FQ prices
 

I stopped into a small local quilt shop that I have driven by for years and never went in. I was surprised at how much fabric they had (their main business is machine quilting) but what really shocked me was the price of fat quarters - $3.25 USD. I know I am really out of touch as I mostly shop from my own stash, but the last time I saw them was $1.50 or so in Jo-Ann. What is your experience with FQ's for sale?

That sounds reasonable to me. A lot depends on what fabric line it is, but I think I usually pay $2.50 - $3.75 for a fat quarter. If you buy bundles, it usually comes out to less for each one.

Most fat quarters here are $4!

I went to LQS fabric sale this morning. Getting a lot of older stock out to make room for the new lines. Brand name for 50% off. I bought a lot of focus fabric, and fabric for backings, as I have a lot of blender fabric. The Aurifil thread was being restocked. I looked at it a two weeks ago for a certain color and it was $11.99 for the big spool. The price today was $15.99. It is getting ridiculous. Fat quarters were $3.50 to $4.50. Layer cakes started at $44.99. Charm packs were $12.99. Makes me upset to such big price increases in a space of a few weeks.

most of the shops around here will not cut fat quarters for you. Some do carry those packs of fat quarters made by the fabric lines. They are usually more expensive than buying yardage of the same fabric. One shop will cut fat quarters out of the end of the bolt.

It is only logical that fat quarters would be getting expensive as the price of fabric is skyrocketing. I saw some new seasonal fabric groupings at a local shop today that was $16.95/yd. It was not digitally printed. It was beautiful and even tempting, but way too rich for my wallet. This shop always has fat quarters cut and available when new collections first come in, but they are usually priced twenty-five to fifty cents higher than a 1/4 yard price would be making them rather pricey.

It's usually based on the cost of the fabric - which has increased considerably over the past couple of years. The shop owners also have to factor shipping costs into their prices. If you have a FQ for $1.50, that's the equivalent of $6 per yard. When was the last time you bought fabric for that price (unless it's on sale)? With fabric generally being priced at $13 a yard or more, a price of $3.50 isn't a surprise to me.

I do all of my shopping on line, and $3.25 is typical for a FQ (in the relatively few shops that offer FQs).

Live your best lives everyone! Over here in the UK I have seen fabric for £20 a yard, that equated to £5.00 per FQ. That works out at $7.62 a FQ!

That would come to $13 as yardage -- not an unusual price, I'm afraid. FQs would be cheaper at JoAnn simply because the JA fabric generally is not the quality you'll find at a LQS.

Fabric at my JoAnns's (Davenport) is getting nicer. They have been selling the old lines off at a much cheaper price and bringing in new stuff tht is nicer. Of course they also changed the majority of personell in the store. New managers and such, I only recognize one of the previous cutters. Maybe the owners of JoAnn's finally got the message that thin see though fabic isn't what the majority of us want.
Still, I buy a vast majority of my fabric from Facebook selling sites, if the seller can tell me the manufactures name. A few sales of layer cakes, charm squares, and jelly rolls still come from the internet.
My closest brink and mortor quilt shop closed it's doors beecause the owner wanted to retire.

Totally agree, but recognize that some only have access to big box stores. I'm quite lucky, having several shops in under 2 hours and a handful under 1 hour. Two Mennonite shops in under 1/2 hour... yes, I shop more than I should, lol.

The quilt shop where I work charges $3.75 for a FQ. Fabric costs have risen as have shipping charges and that has to be factored into the cost. Pattern prices have also gone up. Hasn't the price on everything risen the past few years? Quilt shops are closing at an alarming rate. If you like the shop, please help support it. You don't have to purchase all your fabrics from your local quilt shop. I don't. I realize not everyone has a local quilt shop. But if you continue to shop online soon you will ONLY have online shopping as an option. Support your local shops - yarn and fabric - the best you can. I'll step down off my soapbox now.

3.75-4.00 is average around here.
did you know there are 2 3/4 yards of fabric in layer cakes and jelly rolls? Sooo popular.
Hancock's lists layer cakes at 43.00 to 45.00 $16.00 a yard. How many of those are sitting around going unused in your stash? :)

same for jelly rolls. smaller is almost always more expensive in the retail world.

Practical isn't very popular in the quilt world but take one of your finished tops fold it neatly, lay it in front of your stash. How many of those tops can you get? 100? 1000? How many can you get in a tote, how many totes do we have?

FQ are occasionally on sale at JoAnns. Right now $1.50. I make mostly charity quilts so they work for that.

I have layer cakes and jelly rolls from years ago. When they were $14.99 - $19.99. $5 for charm packs. I bought lot from Craftsy at their sales for even less. I have stacks of fat quarter bundles all bought on clearance from years ago most being .50 a fat quarter. It is so hard to see today's prices. My last yard of new fabric was $15.99. I thought to my self this will probably be my last quilt shop fabric purchase at retail price.

So true, Lena! I try to buy as much as I can locally especially from small independent shops. I want them to succeed and be there when I need them. Joann's is the closest place to me and I rarely go there. I'd rather drive the 1/2 hour to the closest quilt store.

Sad but true. Our last LQS closed a couple years ago. I now shop exclusively online.

The shops around my area can't find anyone to buy and take over the independent shops, quilt shop or not.. Owners are retiring and can't find buyers to keep the shops open. . Shops are turned into office space, tattoo, nail salon, and vape shops.

In lower Delaware, where I live, you drive a half hour to get to anything except a grocery store or pharmacy. The quilt shop where I work (play) is 35 minutes from my home. From my family farm on the west side of DE, the trip is 50 minutes. A small state, Delaware only has a few quilt shops and I feel lucky to have one so close to home and lucky to work there too:-)