Only one of the Walmarts in my area carries fabric and I've noticed that the fabrics are a thinner version of the exact same pattern that's at my LQS. I bought some Farmer John fabric at my LQS, then saw the same fabric at WalMart and since I liked it so much I bought a yard for backup. Once I washed it, it was definitely nowhere near the same quality.

My Walmart took fabric out years ago , and every year the bit of supplies they carry decreases. Now unless its prepackaged , its not stocked. They even stopped carrying batting. The only thread is a multiple color package with very little thread .

Sometimes I think that WalMart headquarters is setting up the fabric departments for failure so that the areas can be closed down again

I have heard a couple of managers say that some stores lost quite a bt of business when they took away the fabrics. :p

The WalMart closest to me is like meyert's #1, not kept organized and never a person nearby to cut fabric (and no bell to ring). When they first put the fabric in about 4 years ago they kept a nice lady in the department during the days, stocking, cutting, everything, but one day she was gone and no one else ever seemed assigned to it. I buy fat quarters now and then, usually batiks if they have any in stock, but that area is usually messy and not stocked well either. Maybe they're doing a nationwide push to actually run a fabric department and not just disorganized bolts that you wait forever for someone in a nearby department to find someone who will cut you a length of fabric.

If it's any consolation, at our walmart it is next to impossible to find someone to cut fabric. I have even asked at neighboring departments for them to call someone over, only to wait and give up after 10 minutes.

Best Wal-Mart fabric department I ever saw was Johnson City, Tenn. It was big and had a person working in that department alone. They had great prices and lots of bargains for charity quilters. I went there once a year from MD to NC on a quit retreat before moving to AZ.

Don't you just miss those days when a salesperson would come by and ask you if they could help you? I think I'd pass out from shock now if that happened! And even when checking out, the cashier doesn't really speak to you, it's always to the next cashier.......

I buy at Walmart and Hobby Lobby.

you just have to watch what you buy.

i have bought fabric at lqs and it was bad too, it was very cheaply made and the price was very outrages.

We never lost fabric at our two closest WalMarts. They have four different grades of fabric -- loosely woven (cheap), medium (tighter weave medium price), medium-plus (better quality, slightly higher price), better/best (tighter weave, nice hand, highest price -- $7.97). Our closet WalMart donates fabric for our 4-H groups, usually a variety that includes all the ranges of fabrics. They are also starting to re-add other craft materials that were removed initially. However, their selection of quilt magazines has been reduced substantially.

Our WM has great quilting fabrics...do have few cheap, thinner ones. Recently needed to mAke a charity quilt using Florida Gators sport theme and had to go to JA using coupons to get it more affordable, the price per yard was very close to each other otherwise.