Is my fabric too thin for quilting?
 

Hi. I am a fairly new quilter and am about to start my 3rd quilt.(ohio star blocks) I sent away for charm packs by Moda and was surprised when they came as the fabric is very light weight. Anything else I have made has been with more substantial fabric.
Does it matter that the fabric is thin(light weight) ??

Do you think perhaps the fabric was "counterfeit"? If you got it on the internet, someone may be trying to pass off cheaper foreign fabric for better known brands.
On the other hand, I find some Kaffe Fassett fabric really thin and soft, which would be great for clothing, but not so much for quilts.
You could take a sample and give it some rough treatment, like a year's worth of wear and tear, to see how it acts, before you put it in a quilt.
By the way, welcome to our fun forum!

Some fabrics are lighter weight and still considered suitable for quilting. Often they are called "lawn" in the description but not always. Batiks are typically a wonderfully light tight weave for example.

Follow your gut instincts on whether or not to use your time on these. I would suggest that you change your needle to a lighter weight (so, if you typically use 12 try a 10) and/or one that is listed as a sharp.

I always suggest changing needles with every project anyway. Needles are much cheaper than your time and it's been my experience that people don't change their needles often enough. Hint: If you ever hear your machine going "pooka pooka pooka" while you stitch, your needle is past dull!

you might spray starch them. let them dry before using or even pressing though.

Thanks so much for your replies. I had wondered if it might be counterfeit as I got it on eBay. But it does describe itself ad 'lawn" so maybe it is ok. I will certainly take the tip about a lighter needle and will think about starching. You were all so helpful !

You could also back the fabric with a very thin iron on fusible interfacing before you cut it, if it really bothers you.

I'm also wondering if they are truly Moda. I love that brand and have had nothing but quality fabric from them.

Lawn is a totally different weave than quilting cotton and I personally would not use it. It does make great summer blouses.

To me, the quality and weight of fabrics in general have gone down over the past few years.
This unfortunate development has been evident in traditionally expensive brands, too.

To be fair, though - again, to me - the fabrics in charms packs always feel more flimsy than those same fabrics do if examined as yardage.

I guess size does matter. lol

I think perhaps the question is not the Moda fabric, but what fabric is she comparing it to? If her other quilts were made with fabrics from "big box" or chain stores, the chances are good they had a lot of sizing and other finishes on the fabric that made it seem stiff, or thicker. Is it possible even that a fabric blend was used? Or, perhaps the fabrics were all solids from Robert Kaufman's Kona Cotton, which we all know has a higher, denser thread count -- the very reason why many quilters really love it.

Moda has such a marvelous reputation among quilters that it's hard to believe she has a questionable pack of their fabrics. She can use virtually any well-established manufacturers quilting cottons with no problem.

Jan in VA,