I went into a local quilt shop, the only one I know of within 30 minutes, to look around. I was amazed at the selection, but I was also amazed at the prices. Most were $9+/yard and some were on sale for $6. Is this normal? I am new to quilting and to be honest most of my fabric up to now has come from Wal-Mart. Is this a case of you get what you pay for as far as quality or were they taking advantage of the fact that they are the only shop around? I also asked if they did classes and they said no. Bummed,
Jamie

Yes... this is the going price for quality fabric (LQS fabric). There is a definte quality difference between LQS fabric and Walmart fabric. I buy most of my fabric on-line.

http://www.fabric.com/

is a website with good prices and selection and they have good amount in their clearance section. There is also a coupon "CLEAR1026" you can use for 30% off. I am not sure if that is also off the clearance fabric.

Around here that's pretty normal. Occasionally Walmart has good fabric as long as you purchase the ones that are higher end and stay away from the $1 or $2 a yard.

Now, that said, we all have to live within our budgets and there are some ways to cut back on the cost of fabric. As long as you're not putting your quilt in a contest you can shop thrift stores for cotton sheets to be used as backing, new fabric at our Goodwill is 72 cents a yard, 100% cotton shirts from garage sales or thrift shops can be cut up for blocks, etc. Get creative.

the LQS here has prices starting at $11.98 and goes to $16.98 for batiks.

i hand dye most of my fabric and the fabric i do purchase comes mainly from Fabric.com for the reasons listed above by the previous poster.

Jamie- there are lots of good tutorials on Youtube and Missouri Star Quilt Company- Youtube has many beginner videos.
Those are just 2 that pop into my head and are excellent.
As for fabric I find quilt shop quality online much cheaper.
Fabric.com, Delta Patchwork, Fabric Shack, there are many other good ones as well.
I hope this helps :)
And the board can help you anytime!! There are many talented people here. Good luck!

For the amount of time it takes to make a quilt, I try to get as much quality fabric as possible.

So much depends on what you are going to make and for whom. I make a lot of Linus quilts and I will admit that they are not made from quilt shop fabric. Most of it comes from Joann's bargin markdowns or their children's fabrics that I was able to use a coupon to purchase. I only indugle in "quilt shop" fabric when I am making a special quilt either for a gift or for myself or immediate family. Again if it is just going to be a quilt for my grandkids to snuggle under while watching TV it usually doesn't come from a quilt shop. I am a step-mother of three all of which have almost grown children. Neither my step-daughter or my two daughter-in-laws know much about or appreciate handwork. Over the years they have all received quilts or quilted items from me but they were made with attractive but less expensive materials. While there is nothing wrong with constantly redecorating your home I am not willing to spend the time it takes to make a handquilted masterpiece only to see it religated to the dog's box the next time one of the children redocrates. My step-daughter is a medical professional and puts "all" of her bedding through the wash everytime she changes the bed, quilt included.

My favorite quilt shop just over an hour away has raised prices. We were paying $10 and some of the new lines are now $12.50!! I don't shop "stash".

Has anyone tried This-n-That Fabrics?
They have good prices too.

Yep, the cost have gotten SO high! Check out our classifieds here for some good prices! I also look at garage sales and online, too! There are bargins for sure, sometimes just takes a bit of time to find what you want or need!

Out quilt shops around here are about $9.00 or $10.00. I shop the clearance racks to finish out plans as much as possible and also work the clearance racks for increasing stash. Watch those thrift stores and garage sales and flea markets. Sometimes people pass away and people sell off their stash at good prices for good quality. Also check out the internet. Just got to shop around all the time and I think you got to work on that stash of good stuff when you find it.

Yep it the same here, I just paid almost $12 a yard for batiks. And I hate the way they sew. Never again!

Some of the fabrics at WalMart are fairly good quality. You just have to feel it and see how heavy it is. I like their fabric for my DGD to make their projects. They don't care as long as they like the pattern. I have found that they go for the more "modern" prints. My local WM never lost their fabric, but I see the quality of some of it is better than it used to be. I have also noticed that the prices are higher than they used to be.
Sue

Once you get used to that lovely quilt shop fabric Wal-mart fabrics will be hard to talk yourself into purchasing. I use them for backing only. I also think buying from local small business owners helps keep them in the neighborhood.

Our LQS prices are in keeping with everybody elses $7-15/yd. It all depends on what line of fabric you're looking for. Our JoAnn's is HIGH in their prices most fabric (the good stuff) is anywhere from $9.99-12.99/yd. If I pay that price then I'm going to my LQS!!! I guess I'm turning into a "fabric-snob".
I have gone to Goodwill, garage sales, flea markets & other places. It all depends on what project I'm working on.

I love the info RAPTURELADY gave. It is pure common sense to anyone. Love it.

i used to think $5 was a great price. sadly, i'm getting used to $10 [sigh]

Hi and welcome to the board from Iowa. You do get what you pay for; this is a normal LQS price.

If you've been "out of the loop" or just haven't spent much time in fabric shops, then you won't have known (until now) that the wholesale price of fabric jumped by close to a dollar over the past year. Retail prices have climbed correspondingly.

The wholesale prices have gone up over 130%. The fabric I purchase as a "business" at the wholesaler is now $5.45 and UP per yard and I must purchase a bolt of 15+ yards.
There is a chance the wholesale price will increase again in 2012. I still try to sell to my customers for only $1 over my wholesale price per yard.
The same is true for peanuts and peanutbutter.

Our quilt store is like that too, I really search around when it comes to buying fabric. I search around on here, at Walmart, I recently was in NH (no state tax) and got everything to make a queen sized quilt for $70 which I thought was pretty good, not including the backing.

Our quilt shop owner told me one of the fabrics I liked came from Japan but after the quake she didn't know if and when they'd get more, she said also with all the bad weather in the States it affected the cotton industry so rates would be going up because of that too. I don't know why we'd be surprised when the prices of everything have gone up.

How can you make a go of it, marking it up only $1 / yard? By the time the credit card company takes their 3% cut, you probably have only 80 cents left in your pocket, if that.

I have seen fabric for $12 a yard at my LQS around here. Many at our Joann's are priced at $9.99/yd. I was poking around in Walmart fabric section yesterday & noticed the new fabric was priced at $5.50/yd.

There are a lot of good online sources for quality fabric & I have had good luck with many of them!

Actually, I think that $6 a yard isn't a bad price. I just bought some fabric (gulp) for $12.50 a yard. Won't be doing that too much, but I just had to have this specific fabric. Probably doesn't help that it was collegiate!

I buy almost all fabric on line, usually on sale.
There have been very good threads on this Board where folks have listed the websites they use and like.
Click on "search" on the top line here and begin looking.

Maybe you should consider $1 over cost. There's also all the taxes, rent, utilities, insurance, delivery, etc.

Wal-Mart has buying power like no other... and they don't carry the same brands that most Quilt Shops do.

Also... when considering the price difference between Wal-Mart and your LQS, you won't get as much advice and help from most Wal-Mart fabric departments as you will from your local store. That "extra staffing" does add into the cost of the fabric.

Plus... remember when Wal-Mart started closing their fabric departments a couple of years back? You know if the fabric department was highly profitable at the prices Wal-Mart was charging, they would never have done away with fabric. That should tell you something, too.

All I can say is be very thankful you do not live in UK, and I think some other countries as well, our fabric is at least 2-3 times the price of yours, though I am talking about quality fabric such as Kaffe Fassett

Fabric has gone up, so many of us are being better on using up stash and purchasing on sale. But there are occasions that deserve a little splurge to get something you really love. This has slowed us down from buying stuff we really don't need and may never use.

I am lucky to have a fabric out let 45 minuites away and I don't have the selection of a quilt shop but he dose get some that the price amazes me. It must be over stock as I bought a fleece fabric for 5.99 a yard and it was a liscened one and in JoAnn's it was 12.99 a yard.I do a lot of mail order and they will e mail you their sales. I just ordered the Grich Christmas Fabric for 5.99 a yard on close out from www.Hancocks-paducah.com watch when you order from them as they show it at half yard price and I have forgotten to double the amount and been short and had to reorder more. I also like www.equilter.com for the lastest fabric and it also depends with me to who I sam makeing it for. Also with the high cost of shipping anymore I alway look at that to and some times it is cheaper to pay more per yard. But I also have to drive a distance so with price of gas have to consider that to. Yes we are lucky in the US even in Canada fabric is a lot higher then here.

I always tell new quilters this is not a cheap or inexpensive craft/art! At least joanns can be utilized for tools with coupons!! Start by buying one thing at a time with a coupon!! One way to start out and not spend alot for a small quilt is find a line and buy a charm pack or two they are easy to work with and you don't break the bank and have tons of choices. $10 at a LQS! Hope that helps!!

That is the prices at our LQS as well. I usually try to wait until she has a sale, 2 a year, unless I really need a fabric fix. LOL
I would rather buy less fabric but quality fabric than have a bunch of cheaper fabric. As you said 'you get what you pay for'
I have been purchasing fabric from Erica's the last couple months. They have LQS quality fabric, same price as the LQS, but they have End of Bolt Sale fabric, the fabric is marked down 40%. Its divided into color catagories, some weeks they have more fabric than others. Just keep checking everyday. Check the website you may find something you like. I've never ordered any more than 5 yards at a time and postage was $5.99. Happy Qulting/Shopping :D

In Australia we are paying around $20.00 a yard or metre! some times it's cheaper to buy on line, or wait for the sales

I guess we are all learning to be better shoppers with the rising prices of quilt fabric. I am sure quilt stores are feeling the effect of reduced sales which is too bad.

I was told by Mary Jo herself, (owner of MaryJo's in NC) that all fabric is made in CHINA, and they raised their prices. Some bolts by .50 to 1.00 a yard. Very sad. Bring back made in USA !

sadly yes...

Has anyone bought from Marshall dry goods? they have incredible prices!

No try $10 plus a yard and $6.95 sale rack.

Our local quilt shop just raised her prices and I am told they are running 12.98. Another shop 60 miles from here still has the prices at the 9 dollar range and she has a much better shop and selection. But FYI GreenFairyquilts.com has a special going on for Halloween. I have purchased from them and they have good quality fabric. I buy a lot of my material on line and overall have a lot of success. Connecting threads seconds are a great way to go too.