I've been organizing and putting my fabric away and measuring as I go. I've discovered the following: most b&m quilt shops have cut my fabric with about 1" to spare. The exception is the local one, one of which (that I measured) was exactly 1 yard and one was about 1/2" SHORT. Will not be shopping there anymore (they don't have fabric I like anyway). BUT online shops have cut it from 1-2" extra (with pieces being 1/2 to 2 yards total) and hancock's of paducah and fabric.com cuts were about 4 or 5" extra (on 1 yard to 3 yard pieces). :shock:

Another thing I've discovered is that every shop folds their fat quarter pieces different. :hunf:

Fabric.com says that their yard cuts will always be more than 36". The fat quarters folded in a triangle shape looks cute, but doesn't store well with the others. I have to refold. Most places are generous with cuts. I hate to see the ones cut that are afraid they're going to give you 1/4"!

I have found the same thing. What really gets my goat is when you ask for, let's say one yard, and there is 1 1/4 yards and they cut off the 1/4 yard to put in the remnants basket.

thanks for letting us know Gale

My local Hancocks cut what measures on the selvages, exactly or slightly less but ignore that the last person who cut the fabric cut it with a slant that makes the folded side 3 or 4 inches short.

Gale, I've been on both sides of the counter, and things are not always what they seem to be. Please call the store owner and tell her your cut was short. Give her a chance to make your purchase right and correct the erring employee who snored her way through your purchase.

The owner cut it. It's only her and her husband that run the shop and they're the only ones that have ever cut fabric when I've gone. The others that I bought are either washed now (so that would skew the results) or are big pieces that I don't feel like measuring on my own.

When I have fabric cut, I watch carefully and if it looks at all like the previous cut was on a slant, I point it out. The cutter has always made sure that I got a usable full yard. I've not ordered much on line, but have always received more than 36".

One other thing.... When we go to a bank to make change for a $50 bill, they give us $50. exactly or somebody gets fired.

A fabric store that survives the first 10 years cannot afford to give away $55.00 for every $50 purchase.

If they're giving away lots and lots of fabric, keep in mind, the average quilt store does not earn money until its 12th to 15th year.

Other professional people take home thousands of dollars a year.

A quilt store owner often has part-time employees better paid than she.

She may not have an accountant like a chain store has who advises "close this store, close that store, double the size of this store," etc. If she is responsible, you will get 36" if you pay for a yard of material. If you get short changed, please tell her.

To err is human. To forgive a no-salaried quilt store owner is divine. Honest.

Well, you may not tell her, but she will fail at her effort if she doesn't have real friends in the industry who let her know when she made an error.

I'm so sorry you had this bad experience and the feelings that go along with being cheated out of what you paid for.