... then how much do you buy?

The question is one of straightness of cut and grain.

Supposing you've asked for a quarter-yard and the quilt shop gives you a 10" cut... and they're using a gridded cutting board and cutting straight across.

But, as we all know, fabric is often warped a bit when wrapped on the bolt, and it's not until after it is taken off the bolt and has a chance to "relax" that it springs back into shape.

So the question is... how much extra should the quilt shop be giving on each cut? Is the quilt shop responsible for the crookedness of the grain of the fabric? Or should the customer be willing to purchase a little extra, to account for this common problem? Is the answer somewhere in the middle?

How do you figure out what's right... when the real problem is with the wrapping of the fabric on the bolt, something which neither the customer nor the quilt shop has any control over?

(We won't even touch on the issue of fabric that's not printed straight on grain... that's a whole other topic!)

I think 9" is a 1/4th cut, so you got an extra inch. I always buy at least 1/2 yard, just to make sure. Also a Fat Quarter is 1/4 yard.

I never buy just "exactly" what I need for this very reason. I buy a minimum of 1/2 yard. That way I have enought to allow for printing errors, rolling distortion from the manufacturer. Very seldom will a shop allow for more than 1" inch or a thumb when cutting. If you are getting from a chain store, they usually cut EXACT or charge you for the extra inches.. as they do have charts they use by the inch, so their inventory is not off.

Any excess left over can be used for scrap quilts, bags, pincushions, etc. If I am buy for an unknown project, I buy at least 2, I do sometimes buy 1 yard but only if the fabric is very expensive and I can buy a co ordinate fabric to blend with it.

Always buy more! It won't be there when you go back! And I ALWAYS make mistakes cutting when I don't have much fabric and am trying to MAKE IT WORK! I usually buy 3 yards if I don't have a plan. :lol:

Me, too! :D


That's my kind of quilter! :)



To answer your question, I usually round up to the next 1/4 yard increment from whatever the directions say I need.

I always get home and decide to do something else and when you go back to get more it is always gone

We never want to admit that - BUT - if I am tight on fabric, that will be the time that the ruler slips, the iron leaks, I have to rip out a seam and rip the fabric or a variety of other disasters.

Here is my rule of thumb If I need 1/4 yd

1. If I like it, I buy 2-3 yds (you never know when you can use it :-) )
2. If I don't, I buy at least 1/2 yds.

A 1/4 yd extra is my minimum safety net.

I, too, round up to the nearest quarter-yard. I'm willing to admit to cutting errors....well not really cutting errors per se, as much as brain fades. My last project called for cuts at 4 1/2" intervals. I did the first at 4 1/2" then the next few at 3 1/2". Don't know why....and was certainly glad that I'd allowed myself the extra cushion.

you have to account for waste, mistakes, and shrinkage when you wash it too.

the minimum i ever buy is 0.5 yards unless i'm making a scrap quilt then i just buy extra FQs.

I always buy extra. I know me and I can make mistakes so I like to have a buffer. If I really like the fabric I buy alot extra because I know I'll use it again.

I always buy extra!! Sometimes my math is way off or I cut blocks wrong or whatever. And you know about being able to go back to the LQS and get more of that same fabric....yeah, right!

And some quilt stores I've been in measure a little too "close" and you don't get your actual measurement but are always short. Obviously, I don't go back to those places....JoAnn's is sometimes bad about this too!

I usually buy at least ½ metre (1m = 39"). Listening to Alex Anderson on TV last week, she says that she usually buys 1/3 yard, ½ yard if she likes it, 1 yard if she really likes it, and 2+ yards if it is to die for.

When I buy fabric, I generally buy 1/4 yard extra because I do make mistakes and workers can't cut straight!

I think your question is -

as a shop-owner or manager -

If a customer asks for a quarter of a yard - can you sell exactly 9 inches of fabric or an exact 18" long FQ - and have the customer leaving the store a happy camper?

I am always happy to get more/extra - but I won't "fuss" if I get AT LEAST what I ask for. I may not go back, but I won't go out of my way to bad-mouth the store.

I always re-measure my fabrics when I get home. I get ****** if I'm even shorted an 1/8 of an inch. I will at least call and let the store know I was not happy. And then I do my "negative advertising"

I usually buy "extra" to allow for all those annoying things, but I don't feel the shop owner/manager is responsible to "compensate" for them by cutting more than asked for. UNLESS the fabric is flawed.

I agree up to a point - but should there be an extra inch if someone is only buying 1/8 of a yard, and only ONE extra inch if someone is buying 10 yards?

If I needed a quarter yard and wasn't going to have any use for the scraps I would buy a third of a yard cut. That gives you plenty to square up and maybe enough for a miss cut. If you can use the scraps in something else go ahead and get a half yard.

I usually buy at least a quarter to a half yard extra fabric. I have done a few of those cuts where I would cut one strip 1/2" short and the next 1/2" too much and have to cut an extra strip or two to make up for it. Hate not having enough of the fabric to get the job done!!1

I buy extra cuz you can always use it for a scrappy.
I have NEVER remeasured fabric when I got home.....For my LQS I never would I trust her and I watch and she is really good about the way she cuts so I guess i am lucky.
I get extra and tell her cuz I KNOW I will make a mistake cutting. :D


As Teri says you gotta build your stash somehow ;)

i always buy extra on spec. now i know what to do with the extra: make a scrappy log cabin. :P

I don't believe, I've ever purchased less than 1 yard. And I always buy more than my project requires by rounding up the yardage.

I usually buy a yard if the fabric is neutral or wow or just plain fabric I know I can use it on another project.

I was told by a fabric shop owner that giving an extra inch of fabric will add up to big money in a year. She makes sure the first cut off the bolt is straight and it is cut straight, exactly on the mark after that. Not many will give an extra inch like Walmart usually did and those that do will stop once the realize how much fabric that adds up to. Hancock's of Paducah cuts exactly the measurement even the bargain backroom stuff. I've never had a cutter give me 1/4 inch extra there.

The best thing about ordering from Fabric.com? They give you a 37" yard! (I think they ought to start paying me a commission :roll: )

I broke out in a rash the last time i bought less than a whole yard of fabric. :shock:

if we ask for a certain amount, and pay for that amount, i think it's unfair to be disappointed when we get exactly that amount. any extra should be a very pleasant surprise, not something we feel entitled to for any reason.

the flip side of that is that i expect to get the full amount i paid for. nothing irritates me more than to get home and find that a piece measures less on one side than it does on the side they used to measure for the cut.

the buyer should examine the fabric to make sure she'll get her money's worth. the seller shouldn't put anything out for sale at full price unless she knows the buyer will get what they pay for.

that's my dime. (i'm waaaaaaaaay too long-winded to call it two cents. :lol: ) :wink:

P.S. - how wonderful to know there's a shopkeeper out there who cares enough to have asked the question. your customers will love you for it. :P :P :P

HUH? what's 1/4 yard?

I usually buy whatever catches my eye, 1/2 yard to a yard and a half, two yards if I think it'll have multiple usages and the price factors in too.

The times that I've bought for specific projects (still yet to make) I always buy 1/4 to 1/3 yard more.

I NEVER buy exactly what I need - shoot, half the time I don't know what I need. So a yard is a good start for me. hehe

DH was with me the one time I just needed a bit for an art project. When we left the store he said: "Honestly, you can buy less than a yard????"

Regardless, washing may (and usually does) shrink a bit, and not all cuts are perfect. So that exact cut will be a bit short for sure.

Thanks, Patrice, for the kind words!

I've instructed my staff, from the beginning, to always give that extra inch. We don't really talk about it - or advertise it - we just do it, 'cause it seems the right thing to do and we don't want to come across as "cheap".

But... it really does add up. We figure that due to "generous measuring" on every 15 yard bolt, between 5/8 and 3/4 yard "vanishes". That's 5% of the bolt gone. I don't even want to do the next calculation, that of multiplying it by all the bolts we buy in a year! In the end, it comes down to trying to please our customers.

And yet... we still can't please them all the time. I posted this question because I was wrestling with the issue. We have a repeat customer who almost always orders 1/4 yard cuts, and she e-mailed us to complain that after straightening the cut she didn't have her 9". Well... it's probably that "warped grain" issue - or perhaps she washed it first and it shrank a bit. Whatever it was, she wasn't happy this time. So I thought I'd take the question to the "professional customers" on this forum. Clearly you all have a lot of experience BUYING, and I wanted to get a sense of what most people think. So thank you all for posting. Seems what we're doing is pretty much on target.

do you really want that customer? give her chocolate!

Awww, shoot... with my luck we'd get a heat wave and it would just melt all over the fabric!

But I re-ordered some chocolate fabric today, would that work?? :D

:lol: :lol:

If I were a shop owner/manager, my "formula" would be approximately one "free" inch per yard

1/4 yard - plus 1/4 inch
1/2 yard - plus 1/2 inch

2 yards - plus 1 inch

Then I would just basically factor in that "extra/free" into the cost.
So if the "sales" say I've sold 12 yards of fabric, I would know that 12 yards 12 inches were gone.

That might get complicated for the record keeping, though.

I'm weird - I get just as irked if I'm shorted on $1.00/yard close-out fabric as I am if I'm shorted on $12.00/yard fabric.

I'll also go to the store that cuts a 38 inch yard that charges $9.99/per yard before I'll go to the store that cuts a 35-7/8 inch yard that charges $7.99/yard for the same fabric. Which really doesn't make much sense, but that is true for me.

I have learned to check the grain-lines on the fabrics before I buy them.
I've found that even some of the LQS fabric appears to be off-grain - sometimes it will "straighten" when it's washed - sometimes not.

I still don't feel that it's up to the shop to compensate for possible shrinkage. I would hope that the shop would cull out the badly off-grain fabrics before putting them on the shelves.

I think many of us have come to EXPECT getting extra when we buy fabric.

We don't usually get extra when we buy anything at the deli counter or at the lumber yard or at the candy store.

I don't think the answer is just to cut bigger pieces. The solution, of course, is for the store to sell straight cuts. Unfortunately, as the seller who asked this question explained, the fabric is not wound straight on the bolt.

She can take the bolt of Moda, Benartex, Hoffman or any other quality fabric off the shelf, line it up perfectly on the mat and cut a precise 9" at a straight 90 degree angle to the selvedges, and it may even appear straight when it's unfolded. But when you examine the cloth, especially if you wash it, you will see that it is NOT straight.

One solution is for the seller to tear a strip off the beginning of each bolt and then try to refold and rewrap the fabric so it will be straight for subsequent cuttings. It's virtually impossible to do, however.

This is why I prefer my fabric torn to measure instead of cut. I don't want fabric that LOOKS straight -- I want fabric that IS straight. And if it can't be made to BE straight, I don't want to use it in a good quilt. I might use it for tablerunners, coaster, placemats, or other crafty items.

Question for seller:

How much is on a "bolt" of fabric?

I bought a couple of "bolts" of fabric - and when I remeasured it, it was less than what the bolt said. (And I measured finger-nail to finger-nail).

Is the fabric really taut/stretched when it's put on the bolts?

We've had bolts as short as 8 yards and as large as 20. It depends on the maker and the collection. I would say that the most common size is 15 yards.

But... we've found that for certain manufacturers, the bolts come in up to 1/4 yard short fairly consistently. And, on occasion, we find a bolt that's really NOT what it's marked, either up or down by a yard or more. So, what we do, is to weigh each bolt as it comes in. We get a feel for what the "typical" bolt of that brand weighs, and so we can catch those that are glaringly off.

However, for bolts that are only 1/4 yard off, while annoying, it does not pay to unroll, measure, and re-roll each bolt just to find out how much we're being shorted by. Costs too much in labor costs, plus the time spent trying to resolve the issue with the manufacturer. So we only pursue it when the measurement is off by a yard or more. And yes, we report it to the maker either way, whether the error was in their favor or ours.

We've found that, in addition to just being the right thing to do, honesty pays handsome dividends. When you've established yourself as a trustworthy enterprise, if you report a problem or concern, you will be both taken seriously and believed.

Well... it's not quite that simple. Supposing there's one fabric that's wrapped crookedly, and it's the "feature fabric" of a collection. If we send it back, that compromises our ability to sell the rest of the fabrics of the collection (plus we have to answer all those questions "why don't you have that OTHER fabric in the line?").

And there are also the times where for 35" across the width of the fabric the design is perfectly straight with respect to the grain, but at the very edge on one side, it goes off. What do we do about that one?

I agree that tearing is a good way to find the straight of grain, but it renders 1/4" on each side of the tear unusable (at minimum!) and thereby I lose still more of the fabric. Plus not everyone likes tearing. Personally, if I was buying a fabric in a shop that tore, instead of cut, I would not be comfortable unless they gave me an extra inch on EACH end! (Just my own feelings, not necessarily representative of anyone else...)

I agree with you about the tearing -

I think it would be very challenging to be a quilt shop owner/buyer/manager -

Up to a point, I think it's up to the customer to be aware/beware - although it's taken me YEARS to be that aware -

Maybe put up a sign - we cut what you ask for - but remember to allow for shrinkage and -(how would one say - the manufacturer might have "warped" the fabric when it was put on the bolt) ???

It's a lot easier to put up a sign if you're a brick-and-mortar store. You can always simply point to your sign.

While we do get some walk-in customers (we're somewhat of a local secret) our main customer base is online. And I found out a long time ago that you can put all the information out there on your website but you simply cannot force people to read! :?

I won't buy fabric that is torn.. PERIOD. I've seen it flaw fabric up to 2" on each side of the tear, which can short you up to 4" on a yard.. that kind of thing really mounts up.
I figure if I pay for 36", I should get 36".. it's not the shop's fault if the fabric is folded crooked, printed crooked, etc. I have some responsibility for checking it out before I buy it, and if I find this happens on a regular basis from some manufacturers I won't use their product. Plus I'll let them know about it.

the absolute worst is panels. a lot of stores won't sell by the panel. they sell by the yard. what's that all about? what can you do with 1/2 panel?
and if the panel fabric is off-true, you end up with a diamond shaped cut. they never straighten out and stay straight. so when it's washed, it wants to go back where it was, and it pulls everything with it.