I wont pay anymore than $10/yd .. $10 is my limit.. I do charity quilts as well.. However for family and gifts I will pay more if its a fabric I absolutely need for their quilt..

I buy in meters, so get a little more for my money.
$16.99 per meter is a good price
$18.99 per meter is normal
$21.99 per meter is getting pricey but if I need that particular fabric, I still buy it.
Buying below $16.99/m makes me want to jump up and down.

If I really love a piece, I will buy it. Sometimes I just need that special fabric to add pizzazz to a quilt. I truly am a bargain shopper but if the right thing comes along I can go overboard!

I once bought 1/2 yard of $20 a yard fabric. Notice I said "ONCE". It was so beautiful I just had to have some. I hung it on a quilt rack for a long time and finally used it in a gift for my DD. I knew she would love it too.
Now in reality--I try to buy on sale as much as possible. Our LQS has some really good clearance sales, so thats where I pick up most of what I buy. If I really need a piece I will go to $8 for small pieces. If I get really desperate for a certain color, I will dye the piece I need.
Our LQS is trying hard to keep the prices down, but with overhead of running the business, we all understand they have to make a profit or they will go out of business.

I have a tight budget so I try to stay in the $5.00 or less range. I look for fabric on sale or clearance and then buy. I often buy fabric after a holiday for the next year. If I really, really, really like a fabric and/or want to use it for a special person or project, I'll go higher. I recently bought a fabric on-line that I couldn't find anything close by and paid more than I would have locally but it's for a memory quilt for my mom and just is so "Momma". That's about the only exception to my budget. I have changed my mental plan on a project because the fabric was too pricey for me.

I was just thinking - fat quarters are from $1.29 up to, and I have paid, $2.50, which makes it $5.00 to $10.00 a yard. One doesn't think too much buying a fat quarter, but buying a yard of fabric for $10.00 is just ridiculous. Au Contraire - You just bought four fat quarters - how much was that? Five to Ten dollars. So if I see a yard of fabric that I really want, I'll just skip four fat quarters. That wasn't hard now. I can get the fat quarters another time.

If the fabric is so important to you, for whatever reason, and you CAN afford it, get it. It may be your only chance. It may not be at the LQS or JAF (JoAnn Fab) the next time you are there. I paid $8.99 a yard for 11 yards of material - three different fabrics for a quilt. I just may not have enough. I was green enough not to think there would be waste or that I could work myself silly and not get a block to come together and have to deep six the block. That is a fat quarter right there. I have 12 blocks made and 36 to go - 12" blocks.

I have a call into the quilt shop which is about 350 miles away and I just may have to order either from someplace else or make the quilt smaller which I do not want to do, unless I make a humungous border and I don't want to do that because then I will always see "Dummy, you didn't buy enough material." And it is something I should have known. Edie

No... I have spent $20/yard on Japanese Daiwabo handwoven fabric which I used in quilting/clothing/handbags and would do it again... I love that fabric! (I have spent $30/yard on home dec fabric when I reupholstered furniture.)

Because I sell my quilts I need to make a profit. That said, I mainly buy on sale or wholesale. If I see a fabric I just HAVE to have, I'll sometimes buy a small piece just for ME. $12 a yard is just too high for me! $9.00 is my limit right now.

I know this is a difficult time for both quilters and shop owners I have always been one to buy from Quilt shops as I preferred their fabric and service classes and etc. I still do but have had to cut back but mostly I have cut back on books, patterns and magazines those we can borrow and or trade with friends also I make more lap size quilts and smaller things

If it is something that I just have to have I really don't worry about the price. If it something that I just want I won't pay more than $10/yd, if it is just something that I think will look good in my stash then I try to stay between $8 & $9/yd.