Fabric Prices
 

There have been lots of threads on the forum about fabric prices, which run the gamut from thrift store finds to chain stores to LQS fabrics.

What would you guess is the *average* price you have paid per yard this year, considering the various places where you have shopped? And do have a feel for whether your average price went up, down, or stayed the same compared to last year?

i usually stay around 5-6.. and that is the clearance and sales... Generally i wont spend more than 6..

the prices locally have gone from what use to be 6-9/yard to 11.99.....

Not including the thrifty finds through Craigslist, garage sales or thrift stores, the average I have paid would be around $6-7 per yd. I buy online and have been to Lancaster a half dozen times so that keeps the average down. Average price stayed about the same because my allotted budget stayed the same. LQS prices have shot through the roof - over $11 per yd.

I have purchased lots of new fabric (to my husband's chagrin), but I am going to do a moratorium for awhile. I have purchased the fabrics during inventory closeouts and major sales and therefore, my average price for first quality fabric or name brand is about $4.00/yd. Remember that this is an average. I have noticed that the sale prices are rising and it is really cutting into my usual budget. It looks like brand new fabric is running $10 - $13/yd. I will try and use up what I have before I purchase any more (or wait for the next inventory reduction ) LOL

I am in Canada so our average price for fabric is around $15/m (a meter is 3" larger than a yard), in quilt shops.
It is an expensive hobby. Our notions, scissors, rlers, etc. are about the same price as yours.
The Walmart here carries only pre-packaged fabric. I just started using Connecting Threads fabric for backing which I can get for about $4.50/yard and is excellent quality.

I was just in my LQS last weekend. Prices have gone up from 9.90 (mostly) to 11.90 per yard. Fat quarters are 3.00 - which follows from the increase in yardage price. Clearance fabrics which used to be about $5.00/yd are now 6.00/yd to 7.00/yd.

I was looking for fabric for a small project for a preschool (or two)! The really cute fabric I wanted was 11.90/yd. I got the not-as-cute clearance fabric for 6.00/yd plus 10% off. I went to Joannes for the backing - it was still 4.99/yd with 20% off total price coupon.

I do buy online but I now watch the total price - shipping seems to be ever on the rise also and I hate to be put in the position of buying more to get "free shipping" (nothing is free - it is buried in the price somewhere!). So I am careful not to be persuaded by a "sale" price which turns out to be not that good of a sale.

Oh - almost forgot: I shop at my LQS or online stores like yours. I do not shop thrift stores, rummage sales, estate sales, Walmart, Connecting Threads, ets. so my price per yard is high. (My choice - nothing against anyone else's choice.) This year I am spoiling myself and splurging on fabric - retirement is coming soon and then I won't be able to buy like this.

My average has probably been $5-7 a yard. I also use sales and coupons. My LQS has had a big sale all month because they are moving into a larger building in a few weeks. I have bought quite a bit more than usual from them because of the sale prices.

I usually won't pay over $6 a yard unless it's a for the focus fabric in a quilt. Then I don't mind paying more if I have to have it. I do subscribe to many BOMs and the fabric is expensive for those kits. I can find name brand fabrics on clearance somewhere online for $6 a yard. I don't care if it's an older line. I shop by color not by design. I buy 80% of my fabrics at a fabric distributor warehouse. My guild members and I buy bolts and swap yardage from each bolt. It's usually about $2.95 a yard by the bolt. $1.95 a yard if we buy flat folds.

If I had my choice, I would go to Choice Fabric in Tennessee. They are one of those distributors and have deeply discounted bolts and 5 yard flat folds. You need a business license to apply and it is quick and easy. I have gone twice with a friend and the choice changes fast but there is a warehouse of bolts all laid out and easy to see on tables.

Mostly, I am the garage sale, estate sale, etc. person. I have two of these sales this weekend and another onecoming up in August. (Dont tell anyone but she is letting me come the day before.) I wont pay more than $3 per yard at a garage sale and that is for something I consider special.

Was at my LQS this week and one of the fabrics I checked was $12.49!!? There was nothing special about it...it was just a plain cotton fabric. I prefer buying from my LQS as I am always pleased with their fabrics. I will get notions and other items at Joanns with my coupons. I usually try to shop the sale fabric, use coupons, and buy online where I can get free shipping. It does help to keep the costs down but I may have to consider a new "hobby" if the fabric costs keep increasing. I think my average may be around $8-9 a yard.

I pay the high prices. I shop at LQSs. I never go to thrift stores (we don't have any) or yard sales or Craig's list. I buy online also, but from Fat Quarter Shop and other places that aren't cheap. I guess I don't mind paying what they are asking. I think it's a fair price now a days. I pay $10.99-$11.99 per yard. I see Connecting Threads is having a sale on some of their fabric for $2.96 a yard, and I almost bought some, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I bought some fabric from them about 3 years ago and didn't care for it and gave it all away, so I'm staying with the stuff I know. I don't know if CT sells better fabric now or not, but what I bought before, you could see through it. It was soooo flimsy. I really don't mind paying for fabric. I'm not rich, by any means. I don't buy a lot of fabric, but when I do, I try to buy good quality. And I refuse to step foot in Walmart. I won't buy anything at all that Walmart sells. Even if TVs were on sale for $50, I wouldn't go in there. They have hurt our town so much...closed down so many stores downtown...vacant buildings everywhere now. All because of Walmart.

I can live with $10 a yard if it's a pretty focus fabric, but I had to pay over that for a blender for sashing. That hurts. My average? $5-6ish. I buy a little at full price, some at $6 a yard and more at $4. One LQS has ongoing clearance at that price and one had one Tuesday a month with a lot of fabric at that price point. My LQS prices are jumping. The afore mentioned Shadowplay went from $8.99 to $10.49 and the batiks jumped even more.

I have a three yard piece of bright blue Hawaiian print in the dryer right now that was $.50 for the whole thing, so that helps my average. Yard and half of pink corduroy for $.59. I bought it give to my daughter to sew jumpers for her GDs, but if she doesn't want it, it can go in a pink flannel quilt.

No WalMart shopping here, but I do go to JoAnn's. I trust myself to pick out decent fabric.

I would have to say my average ( taking into account all purchases) has increased about .75 -1.00 per yard... Up until last year or year and a half if you waited .. and timed some of the online sites sales .. .there was still fabric for under $4.00 per yard ( discontinued, aged inventory) . Finding a major brand around or under $4.75 for a disscontinued/aged is a thing of the past... The selection is not much better at $5.00 per yard...and LQS in my area only discount down to about $6.50 for really really aged inventory. I would guess that about 50 percent of my purchases are disscontinued/aged .. but top manufactures.
Just an FYI .. I fell in love with a particular fabric .. went on the hunt .. found it at LQS ... for $14.00 per yard... I had not seen $14.00 per yard .. that set me back in my chair so to speak... and even though I was obsessed with it ... I left it there... came home and fell in love again with a stash piece.

I am extremely jealous of you US girls. Here is Australia the usual price at the LQS is $24 per metre (a metre is 39" long as opposed to 36" in a yard). The larger fabric shops are usually around $18 to $20 mark but sometimes do have half price sales - that is when I stock up big time.

Hmmm ... tough question for me because I honestly don't typically pay attention to the prices. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I almost always notice the price when something is on sale and there is a notice saying "$6.00/yard" - but I VERY RARELY check a bolt, and I rarely check the sales slip (I know I SHOULD - errors do happen!!).

Because I try to buy so much on sale, and I *think* my LQS still averages $9.99/yard for new stock ... considering the new stuff I've purchased and the sale stuff, I would hazard a guess that I paid an average of around $7.00/yard. That includes online shopping (only when it's on sale).

I buy mostly online, and usually pay between $5 to $7 per yd. Once in a while if I see a "must have" I will go up to $9 but it has to be pretty special. I can't afford to buy at LQS much as I would like to support them. My Walmart has just increased their fabric section and I did find some good quality fabric there a couple of weeks ago for about $5, so that's a good sign.

Prices have definitely gone up. Right now, I'm working from my stash. So, that helps. But, when I have to buy to cooridate, I try not to spend over 6.00 per yard.

As prices continue to go up and up, I have to be careful about what I can buy. I am blessed to have a store in CT that sells fabric for 2.99 a yard, {everything in the store is this price}, and although all is not great, there are some awesome quilting fabric in the mix. The store is a distance from me so I don't get to go as often as I would like, but when I do, it's a real treat for me and I will stock up with as much as I can afford. Also I go to the {back rack} at my LQS for 50% off too.

Back in US, I buy from Joann's, and a couple of online stores. I suss out sales, so it is basically the same thing, but at a big cut. My motto is, buy at a good price and stash away, as opposed to buy when you need it. Build a fabric library and shop your stash for your projects. Ditto with online stores. Fabric.com has great clearance sometimes. I get to buy Westminsters, Free Spirits, Hoffmans, Bernatex, etc at $4-5/yard, why not?

Year-to-date, my average is very close to $10 per yard, not bad considering more than 60% of what I buy is batiks. I shop at local shops and a few select (my selection) online shops, including Etsy. I do not buy "previously owned" fabrics or chain store fabrics. Customer service is, to me, at least as important as price. Last year's average was about the same.

I seldom shop for 'project', usually prefering to shop for 'stash' since that means I can buy when I want to and not when I need to. I also have no real need to buy the newest release out there so I can wait a year or so until the price is reduced.

I'm in Canada and quilting fabric is usually $15-$17 a metre at most quilt shops. Our LQS has a bathtub full of clear outs at $7-$9 a metre. Some of the smaller Mennonite shops that are in houses or small out of the way places are in the $6-$12 a yard range but they too have gone up. Len's Mills used to have a tent sale or two in the summer but the prices are much higher now $5-$8 a metre. Any of the Walmarts in driving distance no longer carry fabric and the quality of fabric sold at Fabricland (similar to Joanne's) is thinner while the price is now in the $12-$15 range unless there is a sale on.

I've been in a quilting frenzy this summer, quilting baby quilts for family and trying to finish a queen-sized quilt for my own bed to replace a worn one. I have a few more future projects lined up and was thinking last night that I need to slow down a little, partly due to the fabric prices. I could enjoy the process more-- take more time with the piecing and quilting instead of being in such a hurry to finish.

A group of us went around Orlando a month ago. Fat quarters were up to $3 in most of the stores and fabric was over $10/yard for the premium fabrics. Most of them did have sale areas which were between $6 and $9. We were all buying for special projects, but managed to get some good buys on the sale fabrics. Connecting Threads still seems to be the most reasonable around.

Average price per yard is $3-4. I always use coupons and often get fabric for much less than that. I used to shop at Walmart, but stopped because they don't have anything I like and the prices have gone up. I do the majority of my shopping at Joann. Infrequently I will pick up cottons at a wholesale business where I shop for lace for my business. I also shop at estate/tag sales and was fortunate to get many bins at sales held by a fabric designer who was destashing and two estate sales at the homes of deceased quilters who were true fabric hoarders.

the cotton crops will probably be affected by the extreme heat and drought this year. the first increase had to do with another "disaster" (can't remember, but it might have something to do with the crops in egypt, which is know for its long and strong cotton fiber); this new problem will knock the prices up higher.

i have a feeling that we will be shopping from our own stashes until we come to terms with the higher prices.

i would guess that i have spent on average about $7 to $8 a yard. gotta love the sales! i also would assume that the same would hold true for last year.

I buy fabric from just about every "major" brand out there. I also buy from Connecting Threads & have never been anything but pleased with their fabric. I don't find it flimsy in the least. I do find the colors are rather unique... kind of like Jinny Beyer colors are unqiue, but that's no biggie.

I wouldn't have WalMart fabric if they gave it to me. One of my quilting teachers gave a lecture about their fabric & it really slammed my eyes open (the inferior greige goods -- I think they're called -- used, the fading). Nope... not if they gave it to me.

I buy way more fabric than I "should" but I do try to get it on sale.

I lived in Orlando (well, Lake Mary) eons ago. Is that neat little quilt shop in Sanford still open? It was a GREAT shop!

My average went from $3 up to $4, as my favorite shopping hole's prices went from $2.50 - $3.50 up to $4.75 as they added more fabric brands and increased their selection choices substantially. I also purchased some fabric at the Paducah Quilt Show and purchased larger quantities of KONA and novelty fabrics to round out my stash.

My stash is in very good shape at this point and I am using lots of fabrics from it. Lately, I have been purchasing mostly replacement fabric to keep my stash at its current good working shape and variety.

I have noticed rather than spending over $175 on a fabric shopping road trips, that I am spending $75 or less. This does not mean that I don't see lots of fabric I would love to purchase, it means my stash is workable, as well as storable. I am happy that with what I have and can easily work within my stash's perimeters.

I pretty much pay what I have to to get what I want- but have been pretty lucky to get mostly good (for these days) prices on what I want. The other day I ordered some Riley Blake chevron fabric on-line and it was $10.90 per yard -YIKES - but I had to have it to complete a baby quilt. At one of our local quilt shops the fabric prices are averaging about $11.00 a yard, and at anothe they are almost $13.00 per yard on average. I live for most of the year in a pretty depressed, rural area of Michigan, and just can't figure out how the second store can even stay in business. Their inventory is very small (although beautiful) and very pricey.

I usually get fabric at JoAnn's when it is on sale or I have a coupon, but I bought a new Babylock Evolution serger and got 60 yds of fabric FREE from my LQS. It is spread out to 10yds/mo. for 6 months!! I was going to get the serger anyway, so that was a great deal for me. I also went to a local estate sale and found a carton of fabric (they had lots) that totaled to about $22, but when I went to check out they only charged me $5. There were probably 10-15 yards of fabric in there. Guess I had a good summer with fabric!

I am nearing retirement also and I know I won't be able to buy fabric then so while I still can I am going to stock up. I have quit buying fat quarters. I have so many and I don't know what to do with them. My LQS has a back room with several racks of sale bolts on them. She turns her stock around fairly quickly and we benefit from that. She also puts patters and notions on there and keeps her front for current and new things. I like kits and have many of them now and if I can I buy extra fabric to match just in case I cut something wrong which I usually do. I think the prices are definately going up and have gone up. I thought I would never see the day that fabric would be 9-11 dollars a yard but it has. Quilting is expensive but if you have a business then it's not really ha hobby.

Would you buy fabric at Jo-Ann's that is the same as fabric at Wal-Mart? If you wanted it, I mean. Just yesterday I saw fabric at Jo-Ann's (a green and white dot) that I bought months ago at Wal-Mart. At Jo-Ann's it was $4.99/yd. I paid $2/yd at Wal-Mart. Same.exact.fabric.

Not trying to change your mind, just wondering.

I purchase QS quality fabrics, theres a couple places I order online, but shop the sale fabrics that average $6-$7 a yard.
Occasionally I have to purchase full price fabrics, $10.00 a yard, but keep these to a minumum.
Quilting is an expensive hobby, I won't skimp on quality fabrics, so I purchase sale fabrics, rather than buy cheaper fabrics. Too much time and work goes into making a quilt to use poor quality fabric and have fabric failure a couple years of use. If I purchase fabric online and if it isn't good quality, I send it back, and make sure I don't order from them again. My LQS no longer has sales, so it's necessary for me to buy online. With gas at $3.50 a gallon, it makes no since to drive all over to purchase fabric. Everyione has their own ideas when it comes to fabric purchase.

I usually buy on sale, but it has ranged from 3.50-9/yard, depending on the fabric and the discount.

My avg is probably $6-7 yd. Bought only a few yds at full price in LQS lately ($10-13 here). I wait for shop sales and buy things online when I can't find locally. One LQS doesn't have sales anymore, don't know how they're making it really ... I can't justify spending that much for new fabric, when I have a good stash waiting to be used!

But keep in mind how lucky we are, compared to our friends overseas!

My average fabric cost is probably $5 - $6 per yard. I buy a LOT from Hobby Lobby (30% off and quality fabric). I buy the occasional LQS fabric and always check the sales bin, at WM, where I've often found nice Cranston fabric!

I'm buying a lot more fabric this year, than last, since I once again have sewing space. Didn't buy enough, last year, to be able to judge.