Some people like using FQ because they make scrappy type of quilts and or smaller projects.

Some people never use FQ because they enjoy quilts with a lesser number of fabrics. I have talked to several ladies that bought many FQ when they started quilting but they are not using them because they do not like scrappy quilts.

I have mainly bought FQ because I like very scrappy quilts but now I am running into the problems that I need yardage fabric for borders and backing so that is what I have focussed on lately.

Maybe buy yardage for projects you are making until you know if you like to use FQ.

Also some people switched from buying FQ to buying jelly rolls and charm packs as they cost less then FQ and are more user friendly without cutting them down. That way too they can get a little bit of each fabric in a line of fabrics.

FQ generally are more expensive but if you shop around there are definitely deals to be had when buying FQ.

FQ's are about the same or a little more than yardage, but I seem to be buying a lot more of them lately because I love the scrappy patterns in Civil War and 30's repro fabrics.

The quilt top I most recently finished has something like 3477 pieces and around 170 different fabrics. If I'd bought yards of all those fabrics, I wouldn't have had enough different prints to make it look really scrappy. FQ's were an easy way to get a lot of variety into my quilts.

I keep thinking that someday I'll do an orderly quilt with just a few different fabrics, but I keep gravitating toward these scrappy looks. :)

I buy both. But I will only buy fq's on sale

I only buy FQ's when no yardage of the print is available. And yes they do cost more than yardage.

my lqs has a ft quarter bin for 2 dollars and there yardage is from 8-12 dollars so it cheaper to get ft quarters out off the bin if you can find what you whant but other shops chare $4 and up per ft quarter.

I was lucky to have a LQS in Houston that did FQ sales twice a year and it made the FQs less than yardage, so I tended to get a lot then.

But I agree that if you like quilts with lots of different fabrics, it's a good way to go!

you can watch this board's classified section for good deals on fabric

I buy both, but usually yardage (and try to get that on sale). I purchase FQ mostly when I just need an additional little something for a specific project.

I like FQ's but it is true yardage is cheaper if you are building a stash. FQ's are great for applique` projects where you might only need a little of one color or pattern.

Thanks for the perspective on this. I've been noticing the fat quarters more in stores lately. Maybe that's why: they're more profitable to sell.