I hope they do that at my WM. So far the dept hasn't changed much but i will be going there this weekend to check it out! Thanks for that info!!!

i saw something at one online shop yesterday that nearly blew my socks off. they have two fabs i recognized from a precut selection ($5 per yard). $6.50 a yard plus shipping!

i still don't think any of it is worth as much as $5 per yard because of the weight of the material. it's very pretty and will be pleasant to work with, but not as "thick" as my favorite name brands. (but neither were those other name brand shop fabs at LQS prices, were they? :lol: )

i suppose "value" can be "calculated" in at least two different ways: (1) what you think should be the maximum price; or (2) the price of a yard of it at the lowest price available compared to the highest price you've seen.

proof once again that beauty and bargains are in the eye of the beholder. :lol:

I ordered from Fabric.com yesterday. If you order $35+, the shipping is free. They had some fabric I have been looking for on sale for $3.50/yd. Everywhere else I have seen it, the price was $8 or more. After I had picked out the fabrics I needed, I was within $10 of free shipping otherwise the shipping was going to be $7.95. So I took a little more time and looked at their other sale fabrics and picked enough to get the free shipping. In other words, I got $7.95 worth of free fabric to go with the great price on what I was looking for to begin with. This is my first time to order from them, but I was able to use my Paypal account, which I liked, and, if I am happy with my order, I will keep shopping with them.

If you find a fabric you like, you can Google the name and brand of the fabric and find several sources for it to compare prices. That is how I found this fabric for less than 1/2 the price I saw everywhere else.

Our walmart in Knoxville TN is opening a new store and the old one is selling out on the fabric in it.The district mgr. said the new face of walmart is to carry only precut fabric so I'd say eventually all store will go this direction.

That's about the stupidist thing I've heard!!! PREcut fabric!!!!???!!! quilters might be able to make that work, but NOT someone who's making clothes!!!!! DUMB DUMB DUMB Since the old guy died, in my opinion, they've gone downhill. The other day I was in WM and wanted some fabric, I had to go over to another dept. to get a clerk, who then had to leave the sports dept. to cut some for me! She said she had to cover three depts. That was the downfall for Sears!!! They should take note!

So many businesses and organizations seem to try to save a dime - but in the long run - they lose a dollar

back to the topic, please.

precuts. a good thing? a bad thing? somewhere in between? thoughts and reasons?

;-)

I generally dislike precuts. Especially when they are folded up and taped down.

If fat quarters, I like to make sure they are actually 18 inches long.
Two-yard lengths, because I think it's an awkward length - if one wants to cut a border for a full-size quilt in one piece, it isn't long enough. (I can piece and finagle as well as the next one - but I like to have the option of not HAVING to)
"little pieces" - charm squares, strips, anything and everything in that category - two reasons I avoid them - I like to prewash everything (and that's a topic that's been discussed many times) - and they frequently have the pinked edges - which I understand minimizes fraying when the packs are handled - but I dislike using pieces with pinked edges in my blocks. Also, how are the pieces measured when they have the pinked edges?

But if it's an absolute choice between having no fabric whatsoever available in the store, and having precuts - I would like precuts to be available.

I'm sure most WM are/were better, but the fabric clerks ours USED TO HAVE moved in such SLOWWWW motion and were surly if you asked a question. The same 2 - 3 worked there for years and acted annoyed if they had to cut more fabric or help someone. With "help" like that, it's a BLESSING to just have precuts !!

The associates in the stores that I shopped at were pleasant and helpful. Even the ones that were from other areas.

They have all been sympathetic when I go on my rant about how much I'll miss the fabric departments. Even some of the store managers!

Our Wal Mart remodeled last year. the fabric dept has been cut drasticly. there have been many complaint because there is no fabric store in our area. I live in Clearlake, Ca. We have to travel 50 miles or more for fabric yarn and any craft items. what a shame. shame on WalMart.

a friend of mine came over last evening to work on her quilt.

i showed her wally and the two shop fabs. i asked her to pick out wally. she picked the most expensive of the two shop fabs. :lol:

we've been talking about the closing departments for as long as i can remember. three years? longer? some stores lost the whole department. some got downsized. i think i remember reading one report that one department survived the remodel and remained the full size.

using "mine" as an example, it seems strange that they'd be introducing whole new lines of fabrics (on the bolt) from new sources if they are determined to wipe out fabric completely in all walmarts everywhere. ours has introduced precuts but that section is very small. the new lines aren't even sold at the highest prices. they're just under $3 per yard.

there's no way i can prove or disprove my "suspicion" but i think the survival of fabric departments must depend almost entirely on whether or not the store manager fights to keep it. if that's the case, then she would have to be able to point to proof that her department is a moneymaker in that community.

so, here's my suggestion. if you still have wally fabs in your area and want them to stay, i'm not sure it's going to help much to send individual letters and email to corporate headquarters. their nationwide market share is so huge that even a few hundred thousand complaints is insignificant at that level. instead, you might be better off focusing your efforts at local and district level.

a store manager will need to hear more than a few individual complaints about a threatened or pending closure. you'll need to find and band together with other wally fab customers and fight as a group. you'll need to support the department by purchasing regularly to help them maintain their income stream.

i don't buy as many wally fabs as i used to because the selection got so small i ended up owning nearly everything mine carries that interests me. still, i cruise the department a few times a month in search of something to buy. i think others in my community must do the same.

i'm very lucky and i know it. i have many other options besides wally fabs. but i know there are others who are not so fortunate. i will always do what i can to help keep ours alive for the sake of those in my area who are totally dependent on walmart for their sewing supplies.

ok ... walmart is a huge congomerate run by people we think are heartless boobs. still, the fabric departments are ours. they are, for many of us, the closest we'll ever get to having an LQS. the employees are our friends and neighbors. if you had a local LQS, and it provided good service at reasonable prices, you'd do the same for them, wouldn't you?

The (male) store manager of the Dade City, Florida WalMart said he begged and pleaded to keep the fabric department there. He said he and his wife would both buy bolts of fabric to support their hobby.

The best his pleadings did was to get a stay-of-execution. The fabric department was closed in January 2010.

Anyway, that's what he told me when I wanted to speak to a manager about why the fabric department was taken away.

I also called 1-800-WALMART about four times to register my dismay.

The Dayton, TN Wal-Mart is going through the remodeling. The pre-cut fabrics have replaced the bolts. Some of these fabrics were cute and had a good feel to them. Obviously, would rather have bolts, but at least we have some fabric. Also, some sewing notions remained. A lot of Wal-Marts have just about nothing in this line, so I was happy to see a few items.

there are two walmarts about 30 minutes away from my house (different directions) one has a fabric department with the bolts of material, and the other walmart did away with their fabric department. go figure!

the decisions to keep, shrink or elimiate fab departments do seem to made randomly, don't they? but there must be at least one reason common to all the departments that survived.

if we could figure out what that reason is, the customers in "threatened" communities would have a better idea whether or not there'd be any way to save theirs.

You are so right! The two Wal-Marts closest to me eliminated their fabric departments, one about four years ago and the other last year. And guess what? With the fabric gone, I no longer have any desire to go to Wal-Mart. The place is just no "fun" anymore.

The only time I go, now, is to stock up on "boring" things like paper products and cat food.

We are blessed In Athens TN. Our Wallmart has a full fabric line...at least a couple hundred bolts. I'm a new quilter and assuming this is a good thing.

Yes, enjoy it. And hope a super center is not in ur future. Ours was great too but the new one down the road from this one opens in Sept. But the quilters around here were getting buggy loads when it went half price. Since I'm not really a quilter, I dittle lol, I only got some stuff for greatgrands and for a couple of grommet purses.

OMG....I messed up! The Super Center is Athens TN does NOT carry fabric .....The one I Ment to tell you about is the old walmart just up the road in Maryville. Soooo Sorry.
Sharon S :roll:

Since I'm in Halls I will keep that in mind.Thanks for the info.

Ours in SW Minnesota still has fabric and wonderful ladies to help you with matching fabric colors. Sure would miss it if they ever took out the fabric....to the point of maybe not even shopping again. Only for the reason I love to sometimes just stop in the department to see what new has arrived. One LQS, otherwise have to travel 180 round trip...that would surely cut my spending down :(

In Jacksonville, TX, south of Tyler, we are supposed to be going to quarterial to rounds(?). Am I saying that right? No skiens of material to choose from, only small amounts. We signed a large petition which, of course, did no good at all.

One of my friends went to her local Walmart in Mesquite, TX last Saturday and all of the fabric is on sale because they're getting rid of it. She bought about 100 yards and said she only paid $1-$1.50 a yard. I'm going over there tomorrow morning to see what is left.

Okay, Ladies, think on this: More and more merchandise in WM is imported from China. Hmmmm, maybe China hasn't yet gone into production of fabrics, so WM is forced to buy domestic fabrics manufactured in this country, meaning WM does not make as much profit on it. So, until they can buy cheap imports from some other country, they will do away with U.S. produced items. Back in the 70's I lived in Arkansas and shopped at the very first WM in Springdale, AR. Mr. Sam Walton was alive and well, in control, and had the motto: "Buy American"! He didn't sell anything foreign unless it was unavailable or not produced in this Country. What happened to this ethic?

I stopped at the WalMart in Coldwater MI on the way home from Indiana today. They still have the bolts, so I asked if they were keeping their department. I was told that there isn't a JoAnns close by so they would be keeping their fabric department. Not long after they built that store they went from bolts to the hanging fabric. (2 yd cuts) I wanted 2 1/2 yds and wasn't going to buy the extra just to get the 1/2 yard so they lost that sale. I told them I wouldn't buy precuts. I was one of the people that complained and I'm sure many others did because they went back to the bolts. Maybe if enough people complain about the cuts they will go back to bolts in other stores. This was sometime between 2000-2004 because I would stop at that WalMart everytime I would go visit my son at college.

We're lucky we still have fabric and a cutter.

The last time I went looking for white material and saw the above, I asked the salesclerk if she thought the fabric was 100% cotton and she said she didn't know. It felt really stiff, as if it had a lot of sizing on it. I liked the colors and would have bought a 5 yard cut (well a lot of 5 yard cuts, I would have shared with a friend lol) but did not want it if it was not 100% cotton. It says on the end that it is from unknown origin and unknown content. A lady wanted to buy 2 yards but was told she had to purchase the entire 5 yards and she declined it and left.

Another funny thing about this was the salesclerk told me someone asked her to measure it to make sure it was 5 yards and the clerk told her of course it was, it says 5 and the company wouldn't mark it as 5 if it wasn't. :roll:

That's not the case in our area. The first to go were the ones in places that didn't have other sources close. The one closest to a Hancock's and Hobby Lobby still has fabric.

Well I can take that back.
My son in law got his job back.
I will see what I can find out Hes in Madisonville Tenn

I have 4 Wal-Marts in my general area.....don't ask...I don't know why. I only shop in 3 of them. Of those 3, 1 removed material entirely and did not get replaced with the 2-yd cuts, etc for the two facing walls. 1 went to the 2-yd cuts, etc for the two facing walls. They have jelly rolls, fat quarters, 5 in squares (can't remember what they're called), 3 yds total in coordinating fabric, batting, fiberfill, sewing machines, etc. They even sell regular name brand sewing patterns. The 3rd store will be remodeling and they will still have fabric to be cut but I won't know any more than that until it is finished.

i cruised through ours after work yesterday. it's due for a second remodel in february. the fab department will almost certainly be eliminated then.

it's ironic, really. they have really improved the selection in our store, and it's 75% good stuff. the newer fabs rate pretty high on the Snooty Scale. it was the prices that floored me. $5.47 per yard!

mind you, fabs of the same type sell for at least $9 and up everywhere else, so from that standpoint they're good prices. just a shock to see those stickers in a wally dept.

We still have a fabric dept.They also had 5 yd bolts....to sell as is, not cut from. Anyway, no cotton & it looked like a thin double knit...& some sleazy looking see thru stuff. Didn't notice any FQs or pre cuts.

Patrice, you're adorable. Thanks

well, thanks very much! :mrgreen: