Fabric quality at chain stores
 

I am still new to the sewing world. The fabric at places like JoAnn always seemed a little sub par to me, but I figured I was just being biased or something. Recently though I have heard a couple comments that make me think their fabric might really be of lower quality.

The first was my mother, who doesn't sew, but has a friend that quilts. I was curious and asked where her friend shopped. She said her friend doesn't shop at the chain stores because of fabric quality, but wasn't sure on the reasoning.

The second was a comment on a fabric swap forum thread that said some swaps don't allow fabric from chains like JoAnn, Wal-Mart, or Hobby Lobby. I wasn't sure if that is due to quality or just to avoid duplicates in the swap.

What are your opinions on chain store fabric? Why do some avoid it?

Sub-par..... I won't buy from such stores unless I actually see a fabric that I can put my hand behind it and not see through the fabric.

It's very much up for debate. Your local quilt shop should carry fabric of the highest quality. Chain stores have a mid level or even carry some poor quality fabrics. What you can afford or use is up to you. I have seen some higher end fabrics at Walmart, but they are about $8/yard instead of the normal $4 and $5 and $6/yard stuff that is normal.

Avoid really cheapy stuff--coarse, poor quality fabric isn't good--no matter where you find it.

That said, I've made plenty of things from Walmart Springs Industries/Concord VIP fabrics fabric and it is fine. It is holding up well over many, many years.

There are plenty of good, high quality fabrics to be found at the chain stores. It is usually easy enough to recognize the better quality by look and feel. Chain stores try to stock something for every budget and every style of sewing whether it be quilting or dressmaking etc.

Fabric quality will vary from not only store to store, but bolt to bolt as well. You can and will find great fabrics at Walmart and JoAnn's. You will also find crappy fabric at WalMart and JoAnn's. LQS will also have the same issues. You are the purchaser and the person responsible for determining if the fabric is of good enough quality for you - not the lady down the street. I shop with coupons at JoAnn's, the clearance rack at WalMart, or wherever I can find decent fabric at a good price. I also order from Connecting Threads and have always been happy with their quality. I wish the process of finding good quality fabric was easier, but it is what it is.

If you know how to tell good quality fabric from poor quality, you can find it at all of those stores.

Joann's has a lot of poor quality fabric but also carries some, that's decent. The same is true of WalMart. That said, I dislike Joann's because they've raised their prices and the 'good' stuff isn't as easy to find. In addition to that, they mark the best fabrics down a few cents, so that they won't qualify for the sales coupons. That aggravates me.

Hobby Lobby has mostly good quality fabric and very reasonable prices, with their 30% off quilters' cottons. Many of their fabrics are LQS quality but at a much better price.

My favorite place to shop is now www.thousandsofbolts.com. They have LQS brands, along with many others and most are just under $5 a yard.

I buy fabric I like where I find it. You will find bad and good fabrics no matter where you shop. I have bought lovely, good fabrics at Walmart and they have some that is very poor. I shop a lot at Hobby Lobby and have never bought any from them I didn't like. I buy a lot from quilt shops and online. You just have to learn good fabric from bad and make up your own mind when you see something you want to buy. Some of the worst I have bought came from a quilt shop and is still in my stash that I will never use except for practice blocks. I have been sewing and quilting for many years and I have favorite's like Tonga, Hoffman, Timeless Treasure, Kona, Moda and Robert Kaufman. I buy what I like and don't care what others say or think about it. I have never made a quilt that I didn't like and wasn't loved by the ones I gifted it.

I think of it this way: Each of us needs to shop differently, based on our own personal budgets. No quilt police allowed to judge what we use for our quilts UNLESS they want to buy the fabric for us.

My mom taught me to take a single layer of fabric in each hand and to rub it hard, like scrubbing a stain, then flatten it and take a good look at the results. Most times this will show you what the fabric will be like after washing. I always do this before buying cottons.

Ditto. If quilt police are going to pay for it that's one thing. My budget is not that of someone else's.