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.

It's not just that. I've asked her to get more bright colored fabrics and she said no way. Since those are the kind I like, I don't go there anymore. I don't care for the darker country design fabrics she carries. I do understand that she wants to carry what she thinks will sell but I'm not going to go and buy fabric I don't care for.

Also there are more reasons but I won't go into those here (unless people really want to know. lol) The least of which is the lack of neutral thread

A LQS that I visit all to often is generally pretty fair in their cuts. With the exception of one employee there, which I found out the hard way! She always measures out what's left on the bolt but will up-charge me if I am not paying attention. (If it's 1 7/8 yd. left, she will round it up to 2 yds. when I pay. Says it's easier to just put in 2 yds. rather than do the math for the 7/8 yd.) Grrr!! So now if I go in there and see her working, I turn around and go right back out. I can always swing in another day, especially when it comes to spending my money.
The LQS across the street has the best fabric selection but, the most horrible employees, they are sooo not friendly there! I have been there 3 times and will not go back, even if all the other shops close.

I do too. Then if you straighten to cut you have lost an inch or two!!!

WOW, interesting read. I am fortunate. Our LQS, the two of them are extremely fair. Even to the point of giving me 20% off for finishing the bolt. So it always pays for me to skim through the shop to see what bolts are nearly empty... I have purchased to many nearly finished bolts...

i guess we are extremely fortunate here in payso,az. we have a wonderful shop called Quilting Sisters. when you walk in the door you're greeted with a smile and very often a hug. all the gals are really knowledgeable and have that special eye for color. i have never had a short cut of fabric. they have lots of percs and specials. if you ever get to payson be sure to stop there. tell cheryl connie sent you.

its payson az. ,sorry

same here!! I don't know what it is about Hancock's cutting but it usual is a short cut. I do not like the way they wrap the end of the material around the end either for it distorts the material and difficult to see the price. I have asked if they could use a different method but they just seem to ignore it.

quote=Aunt Retta]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.[/quote]

The fabric suppliers do not give extra fabric to the stores. If you are getting more than 36", be thankful.

I expect to get what I pay for..if it's not the right cut I ask for it to be made right. I also watch they way its cut...and folded. I just tonight refolded 5 yards as soon as she handed it to me because she more or less wadded it up...I said I prefer my fabric to be folded neatly...too bad if she didnt like it.

I really didn't mean for this to be about that shop. But for the record, the day I went I was looking at several fabrics. I laid the ones I knew I wanted on the table and they asked me how much-I said 1 yard of each and kept on looking. I guess it didn't occur to me to watch them cut it. Maybe I will have to from now on at any shop I go to. Normally I just plop it all down, tell them how much, and look around while they cut it.

I watch as they cut if the cut is uneven I will ask for her to even it out before my cut. especially as you say if it is off. What a waste for us the buyer. I told the gal it should not be my waste. She cut even for me. No, I wasn't nasty.:) Thank you all for the info

All of my local shops, including Keepsake Quilting, cut generously. Hancock's of Paducah has, more than once, sent me an extra 12". The only place I have ever received a less than 36" usable yard is JoAnn's.