Fabric Cost
 

I quilt at a small quilt shop located in a farming community. The cost per yard of fabric 2 years ago was $8-$9 a yard which I was happy to pay. Now, the new fabric came in today and the shop owner was marking it as $15 per yard. I'm so afraid she is pricing herself out of the market and this small community will not support this price increase. I'm not sure if I should say something to her or just wait and see what happens. The shop has only been open for 2 years and I've been their customer from the beginning and I consider her a friend.

She may have no choice on the new stuff ;-(

I won't pay $15 dollars a yard for cotton fabric just to keep a local shop in business. I don't know any of my quilting friends or guild members that would pay that price even though they could.

It's certainly worth opening up a dialog if you approach the subject in a curious and non judgmental manner.

I agree, she may not have a choice. And quite honestly, her price increase isn't out of line with the recent price increases in my area. Good flannel has gone up to $14.99/yard. You could always sweetly ask about the reason for it.

I've seen prices at $11.99 in our LQS but I'm not willing to pay $15. Lansing is a pretty big town but I hardly believe that $15 would be supported here either.

a sign o the times for sure. it will get some to attacking their stash more often and keep those of us with no stash from quilting new projects or sewing as often

Even if I could afford it (which I can't) I wouldn't pay $15 a yard for fabric. As others have said her cost may be so high that she has to charge that much to make a profit. I'm afraid that is why quilt shops are going out of business. Thank goodness I have a huge stash and like to do scrappy quilts so anything works.

No way would I pay that price when i can surf the web and find the like or similar for cheaper..

Unfortunately brick and mortar shops may be dwindling faster and faster with those prices..

Wish our LQS had material for $15 mtr, mostly we pay around $21 and upwards. They wonder why we buy online, even with postage it still works out cheaper than our local QS. Mind you, we have to watch what the postage costs are, some are way over the limit, but mostly for material the postage is not too bad.

I think some shops have to mark their fabric up more because of the overhead to keep their shops open.

At the LQS where I work, new fabric is coming in now at $10.69 or less. It seems to have leveled out finally. Two years ago it was coming in at $8.99, and then it started escalating dramatically. I hope it's done rising for awhile at least.

Here on the other side of the state, the prices went from $9 to $12. Haven't seen any at $15. That would be a good incentive to shop my stash!

Like Jennja I mostly buy my fabrics on line. It is just to expensive most of the time. Would love to suppport the LQS but being retired I have to watch the money and paying Over $20 is too much. Most of the time I wait till I get either free postage or cheaper postage and stock up. Makes for a great time when the parcel arrives

I would definately pause at $15.00 per yard if not put the brakes on buying completely. If the shop is the highest price in the area... it will be a real struggle to maintain customers.

I feel that these prices are way out of line. She should consider not making such a big profit and pricing a little lower. If she doesn't she may be out of a job sooner than she wants to. Where I live I have to drive 20 miles one way and 45 the other to get to a quilt shop. If the prices are highter driving 20 miles than they are driving 45 miles I would drive the 45 miles to get better prices. I know a lot of my friends feel the same way.

My friend who buys for a fabric store just came back from the market where she goes to buy for the store. She told me that fabric prices are holding-not going up and not going down. She buys flat folds that sell for $6.99 in the store and the fabric on bolts sell for $8.99. The fabric store in town is up to $12.99.

It is like that every where. The price of cotton has good up lots.

I won't pay $10 per yard so I sure as heck wouldn't pay $15.

Our local shops have been pricing new fabrics at $12-$12.50 a yard recently. Probably all of them will be pricing the newest at close to what you are seeing. Unfortunately for some (such as myself) I can no longer afford those prices. I love quilting but am afriad I won't be able to do it much longer, unless I use poorer quality fabric.
Kat

I've seen fabric at the $12 range for awhile in the shops where I've shopped. With cotton prices having risen so dramatically in the last year or so, it's unfortunate that we're having to pay these prices. Since I retired & now can't get to a couple of the shops I used to shop at, I'm having to shop online more & paying even more attention to price. $15 per yard is getting pretty steep, no matter if you can afford it or not.

You could always say something like, "Yikes! That's expensive." and see where the dialogue goes. Or just let her see what happens. Personally I wouldn't have even paid $8-9 a yard, but that's me. I have a hard and fast rule - no more than $4 a yard for anything.

I can afford the $15, but I wouldn't do it.. I'm sure the fabric is georgous, but I don't think there is a need to spend that much.. I'm not saying to go cheap, but there are online stores that sell, and are more reaaonable.. I don't think she will continue in business... You might want to say something to her, but sometimes people have to see for themselves..

Not me, I'll continue to shop sales, clearance, and my own stash. I do shop at my LQS, but mostly for just what I need, or the end of bolt table.

Everything in the world has gone up. And, so has fabric. I am a non-smoker, and wonder about the logic of paying $50 a carton for cigarettes. At least there is something left of the fabric.

$15 per yard? Absolutely not! I can sit in my chair and find wonderful deals on great fabrics by shopping online. If I check out the sales/clearance on ConnectingThreads I can find fabric at $3/yd. and never leave the house. If you want to run a store and make money, you have to be realistic about your pricing.

Everything is going up. Our Cable bill just went up 20%, groceries aren't just creeping up. If I am going to spend time making a quilt, I will pay whatever. I am a business owner and thanks to our government it is harder and harder to stay in business.

I hate to say this, but this has been an on going problem from the begging of time. What you are seeing is the difference between SMALL local stores and LARGE MEGA corp owned stores. Your LQS buys 1 bolt of this 1 bolt of that, some times 2 bolts of some things. But the Corp stores buy truck loads of the same things. When you buy in mass you get the best price. The price of fabric goes up and you LQS still has the same bills (rent, elect., etc...), so she still has to mark up by the same amt in order to pay her bills. So at the LQS it looks like her prices are out of line, but she hasn't changed any thing other than what has changed on her. It's SAD, because the little guy is being priced out of the market. Most quilters can not pay $15 a yard for fabric and give it away, so we have to look at other ways to save and we end up at the Corp. Mega stores. Around and around we go.

My quilt groups makes more and more trips to the Amish. We recently stopped at a quilt shop on our way home from the Amish and between 10 of us we didnt spen $20.00. Prices are just getting to high.

There is something wrong with our fabric prices. You can't make clothes cheaper than buying them. Don't save hardly anything buy making your own curtain and such. Where do they get fabric cheaper and then send it over seas to be make and shipped back to sell to us. Let alone buy material for quilting. Supposedly quilting fabric isn't the same grade of fabric and garments.

I've been working on my stash for the last few years because of the price increases. I also am not afraid to look around at yard sales, church rummage sales and such. I now have 2 bookcases 8X10 ft filled and at least 10 boxes. I hope I live long enough to use it all LOL I still find myself picking up the "just right" fabric at the stores. I still have so much to learn, I do not feel as bad cutting into bargain/ but good fabric.

When I read this I thought we were seeing this difference because of the exchange rate, but I checked and the Australian dollar is barely any higher then the USD right now! That is a shocking price!

Cotton has gone up for various reasons affecting the supply worldwide. Even the chain stores around here - where there is plenty of competition - are charging much more than they did last year. After the new Jo-ann's opened in our neighborhood to much fanfare and a coupon blitz, a whole lot of people were in there shopping. A couple of weeks later I went in to buy thread and found the store practically deserted. Either everyone is at home sewing what they got earlier, or sticker shock is setting in. The reality is that the products that they sell are not necessities of life (except to those of us who are addicted to fabric). The consumer can force the price down by not buying when the prices get too steep, but businesses that operate on a narrow profit margin will not be able to afford to compete that way. Your store owner may be over a barrel and offering the best price she can right now.

On the other hand, something tells me that if there is a bumper crop of cotton next time, the prices are not going to go down accordingly. Over the years I've noticed that a bad year is a reason to raise prices on anything, but the recovery isn't passed on to the consumer. Back in the 1970's there was a sugar shortage and the price of sugary things, such as soda pop, went way up. I don't think it ever came down. A similar thing happened with the price of orange juice when a freeze killed the crop. Once the purveyors have established what consumers are willing to pay, they see no reason to get generous with us.

It's a sign of the times and so many of us older ladies (me included) are living on fixed incomes and just can't afford those prices. I have done fairly well with the online outlets I use and have even started going through the closets to find good cotton clothes that I no longer wear and cut them up for quilts. I just love making them as that's about my only hobby, so will be digging into the stash and shopping for bargains.

I recently saw many fabrics at JoAnn's in the $12.00 range. Either way, my fabric diet has had to kick in by necessity.

I shop at LQS in small towns and larger cities as I travel often. What I have concluded is where there is competition the prices are lower. Where there is no competition the prices are higher. I went in a shop in a small Virginia town where the policy stated it you purchased everything for your quilt in this shop and at one time, you were given a 25 percent discount.
I had gone in the shop only for the main fabric for my next project and ended buying everything to finish it including the backing and batting. I plan on returning often and think this shop owner is indeed a smarty.

yes she may not have a choice even wal-mart has gone up was watching world news this week saw where a tractor trailer overturned full of cotton first thing i thought was now fabric going up more

I go to a shop that not onlyputs her new fabric at 11.999 but ALL the fabric in the shop was raised to that price even if it had been 9.99 the day before. How do you like the apples?

My little shop that I go to in a town with a population of about 3,000 has prices on new bolts at $12.50 to $14.00 a yard. She has no choice. In order for her to make any sort of profit, she has to charge these prices. I bought half a yard of some new stuff... I love it, but sighed when I gave her the card and paid $36.00 plus change for some leads for a marking pencil and 3 half yard cuts.

Anita in Northfield, MN

I wouldn't pay $15 a yard for fabric. I actually wait until I visit my grandmother and go to her local fabric shop in a Mennonite community instead of shopping locally. I can get a lot of Moda fabrics for 6-7 dollars a yard.

Here in UK we are paying over £10 to £12 per metre (approx. $16 to $20). So we get a couple of inches more, but it is still very expensive, considering a number of quilt shops have closed to save on overheads and are selling on ebay, and with the increased postal charges, the latest fabrics are becoming a luxury. I look for sale and special offers now, as I refuse to pay these prices. I have actually been able to purchase fabric from USA which, even with the shipping, has worked out cheaper. I know cotton prices have risen, but there is a limit to what people will pay.