I must be doing something wrong -
 

I have had fabric shrink and fabric bleed.

I have bought fabric (at LQS) that had flaws that I missed.

How do some people never ever have any of those problems?

Ya got me, because I have had all those things happen too. One piece of fabric shrank so bad it was destorted and bled like crazy.

I think we all have had a piece of fabric that does have some sort of flaw in it. Just the other day a friend showed me 2 pieces of fabric that had a light area going down the fold side. It looked like it was in the LQS window and got faded by the sun. She called the LQS and they told her to send it back with receipt and they would give her credit. So it does happen.

I quilt on the edge. LOL

I work in a LQS, and we see it occasionally. But not that often. There have been a couple lines of fabric that came with an information page, telling us to inform our customers that the fabric was likely to bleed. Gee's Bend hand dye was one. And we have a 54" wide chambray collection that we warn the customers about.

If I'm measuring out yardage, I try to spot any imperfections, and point them out to the customer. If we find anything, we can give them 30% off, or cut a new piece. It's not a happy day when an imperfection is smack dab in the center of a big piece! But sometimes we can work around it.

Woven (yarn dyed or homespun) fabrics have imperfections. It's just a fact that we have to live with. It's what gives it character.

Some white on white fabrics have bits of other colored threads in them occasionally. It's like other fabric lint was in the air when the WOW was being woven, and it got woven in. Sometimes they can be picked out. Those fabrics are a lower price for that reason.

Lots of my fabric was bought at thrift shops and I found many imperfections, but I guess that's why they ending up at thrift shops in the first place. I just cut the pieces I need avoiding the bad spots. If I bought fabric at a regular price in a LQS, I'd yell and return it in a minute!!

I never wash without a color catcher. Sometimes I throw two in just to be sure.

I don't know that they never have any of the problems you listed, I just think they never admit it!

Reminds me of the time when I was a teen and I went to my mom's office. Everyone there was over-the-top nice and kept telling me what a wonderful, polite, bright, sweet person I was. I made a comment later about it to my mom and she told me they all thought that because she never, ever once complained about me or my brothers, while everyone else shared their struggles with their kids. So they all thought we were nearly perfect (which, of course we weren't!) That taught me a lesson. :thumbup:

If you give away a quilt and the fabrics run when it's washed, you don't usually find out about it. I think that's part of why some people can say they've never had a problem.

When I give a quilt as a gift I always give a box of color catcher with it with washing instructions.