Kona Cotton questions
 

I like Kona Cotton for solids...and have noticed a significant variation in pricing
between lqshops in the area.
One i know sells Robert Kauffman Kona Cotton at 4.99 yard.
One sells the same at 10.99/yard.

(guess which one i shop at?)

Anyhow....is the "Kona Cotton" at Joanns the same product? (with coupon - $5yard) I noticed the bolt label says Kona..
but not the same "Robert Kauffman Kona "Cotton that the LQShops have.

Your thoughts?

The bolt of Kona that I saw and bought at JoAnn's does have the Robert Kaufman premium muslin tag on it. It's a separate tag that could have been removed from the bolts you saw. Kaufman is the only person <licensed?> to use that term. It was $6.99/yard and I used a coupon or got it on sale, don't remember which.

The Jo Ann's where I live also has Robert Kaufman on it.

Our local JA's bolts do not have the Robert Kaufman name on their ends.

Oh how I wish I had a JoAnn's near me. I hear about the prices and the coupons and wish I lived close to one.

Hobby Lobby also carries Kona, if you have one close to you. Can use a 40% off on them. Last time I checked, I believe is was 7.99 a yard. I use theirs all the time and love it. Use lots of black.

The JoAnn's in my area sell faux Kona solids...in other words, they are NOT Kaufman Kona Cottons and the Kaufman name/logo is NOT on the bolt end. They're using 'Kona' the way many of us use 'Kleenex'...as a product description, not a brand. Be very careful and be sure to read the bolt.

Fabric Depot also carries the RK Kona and if you subscribe to their free "newsletter" (coupons for all month) you can order it with a 40% coupon any day of the month.

thats what i was suspecting too!

thanks for the tips :)

even with Kona solids there are a variety of weights/weaves/qualities-
some of the ones at Joannes are good medium weight fabrics- some are very thin-(not so great) the same can be true in most any shop-

Yup. I agree with this totally. I suspect our store doesn't even carry the real stuff.

I have purchased a whole bolt at Joann's (with coupon) for the white connecting hexagons in my GFG and for the applique on my Whitework Sampler. I noticed it seems a bit hard to hand-sew compared to my regular quilting cottons. Is that because it is a tighter weave or something? I love the feel of it, but it is a bugger to hand-sew. I bought another partial bolt at another Joann's and they are both a bit different. One is thicker and seems to have a bit of texture (at least, the weave is more noticeable) and that one I haven't tried yet, and the other seems more like a good quality sheet. That is the one I currently am using. Both say Kona Cotton, made in Pakistan. Nowhere do I see Robert Kaufman. The price on the end of the bolt was $6.99.

This topic pops up in forums from time to time but I will tell you that RK has responded on their site and blog as well as on quilting board: http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...-t33854-4.html stating all customers receive the same quality Kona Solids, so I would definitely not pay more for them at a quilt shop. There's a huge selection at Yoder's Department Store in Shipshewana (a good few hours drive from me but available online) and they charge about the same as JoAnns & Hobby Lobby maybe a little more, but for the variety of colors and excellent customer service, I'll gladly pay for it. I've not seen it at the $11+ listed on other post entries anywhere.

If your local JoAnns does not have the quality you expect, let RK know. I have purchased from Hobby Lobby and have been very pleased with the quality. Our local JoAnns rarely has any stock and I have purchased RK muslin that was included in their Kona section & the label wasn't all that clear---but that was a couple years ago. It's been straightened out at our local store since. Between the two, I'd rather shop Hobby Lobby any day.

JAs does have a much cheaper quality that they carry & it's in the same area so your local shops may be out of stock, too. I think it's called country something and it's see through...no where near the quality of RK solids even though there may be some signage in the area or customers may put the lesser quality back in the wrong spot. I use this RK Kona on everything, even have plans to redo the boys' room with some soon. It's a beautiful weight, gorgeous colors & excellent quality. I haven't been disappointed in my RK Kona purchases yet....now if I could just get a hold of one of those color cards, I'd be a happy camper because I buy the very same shade of blue every single time I make it up to Shipshewana!! LOL

Okay, leave it to me to be different but I don't like Kona cottons. They tend to ravel too easily. However, I LOVE the Kona Bay cottons.

I agree with this post whole heartedly. Always check the end of the bolt!

I buy Mine from Hancocks of Paducah when they have free shipping. I buy black and snow by the bolt. You get a discount buying large amount plus you are guaranteed that it is all dyed the same. The fabric fom Joanns is definitely not the same.

I know the website says they are ALL the same Kona, but I question this still. Knock-offs are made everyday and the quality of the stuff at Hobby Lobby is horrid....

...and the stuff at my Joann Fabrics is definitely not the same as RK Kona. It's not even close.

I have purchased the "Kona" from Joann's and it frays and ravels something terrible! I have purchased Robert Kaufman Kona online and haven't had the same issues.

Me too! Not one in Conway, AR

Different quality of Kona.

If you are looking for genuine Kona Cotton, you need to find the Kaufmanns name on the bolt. The other stuff is just a copy. 10.00+ is way too high a price to pay for Kona cotton even with the name Kaufmann. Your LQS is ripping you off.
I can find the genuine stuff at Hobby Lobby for about 6.99 or 7.99 and use a 40% off coupon.

We have Fields Fabrics here in MI and they carry "Kona" fabrics that I have used. The texture seems to be fine, however I have noticed that they aren't really a true 44" width. This caused problems for me when I made my first pillowcases and used Kona as the contrasting strip between the case and the cuff. It was never wide enough to line up with the other fabrics, so that I would have to use a wider seam allowance. This made for a narrower pillocase. Has anyone else noticed this?

oh dear, be careful what you wish for....... coupons are great for notions, but for rulers you actually have to check to be sure they are accurate....same with walmart

and the fabric (at both) has problems ....... I have seen some that must have been a reject by quality control

and if either of these stores come to your neighborhood it puts the local merchants out of business
sad, to say. :(

The "Kona Cotton" that JoAnn's sells is very poor quality. Hobby Lobby's got the real thing and its much better quality.

We have found that there are different grades so believe there are knockoffs or some is just the older stuff

Good to know! Thanks ladies.

As with all my fabric (except when ordered online), I go by feel. The Kona cotton at my JoAnn's is great! They carry other solid cottons and the Kona is by far the better feeling fabric! I love the Kona :)

Jacquie, Hobby Lobby fabrics are based on individual store needs/requests which is why it's not available through online purchase. Your store may have more hobby fabric than quilting but ours is almost all quilting with a little hobby and some decorator. This way, they're also able to purchase smaller lots of bolts and distribute through stores that want it. I assure you it's real Kona I'm purchasing there. I usually purchase all my fabric at quality quilt shops but local quilt shops don't carry solids.

You can order from Joann's on line they also have % off coupons .

I contacted Kaufman a couple years ago to ask if they sold Kona through JoAnns and was it the same greige goods and they replied 'no' - they do not sell Kona through JoAnns. They use one high quality of greige good for their fabrics. Just FYI.

Kona Fabrics and Robert Kaufman Fabrics

As Retrogirl previously pointed out, our quilting board had a personal response from Robert Kaufman Co which is a very informative article from the "horses mouth". If any of you are in doubt of the quality of what you have purchased with a Kona label on the bolt, no matter where you bought it, RK wants you to send a 3" sample to them and they will test it and provide you with a detailed report. They provided the address in the article. If you notice in the article, he mentioned that the greige goods are simply the fabric in the raw state, and that variations in the look and weave are due to different types of weaving machines that are used in weaving and this in no way suggests a lesser quality, but only a difference in weaving style. I, for one, would be willing to send a 3" square of any fabric I bought that says "Kona Solids" in for testing that I bought at Joann's, and let them know where and when it was purchases. I would be interested to see what they say about it. Curious, if Kona isn't sold to Joann's, where are they getting their "Kona" solids? It is worth reading this article. It was posted in January 2010

Kona is a registered trademark of Robert Kaufman. If the bolt has Kona on the lable it supposed to be a RK product. I would think the legal people at RK would be all over anyone infringing on there tradename.

You don't know what to do these days.

You cannot make broad sweeping statements like this. Many JoAnn's sell actual Kaufman Kona solids...many do not...but Kaufman does not make/sell different grades of their merchandise to different retailers. It just doesn't happen. As i said before, reading the bolt is the only way to tell for sure that you're getting the real thing.

I buy my Kona solids from http://www.fabric.com. They hve the best price I've found - $4.66/yard. No coupons; that's their regular price. Shipping is free on orders $35 and over. They have good, fast service too.

I work for Hobby Lobby. They have Kona Cottons for $6.99 and Robert Kaufman Kona Cottons for $7.99 less 30% off. You can request the clerk write it up for Regular price and use a 40% off coupon for 1 cut. They also carry another brand of cotton solids that are $4.99-$6.99 less 30% off. All Hobby Lobby stores have the same sales.

I do know that they are different grades of Kona Cottons and those cost more. I would think most LQS would buy a higher grade fabric than Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's would but it also costs more.

i always bought my Kona from hobby lobby it is a great Kona to use but last week while i was at Joanns i thought i would look at there "kona" and it looked and felt very thin and cheap,and i noticed it didnt say kona on the bolt ,most of the tags just said muslin, so i was thinking it was not the real thing

that's a serious charge against jo-ann's. you're accusing the company of fraud. as big as they are i sincerely doubt they would use a trademarked name if they were not selling that exact product. the lack of kaufmans name doesn't mean it's counterfeit . i 'm sure we would have heard of the lawsuit against j-a's and a change of name to the kaufman company, as they would own jo-ann's at the end of the lawsuit.