I bought the reminent special at fabric.com and was very pleased with the fabric. It was about 7 1/2 yards for under 19.99 and it is a great way to build up my growing stash. I put the word out that I am a quilter and I love scraps. As I am a pilates instructor I have quite a few clients that sew or their mom's sew and have received about 150 lbs of fabric so far :) I am really excited as I plan to make charity quilts and only work part-time. I use Bonnie Hunter's (thanks Bonnie) scrap users system and everything is nice and organized. My daughter loves to thrift shop so I go with her and buy yardage for backings and only buy fabric on sale. When I bought my sewing machine and frame the lady was getting out of quilting and she gave me thread and many yards of fabric. There are many ways to be frugal, just get the word out and have fun! :)

My first quilts were and are still beautiful. I used what I had... cut up clothing, and the backing was from a nice quilted bedspread! I still have those quilts, they are still beautiful and in use! Use what you have if you can. I buy fabric from Walmart, Hobby Lobby, have almost quit buying from Joanns....Little girls used clothing is nice, most people donate those as the girls outgrow them.

Some thrift shops has good quailty fabric and especially if you like scrappy quilts

You will find as you continue your quilting journey, you'll soon learn what you do and don't like, and what you do and don't need. Certainly learning to quilt doesn't require $10 a yard fabric, but you might want to buy better fabric if you're making a wedding quilt for a gift. You'll also learn to spot good quality vs poor quality and price is NOT always the key. A clue, perhaps, but there are good quality fabrics that are less expensive and some expensive fabrics that aren't the best. Only by your experimentation with sewing, quilting and washing fabrics will you learn what YOU like. Have fun!

Mary Jo's Cloth Store in Gastonia, NC. The largest fabric store on the east coast. www.maryjos.com If you've never been there before prepare to be ovewhelmed by the massive number of choices. You need a couple hours just to look at all she has, take a break for lunch to let it sink in and then go back to make decisions. The place has thousands and thousands of bolts of every fabric you can possibly think of.

The first time I went there I overheard the cutting lady telling someone the following story. She had helped a woman the day before who had come from Italy. She was on vacation in Italy, lying on the beach talking to a local. When she learned the woman was from America she said "OH! Do you know Mary Jo's cloth store? I order from her all the time!" She explained many of the Italian design houses would mail order from Mary Jo's and her store was famous in Italy.

The woman had never heard of it before, but before she flew home to California, she changed her flight to include a 2 day stop in Charlotte, just to go to Mary Jo's.

In business 60 years, "Mary Jo’s Cloth Store" started in the back of her Daddy’s Barber Shop on her 19th birthday in Dallas, N.C. You've never seen a fabric store like Mary Jo's.

I just learned that my Grandmother ordered bundles of scraps left from the manufacture of clothing. This was long before computers, and she ordered from ads she saw in magazines. She made some beautiful quilts.

Buy what you like. Even if the LQS wants you to buy their fabric, sometimes it is a percentage of the overall amount that you have to buy. Such as, if you need 5 different fabrics, I have found that the LQS is happy that I bought 2 of them from them, and used my stash for the rest. LQS wants your business. There maybe a required fabric that has to do with the class, so they will expect you to buy it from them if you want the class. But anything else can be from you source. The LQS has learned that if you don't like what you are sewing on, you won't return. So, many times the fabric is suggestion, not requirement.

The best advice on here is to look at the fabric you are buying. Don't be distracted by the color and print. Look at the weave and the thickness, feel the texture and notice how it drapes. Is it slightly stretchy or is it stiff and rigid? Compare different bolts by different makers if possible. After awhile you will start to get a feel for what is good and what isn't. You can find good and bad fabrics anywhere. Even my Walmart has some really nice bolts, and some I wouldn't use for anything!

It's possible to get good fabric at Joann's but the price is about the same as at LQS. With rare exceptions, I buy only on line from sale fabric selections, so average about $5/yd. for excellent fabric. It's not the very latest designs and colorways, but I'm happy. e-Quilter & Hancock's are my usual haunts.

when you are ready for a road trip, Pacific Fabrics in Puyallup has some nice quilting flat folds at 5.99 or so a yard.

I buy good quality quilting fabric, but never pay more than $5-$6 a yard for it. There are plenty of sites where you can get top quality fabric at better prices than Joann's which I find to be high for the quality they sell. Check out www.quiltfabriccloseouts.com for example. I've bought oodles of fabric from her at excellent prices. I watch for clearance sales and try to stock up enough for an entire quilt when I find good prices.

Like someone else said, I don't like the feel of cheap fabric. You can really tell the difference just by stroking it. A higher quality material has a smoother texture; almost like it's polished. It's usually soft and very pliable. I find the cheaper fabrics to be stiff. Personally, I believe the better quality will pay off in the long run.

If I'm going to put countless hours into making something special, I want it to last. And, yes I'm a thread snob too. I like Gutermann,Anton-Robinson or Masterpiece threads.

I did not buy expensive materials when I was first learning how to quilt though. I waited until I made something I thought would be an heirloom for my family.

I find Walmart quilting fabric costs less but the quality is sometimes better than their regular fabric.
Jothesewer

Dear TeresaS-
The sites that I recommend for fabric are:
(1) Hancocks of Paducah =-sign up for their newsletter - they have frequent "Web Specials" during which you can get first quality fabric at very reduced prices
(2) Thousands of bolts [but only one nut] sells all fabric for <$4 and I recognize them from other quilt store sites
(3) Fab shop Hop - sign up for their notifications; now they have Hops almost every month of the year and after the
first week the sites with particularly good sales have balloons next to their names.
(4) others here have recommended Connecting Threads and I do also. Their fabric is wonderful and their Quilters' Candy
fabrics [solids & blenders] are $3.96/yd and their batiks are $5.96/yd. They have frequent sales with 50% off these
already great prices.
(5) Fabric.com also has good sales and reasonably good fabrics.
(6) I still buy some fabric at JoAnn's to coordinate with the focus fabric that I purchased at a local quilt shop.

For a newbie I give my highest recommendation to Quilters' Cache. Marcia Hohn has thousands of quilt blocks with
instructions in how to make them and a sample quilt. I wasted a lot of money on patterns until I discovered this site
and realized that if you can figure out the block than you can replicate the pattern yourself. Now I only buy patterns for
particularly complex quilts, that are probably beyond my expertise level, but a gal can dream....

Best of luck and I am sure that you will enjoy quilting.
-Judy Mannix

As a quilt shop owner, I do require anyone taking my beginner class to purchase the fabrics from me. I know that the quilter will be happy with the final product and I won't have an unhappy customer because of bleeding or fading fabrics. Part of the lesson is picking out and coordinating their fabrics for the pattern I teach, I can't offer that part of the lesson if they purchase their fabrics from some other place. I also know their quilt will last them for years to come. After the first one they are free to purchase their fabrics anywhere they choose, but most feel their time is worth a lot also and don't want to waste it by making a quilt that won't be as pretty as it was when they first made it.
OzarksGma

buy on line, you will find many places with good fabric that is MUch cheaper, I just got 100 fat quarters from Keepsake quilting for $99.00 great fabric and beautiful colors

I recommend that you don't buy any fabric that has that stiffness to it. I have been told that is really bad fabric to buy and make anything with it.

If you have a WalMart near you, which still carries fabric, look for the VIP (brand) prints. I find those wash and hold up very well, and without excessive wrinkling. Hobby Lobby is also a good place to look, as well as JoAnn's (which used to be my favorite fabric store, before we moved). I'm not much for online shops, as I like to feel the fabric before buying. Before using any fabric, I wash and dry it, as I would the finished item.

Ditto! Not all quilt shop fabric is "nice" and not all big box fabric is "trash." Buy for your project wherever you find what you need. froggyintexas

Buy what you can afford, but if you purchase locally, feel the fabric. There are many online places that have sales and free shipping. Get on some email lists. I like thousands of bolts, fabric.com, connecting threads, Favorite Fabrics and Equilters are a few that I use. I also buy from Joanns, Hancock's, Hobby Lobby and even Walmart. I use coupons, watch for sales and once in awhile I have paid $12.99 a yard for an entire quilt. It is sitting in my stash and I pet it every once in awhile. LOL. I have a couple projects to finish before I break into that gorgeous fabric. Good luck, you 'll do fine.

I buy what I like, I have made 97 quilts since I started in 1966. I may have 12-15 that I have kept. All the rest has been given to family. Some take care of them, some don't. I am sure glad I didn't buy real expensive fabrics for them. Nice and good quality but, not top of the line. Please yourself and don't break the bank and you will be happy.
Welcome to this great site. Lots of nice people here.

I agree with you, Auntpiggylpn! What good is knowing how to quilt and enjoying it if you can't afford to buy fabric.

"Best" really means the "best" you can personally afford and do.

Also, check out thrift stores and places like Good Will or Salvation Army. Sometimes you can pick up very nice fabrics at a low price. If you like flannels and don't mind winter or holiday themes, then buy flannel sheets at the end of winter, when they're on sale.