I am fighting mad. My quilting buddy and I got together today to work on a baby quilt for a mommy to be at church and we had picked up a few charm packs from JoAnns. We loved the colors and the patterns in them. Got them open a few days ago and they had two in the pack that looked like they were just thrown in and didn't seem to really go with the other squares, which isn't a big deal because we made it work. well when we went to sew them all together that was when the problems really started to hit the fan. Not only where the squares not the exact size of 5" but they were not all quite square. most were only off by less than 1/8". really frustrating. but when we ironed them they were really messed up because they were cut not in a true square but had some corners that were not 90*. We were really mad about all this then as I am ironing out the fabric trying to get them all in some resemblence of a rectangle, I found that my buddies machine has lost its tension. So now the bottom thread is able to be pulled out. So after about an hour of trying to fix the tension problem I gave up and we are going to get together tomorrow to try and finish up. We have some of them in 4 squares and some on rectangles and some flapping in the wind on their own. This was all done while 4 children ran nuts playing. Their ages are 11 months. 21 months 2 1/2 and 4. Are we crazy or what? hehe

Does anyone else ever have this problem with the charm packs? Not being cut right? or even the right size. As well as missing squares? (we were missing one square out of the 4 packs we got.) I don't think that I will be doing the charm packs again. I will just buy fabric that I like together. Which we have another baby blanket that we are going to be making for a mommy who is 17. (second baby, only good thing is she is married to the daddy of both babies) Don't get me started on this baby blanket.

oh no, that is terrible

Hugs Hugs

thanks for letting us know so it will help all of us!

See you are a teacher, take care and hope you get them fixed!

Wow, how did you sew with all of those kids, you are braver than me!

What brand of charm packs were they? I have used Moda and I have not had any problems with them.

Oi vey!! That sounds crazy. Sorry the charm packs were so messed up. =( I got a jelly roll and the strips didn't seem to be quite accurate either...put that together with the fact that I'm a beginning sewer and my blocks didn't look so hot when I finished 'em.

Hang in there and good luck working on the 2nd quilt!

not only did we sew with the kids underfoot but we had the iron out too. were we crazy or what. Luckily there was a play room with toys and a bunch of movies that we played to keep their attention. we just had to keep an eye on my son who is only 11 months. It was crazy nuts but fun. tomorrow will be easier because we are doing it at my house and I have the toy area gated off from the dinning room where we are going to be sewing.

I don't remember which brand but it had a brownish top to it. It wasn't moda I am pritty sure.

so sorry to hear the problems...but... thanks for the heads up on the charm packs. i'd call Joanns headquarters and ask for compensation on this. Hopefully, they'll send you free stuff to make up for this. E-mail them this letter, they'll probably do all they can to help you, there's sooo many people here to boycott the packs, and they don't wnt that.

I have used a charm pack from Moda - it wasn't as bad as you describe, but still some of the pieces were off a little, not cut on the grain, etc.

I didn't even know Joanns had charm packs . It just sounds like one of those days were you pack it all in and enjoy some nice lemonade :thumbup: And hope for a better tomorrow :wink:

And all those kids ... very brave of both of you !

I never purchased a charm pack from Ja's before - the one I've used from WM though - one fabric ALL the 'charms' were off by about 1/8 of an inch... weird but do-able.

I wouldn't hesitate to take them back!! I got some fat quarters a few years back that were cut so crooked....I didn't have enough after cutting them; and the gal where I bought them gladly gave me some more to go with what I had and apologized for the error. She had let some of her girlfriends help cut them, and I guess they didn't think it mattered that much on the straight edges lol. Not so sure JoAnn's will be as nice; but it definitely is worth trying.
I have never found problems with charm packs from brand name manufacturers such as Moda.

The only charm packs I have ever bought have been Moda charm packs from the Missouri Star Quilt Co. daily deal and I have never had any problems with them.

I've only used Moda so far and no problem.
Wow, bummer.

How frustrating. I hope tomorrow goes better. You are so brave to sew with all those kids. I wouldn't get a thing done.

I think you and your buddy are wonderful to make something nice for a new mommy! Prayers and good wishes that it goes better tomorrow! You are a real blessing in the lives of these ladies.

With that many young kids I wouldn't be able to do anything but, go nuts. At 65 it doesn't take alot to mess up the brain. Good for you both being young and having a brain that still works, or maybe not. Good luck.

Ironing no brand pre cuts will cause distortion because the pre cuts are not always cut on grain but how the fabric will fit on the die. I've never had a problem with Moda precuts or Keepsake Quilting precuts.

I'm sure once the quilt is finished it will look great and be very appreciated.

I will say I am working with 3 moda cherished nature charm packs and some are off as much as 1/4" in my favor but it sure puts a damper on sewing when you have to stop and square up every few blocks. Some are 1/8" short. Hope tomorrow /today works better!

Some charm packs have fabrics that are a cut a bit short or off-square but not bad enough to keep me from buying them. I make totes with them. I bought Bali Pops - they were horrible - very crooked and uneven. I will cut my own 2-1/2" strips of batiks from now on.

I never buy anything in a pack at JoAnns. You really have to watch what they cut.

I think it's time to really keep an eye on the Joann brand name stuff that's being packaged, and don't hesitate to return anything, even if you've already sewed it - they need to see the results of bad cutting.

I was getting fabric there earlier this week and talking to a gal who was buying some pink fleece, I notice there were dirt spots on it, which she hadn't noticed, so she had them cut that piece off before they measure her piece. After cutting, the gal wrapped the dirty piece of fleece back on the bolt and sent it back to the shelf!!! Arrrrg!

that is deplorable. I mean come on now. at least send it to the remnant rack if it has a bit of a blemish on it.

Every jelly roll I have bought were off so much-I will make my own from now on