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When I shop for fabric in stores like Joann's, I buy based on the feel of the fabric. After a while, you can tell if it is a good fabric or not. The good stuff has a nice, dense, smooth feel to it. One time I bought some not-so-nice fabric and when I got it back from the topstitcher it had several holes in it. The fabric was weak. Now my feeling is, if it is a wall hanging it doesn't matter but if it is something special I will spend the extra money and get good fabric.
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I have shopped at Joanns many time and uses many of their fabrics. As most everyone above says you have to fondle it and make up your own mind. I have seen some inferior fabrics at quilt shops for which prices were more than 3 or 4 times what Joanns charges. No matter where you shop, you have to feel and look first ( am refereing to shops you go into - for online shops, I rely a lot on word of mouth)
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Joanns...quilting notions & batting only for me..no fabric for quilting
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I found some fabric at my LQS that I dearly loved but it was too much $ for me so I went to JoAnn's. I found the exact same fabric (same print, same brand) at JoAnn's for $2 per yard less. Then I realized there was a lot of that. I'm all for supporting small businesses, but not at the expense of my wallet when I can get the same brand and quality for less at the big box stores. I shop both LQS and JoAnn's because there are some different brands, but not necessarily different qualities.
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my personal opioin is if I am going to put that much time into a quilt I can feel the difference right away, I want better fabric than JoAnn's and I like to support my LQS.
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Originally Posted by Fabaddict
I have shopped at Joanns many time and uses many of their fabrics. As most everyone above says you have to fondle it and make up your own mind. I have seen some inferior fabrics at quilt shops for which prices were more than 3 or 4 times what Joanns charges. No matter where you shop, you have to feel and look first ( am refereing to shops you go into - for online shops, I rely a lot on word of mouth)
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I like to think of fabric as having 3 grades.
Grade 1 would be quilt-shop fabrics. Grade 2 would be Joanns, Hancocks, etc. Grade 3 would be Walmart. There are a handful of manufacturers who only make quilt-grade fabric (like Moda), but many with sell the same print in two different grades of fabric. |
IMHO the fabric is not as good as fabric at LQS. I never buy fabric there because I believe that they will survive without my purchases, whereas small LQS may close if we don't shop with them. Same with on-line. I do understand that many people don't have a LQS nearby, so of course you do what you have to do. But please consider the jobs lost and the local economy impacted when a LQS closes. Besides, it's more fun to hang out and pet fabric in a LQS!
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Feline Fanatic, What it Retayne. Does ot keep the colors from running and what does it look like and where do you dt it. I have had a problem with red bleeding on my last quilt and i don't want to have any more of those. Thanks Suzanne
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It's good to know that, for the most part, there is a difference in QS and chain store fabrics. It is also good that there is a variety of fabrics to choose from for not everyone can afford the same fabrics. Having choices give all quilters the opportunity to enjoy this wonderful hobby.
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I am half way between the large store in Bellingham and the one in Lynnwood and when JoAnn's have one of their fantastic sales, I will choose one of those to go to. I like both of them and the quality of the fabric isn't too bad--just check it out closely. The Bellingham area has a lot of LQS shops if you can get a map of the shops. I've brought a friend up there that was visiting from Ea. WA and we had a great time checking out as many of the stores as possible in one day.
We have a new JoAnn's in the Smokey Point area that is only 15 mins for me but it's not as large as the other 2 stores in Blghm. & Lynwd. This new store moved from the main area of Marysville and I'm happy for that as it was about 1/2 hour from me. |
Joanns has good and bad, you just need to look at it before you buy and be sure and log on to Joanns.com and get coupons before you shop. They do have great coupons :lol: :lol: :lol:
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I don't like Joann's fabric. I buy from the LQS. Joann's is great for home decorating or dress making, but I don't like their fabric for quilting.
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I have not read most of the responses to your question, so this may be a repeat.
Do you get Joann's coupons? If not, you can sign up on-line to get on their mailing list, assuming they will mail to Canada. Because I generally reject paying full price for good quality fabric and refuse to buy flimsy stuff, the first place I look when I get inside the store is the red tag table. I've gotten some of my loveliest 100% cotton fabrics (such as Legacy Studio) from there, stuck in amongst the bolts of home dec., garment, & just generally horrible fabrics. The biggest percentage of JA's Keepsake Calico is flimsy, but not all of it. I have some very quilt-worthy Keepsake Calico. Joann's does sell some quality name brand stuff; if it's on sale, you can't use a coupon. |
Originally Posted by sewingsuz
Feline Fanatic, What it Retayne. Does ot keep the colors from running and what does it look like and where do you dt it. I have had a problem with red bleeding on my last quilt and i don't want to have any more of those. Thanks Suzanne
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I use to buy at Cloth World(now Joann's) and Hancock Fabrics along with LQS but have given away all CW and HF fabrics and don't buy at Joann's or Hancock for their fabric...The feel to me is different...I would rather pay for fabric in my local QS and know that if there is a problem they will work with me...Also LQS will always help with your problems...At least at my Joann's that is not the case as they just work there!!!
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I do buy some fabrics in Joann's (with coupons) and also support my LQS. Once you make a few quilts you realize there is a difference in quality and it can be found in both shops.
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What does LQS stand for? I buy my fabrics in JoAnn's and anywhere else that suits my "fancy" including thrift stores for fancy gowns at a good price!!!!
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I buy most of my fabrics from JoAnns because that is pretty much my only option. My LQS is very small and limited. I don't enjoy mail ordering fabric since you lose the experience. I want to touch and see my fabric NOW. It's getting tougher and tougher.
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I have found some fabric in quilt shops in joann's, and there is also bad quality, but you can also get bad at quilt shops too. Its like picking fruit in a grocery store, you have to weed through it all to get the good stuff
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I agree with The casual Quilter who says she won't buy the fat quarters at Joanne's. I just made that mistake, and you can tell they are very poor quality. That being said, I have gotten lots of nice quilting fabrics there. Just be sure of quality.
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I made a a 2 color log cabin quilt as a gift for my daughter for a wedding present and it was all made with Joann fabric! It took care with the washing as caring of it but it got ballie and slowly shredding and the seams came apart! It was a 100x100 quilt and lots of work went in to it! I will NEVER use Joann fabric again!
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I prefer buying my fabric at my LQS. I usually buy discounted fabric. I think Jo-Ann's fabric is not very good quality. That being said, if that is your only choice go ahead and buy from them. I feel their fabric is overpriced for the quality they sell. I don't have to have a new line fabric. I buy what I like by color and quality to add to my stash! I rarely pay full price. I at least get 40% off by getting discountinued lines. I do buy notions and batting from Jo-Ann's. I love their coupons!
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Originally Posted by feline fanatic
This is only MY OPINION... I do not like the quality of their quilting calico cottons, usually displayed on one wall and I believe sell for $4 and change per yard. You will easily spot it. When I first started quilting I did not know any better and my first and second quilt was 100% JA calico fabrics(goes by the store name Keepsake and in no way related to Keepsake quilting). I found the fabric to fade a lot more then fabric I bought later from LQS. In places it became threadbare with basically no wear and tear on the quilt (in a guest room that is used infrequently) and many of the lighter colors you can basically read a book through it. Oh and a few darker colors bled and continue to bleed. Unfortunately at the time of construction I did not know about Retayne.
I find their other quilting cottons way over priced. Higher than LQS prices but I do not find it to be the same quality of LQS fabric in feel so I have always passed on it and never bought it. For example I have seen batiks in JA at $12+ per yard that are not as nice as the batiks in my LQS which are priced at $8 to $10 PY. South Seas Imports brand I have seen priced at JA at $11 PY in my LQS at $8. However, JA is a good place for notions and batting provided you have a 40 or 50% off coupon. JMHO. |
IF you are lucky enough to have a Jo-Ann's in your town or near you: their fabric is good. I quilt & Sew so I have used all kinds of their materials and never was once disappointed.
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Joanns has some great fabric, and some cheap thin stuff that is even priced high. I've found some great fabrics there for $4.99yd and some terrible stuff at $9.99yd.
Just feel it, can you see thru it cuz it is too thin? Be an educated consumer. I only buy when fabrics are on sale or use my 50% off coupon. I like their inexpensive muslin to use as foundation for string blocks (even better with that 50% off coupon or on sale at 50% off which is quite often) I like their Kona Cottons too, usually buying Black. Have fun shopping! warm quilt hugs, sue in CA |
i personally do not like joanns. having said that, i do buy from their sale table, usually well-hidden way in the back. coupons are usually not good on sale merchandise, which means never they're never good, but right now there is a coupon good for 20% off all sale items, not just one, that you buy at the same time. it's also good on non-sale merchandise, but i would wait for a 40 for that. the link is
http://printable-coupons.blogspot.co...n-coupons.html and if you print it out you can print out more than one and go back if needed. it's good in-store or online. 20% is not as good as 40%, but the 40's can't be used on sale items and they're only good for one item, so this is pretty good. bookmark this link because the coupons keep updating. |
I have never had a problem with their fabric. I do however buy the bulk of my fabric from a quilt fabric store.
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I don't like their fabrics at all. They are a low thread count and so not high quality. This makes it very difficult to cut it well. Bellingham has several quilt stores which you can find if you Google them. Have fun.
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I have found that JoAnn Fabrics is not the quality the LQS has. Fabric manufacturers make several different grades of fabrics. The top grade is sold to LQS and the lower grades to the chain stores. I can really tell a difference in the feel of JoAnn fabrics. It would be OK for small crafts but I wouldn't use it in a quilt.
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Jo-An's has some very good fabric and some that is not so good. You have to read the end of the bolt to see where it came from and the content. All in all I've been happy with what I've purchased there, but when I was "young and innocent" I purchased some calico that was poor. Let's see, was I ever young and innocent? Nah.
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Lots of mixed reviews here, but since I have gotten back into sewing and quilting, I have found that most of their fabric is not a good quality. Now mind you I have found a few good pieces of fabric, but they are on bolts and they are the more expensive fabrics. Again, for the most part not high quality. I look mostly at local quilt shops that I know carry good quality fabric.
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I buy fabric from JoAnn's in Bellingham, and I've never had a problem with it. If your in the area you should check it out for yourself. We love to seen Canadian's come down and shop... have a great day...
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I buy from Joanns, but I watch what I get. They have Debbie Mumm fabrics and they are good quality and fun. It seems to be hard to find Kona fabrics but they have them and their coupons are fabulous.
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Originally Posted by babyfireo4
So far JA is the only place I have bought fabric. Our LQS literally has 30 to 50 bolts of fabric and that is it! Aside from wal-mart it is our only option until I can find another within driving distance.
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I wont buy fabric from joanns. Most is poor quality.
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I only shop at JoAnn's if I'm desperate. I think they're over priced for the quality of fabric they sell.
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Originally Posted by amma
I have found wonderful fabrics at Joann's, I look it over like I do when in a LQS or at a garage sale. Some you come across is wonderful and some not so much, no matter where you shop :wink: :D:D:D
Be sure and check the local papers for sale ad coupons before you go :D:D:D |
I agree with feline fanatic completely. You get what you pay for. Nothing as discouraging as putting a lot of work into something (quilt project) and not have it turn out or hold up.
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I have bought fabric there many times and I have had no problem with their fabric. They have a section that reads Quilting Fabric and I usually choose from there. There are fabrics that arn't as good so just be aware.
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