I prefer to buy yardage. I have the problem of liking a lot of my fabrics and am really disappointed when all I have is a FQ and I need more. Unless it is a fabric that I don't particularly care for for a quilt for someone else, I will buy more fabric.

I own a smallish shop and when I buy fabric from a wholesaler, they do not give me extra to throw in with my customer's order. If I order 15 yards, I get 15 yards--no more, sometimes a bit less when the fabric is rolled on the bolt wonky. If I give every customer that wants a 1/4 yard an extra inch or two of fabric, then I will be short about two yards of fabric by the end of the bolt. There are 60 -1/4 yards in 15 yards. 60 x 1 inches=60 inches. I am now out from $12-$18 dollars (depending on the price of the fabric). It doesn't sound like much, but when all added up, it makes a difference whether I can pay the bills or not.

I agree with you.

The yardage I buy is rarely straight, I'd be absolutely shocked if the pre-cuts were!

I have been hearing this so often...wonky cut FQ's...and even charm size. so why are they so prominent in the online stores? THey are not cheap, they seldom go on sale for any "good"sale price and so many have problems with them. WHy are they so popular then?

This has been such an interesting discussion! I think it depends on the online store. I have a couple that I buy from regularly and I am very happy with them. I also know if I had any problems they would take care of them. If they didnt plainly they wouldnt get any business from me again. One national chain is in my book for that. As with so many things this or any other craft its going to cost you money. Maybe a solution would be to salvage cotton from garage sales, thrift stores, etc and do as our moms and grandmoms did and use it up in a quilt.

I think precuts are popular because if someone is the type that does one project at a time (NOT ME) and or they dont have or care to have a huge stash, then they can "use up" a FQ or precut squares set. Also if they are one to follow patterns(again NOT ME LOL) put out by the fabric company, its easier and sometimes no more expensive to buy the precuts. Also I think newbee quilters tend to buy smaller quanitities so they can get more variety, that is certainly the path I followed long ago.

The secondary issue is whether you are getting full value. If you arent then you make your unhappiness known to the vendor. Not being a shop owner, I dont know how much if anything the wonky bolts affect them, but if I were I would for sure be complaining to my sales representative. I have spent many years as a sales rep dealing to businesses and believe ME they can if not fix the bolts at least make an effort to make it right.

.

As a former fabric store employee, I have to add my two cents. Sometimes they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Where I worked we were instructed to allow a pencil width over the line, but that is NEVER enough to adjust for the fabric being stretched and twisted on the bolt. I always tried to err on the side of the customer. So I usually allowed a couple of inches, but still not usually enough. And we were NOT permitted to tear the fabric. A lot of fabrics come from the manufacturer in such bad shape. In order to ensure every customer gets what they pay for, the store has to literally give away fabric that it has already paid for. My thinking was that it was better to lose a few pennies and have a happy, loyal customer. Sadly, it was not always just the inexpensive fabrics that came in this way. I worked there for 4 years, and the quality of so many of the fabrics just seemed to go down as the prices went up. When I purchase fabric, I have just learned to buy a little extra for squaring up. I'd rather spend an extra dollar or two in the first place, than to run short and have to go back only to find they are out of it or the dye lot doesn't match.

Do they have a conversion chart from precuts to yardage? I have a pattern I like, but it's designed for strips. And various colored strips to boot. I did buy a pack, but I simply don't want all those colors. So now I have to figure out what I do want where, and how much I need. That's a royal pain. I will buy separate fat quarters if I only need a little bit of a certain color, but I have yet to see a pack where I like more than 2 colors or patterns.

I agree with almost everything said. However, guess we all need to just grow up and live with it. If the fabric it so crooked on the bolt that you Have to buy significantly more to get what you really need, choose something else, or just make do. Often a piece can be a bit off grain and still work in a quilt. I suspect we sometimes get a bit too obsessive about accuracy. That can be just as bad as just plain sloppy.