quality.

This is why I love our local Hobby Lobby! Not only does the usual lady-at-the-table ("clerk" just doesn't sound right) know fabrics . . . she makes quilt tops! She knows the fabric and knows what does/doesn't hold its color, etc. I love going there! Unfortunately, my "local" QS is over 30 miles away (but I love it, too).

wow! nice quilt!

$12.99 at Joanns ! Who'd have ever thought ??
and I remember when I though $6-7 yd was high ! HAH

No thanks ! I'll pay $10.00 yd at my LQS, enjoy the visit, and help keep a LOCAL business in business !!

I, too, had sticker shock when I was in JoAnn's. The bolt that I picked up, if I am not mistaken was 14.99. This was a very nice material, a blend, but it certainly was not worth the price. Remember, that is a piece of material 36x44. I heard the other day at my LQS that there is no material made in the US. I think we ought to do something about that.

My last trip to Jo-Anns taught me what a gem my LQS is. I am totally spoiled. Today's trip to the LQS: 5 yds "Harvest Roosters" by Debbie Mumm from the sale table $3.25 per yd; 2 yds Northcott fabric $6.75 per yd; and 1 yd RJR solid orange $4.39 per yd. The Northcott & the RJR were not on sale. Yep I am spoiled because I also get great advice.

If you are anywhere near Lancaster, PA or planning a trip to that area I will share my gem of a LQS with you...just PM me.

I may be an exception, but there's an awesome quilt shop in my little town and the closest Hobby Lobby is 45 minutes away - Jo'ann's is an hour. We do have a nice Wal-mart in town with a good fabric department. Their prices have gone up as well.

Depends on the purpose of my quilt - small ones with short-term use get the best fabric I can get for the cheapest price. (The nap quilts I made my grandsons to take to pre-school didn't need expensive fabric.) Special gifts get the best I can afford - usually from the quilt shop - hopefully off the sale shelf! :)

I went to a local (25 miles away) JoAnn the other day and the place is being "redone" The new fabric section seems to be in place and there is definitely much less offering in a much smaller spot. The rest of the store is full of everything from soup to nuts!!!!!!!I think the new ownership has something to do with this upheavel!!!! I am sure the LQS are seeing a bit more traffic......l

Nice to know I am not the only one with a wicked ex DIL. I would rather keep silent then bad mouth their Mom in front of them. I think they know how she is though. It's sad, but true.

I do get a kick out of the clerks saying how much we "saved".......lol

No its corporate trying to impress the new owners and cutting back the hours of the employes

For several months now especially last summer people were posting here on the board about the price of cotton going up. I don't get to my LQS very often because I work and one of the 2 days they have evening hours I have another commitment, so that leaves one week night, and Saturday that I can go. A couple of months ago I was in the quilt shop and they had fabric for 11.99 and 12.99 and last month when I was at JoAnn's there was a bolt for 12.99, it was one of the premium lines (heavier and better quality).
When cotton prices go up they go up for everyone. At least at JoAnn's you can use a coupon for fabric and notions; and at my LQS they will do some sales with a percent off usually not more than 20%. I expect the next time you do get to the LQS you will see comparable increases.
And at the JoAnn's I go to they ask what I'm working on (even sometimes the check out clerk), and if I ask for help they will try to help, and they do seem to know something about sewing even the younger women working there.

I like that I have the choice to got to both stores. I like that if I want to go on a weeknight I can go to JoAnn's which is farther away from me. I love that JoAnn's offers coupons, and often has quilting items for 50% off with no coupon needed.
And most of all we in the USA aren't paying what quilters in other countries are paying! Since joining this board I have read various times what others pay per meter. I won't even complain about $15 / yard knowing what they have to pay-that was before the cotton increase. Of course no one likes it when a price goes up, but we still have it better than quilters in any other country.

fantastic job on your quilt, very nicely done.

I don't have a JoAnn's to go to. I buy from my LQS or online and am always happy with what I get. I love the green fabric you bought! I would have bought that same fabric myself. Am I the only one who loves all their member of their family? I love my DIL and SIL. Sometimes my kids will say something negative about their spouse, but I tell them not to tell me anything bad about them because I will always take my kids' side and there is always two sides to the story. I see how wonderful my DIL and SIL are and appreciate them. They treat me so well, partially because I treat them so well. They are now my family, too.

My complaint at Jo-Ann's is that they typically do not get full bolts of quilting fabric (for the moderately priced fabric). They usually get a max of 8 yards on a bolt. Well if you are making a queen or king size quilt and want 1 backing fabric you typically cannot not get it in one piece. A full bolt of quilting fabric 44-45" wide is typically 15 - 16 yards.