"Outdated" fabric
 

Several posters have mentioned getting rid of "outdated" or no longer "fashionable fabric." Some have even given away quilts because they are "outdated." In an age of vintage clothing shops, a seeming obsession with owning a Singer Featherweight, and (in my neck of the woods) an antique shop on every available corner, what is it with "outdated" fabric for quilts? Some fabrics in my stash are at least 40 years old--my mother bought some of them when she was still making garments, and I bought others because they called my name. One of these days those fabrics, which get refolded and petted about twice each year are going into a "vintage" quilt and I dare anyone to say it is "outdated." froggyintexas

Never heard that fabric get outdated personally for the older the better. I have some fabric that was made the year of my birthday 1957 and i feel so blessed to have it. wish I more.:thumbup: And I would never get rid of a vintage quilt.

i think that some fabrics printed at the height of various trends tend to look pretty dated 20 years out. i am thinking of sea foam and peach florals from the 80's, orange, brown and yellow poly prints from the 60's - that kind of thing.

other fabrics - notably calicos, ginghams and plaids - tend to age so much more gracefully. i still love to look of 30's prints and colourways. others must too, because of the vast number of reproductions printed every year.

when i see these teal and pink quilts, or orange, or yellow and grey combos, i tend to think we'll view them as very dated in no long time. i tend to stick with more traditional colourways, both with an eye to the future and based on personal preference.

aileen

Isn't that what scrap quilts are for? :)

I agree. I think it is the color combinations that make a fabric "outdated". I love vintage fabrics, pre 1970. I am not a huge fan of calico fabrics just because they tend to be older colors and muted. BUT, I will still think a quilt made from them is beautiful. I just choose not to use them, they aren't my thing. I am drawn to the brighter bolder colors and prints available today but I know others that aren't. You are also correct about the 1930 reproductions. I like them also. And I am drawn to the Moda collections designed by Bonnie & Camille such as Ruby, Scrumptious, and Modern Vintage. They are designed using the pinks, blues, aquas, reds, greens and oranges of yesteryear. I would kill to find some vintage fabrics from that era!

I agree. If a fabric has a 'dated' color or print, just cut it up and use it in a scrap quilt. Some of my cotton fabrics are quite old- 25-30 years maybe, but they are still with me and waiting to be used.

I could have used some of that 80's sea foam and coral! My sister in law wanted a quilt in what she called teal and peach which was just that sea-foam-coral. All I could think of was our guest bath with the old walmart shower curtain, but I tried to match the colors as best I could with 2012 fabric. LOL
Thanks for the laugh!

I have some vintage looking fabrics that I don't have anything to go with. I gave/give them to my oldest Daughter for use in her scrappy quilts. They look great in the scrappies.

Exactly what I was thinking. If you don't like the fabric, you haven't cut it up small enough yet. :D

I use less than gorgeous fabric for pieced backings all the time.

I haven't heard of anyone getting rid of "outdated" fabric, but rather their taste in fabric has changed, either the colors, style, or because of getting older, etc.

Isn't it nice that we, as quilter's, are not all 'cut from the same cloth'? That there is as much, if not more, variety in us as people, as there is in the fabrics available for us to use in quilts? We'd be a really boring group making really boring quilts if it were otherwise. :)

I always smile when I see the dated fabrics...one of my very favorite quilts is one my mother made for me many years ago with cardboard templates and poly fabric. It has bright yellows, browns, and oranges in solid colors as well as the small calico prints. She traced each piece with a pencil, cut out with scissors, and sewed them together on her very dated Kenmore. The pattern "Lone Star". Love all the new fabrics, but still love all the vintage goods as well. It's so much fun to share with a group that understands all FABRIC OBSESSIONS even if we don't understand them all. LOL

As far as I can tell...the dated color combos keep showing up down the road. We are dealing with Avocado and whatever they called the gold back in the 60's-70's all over again with new names.

Oh, oh...I remember!! It was called Harvest Gold. Right?

Dina

And chevron stripes (think 80's afghans) and pukey green.... :) (my term for the green)....I think coral/peach is beautiful and I'm sure someone somewhere is using it in a quilt.

I love "outdated" fabrics. That is why I go to thrift shops for much of my fabric stash. Going there today to see what I can find. DH is wanting a combo denim/corduroy quilt for the sofa. Another reason I go to estate sales. Picked up a blue wedding dress from the 40s. One thing about the "outdated" is it makes that quilt very "UNIQUE". One will be hardpressed to find any fabric anywhere just like it. I smile when I hear outdated, it's another word for unique.

Mauve gives me the hives! Remember that mauve and blue that was the rage in home decorating in the early 90"s.

I think what folks see as "dated" is just stuff that is not old enough to be vintage, yet we are just sick of looking at it. I personally don't LOVE eighties fabrics, but maybe that is because that was when I began my foray into quilting and I made a lot of newbie mistakes...so hence the fabric reminds me of that.

The trend in quilting seems to be "Modern" more and more. Maybe that is why older fabrics are less popular. They don't work as well in modern designs.

I have been purging some of my calicos that I don't seem to use anymore. I use to work at House of Fabric and I spent too much money when calicos were half off and I was able to use my 25% employee discount! Those were the days !!

The fabric designs I don't care for are some of those that came out right after 9-11. I like flags for patriotic quilts, but I definitely do not care for Christmas fabrics with flags. Back then I kept expecting to see a fabric design with Baby Jesus lying in a manger wrapped in a flag.

sure is.....

That would definitely be bad!

I don't think there is any such thing as "outdated" fabric. If you like it, use it. I do it all the time and none of my family has ever noticed the difference. If you have fabrics you don't like much they make good backings or can be cut up into small pieces so they are not so obvious and used anyway. I think "outdated" fabric is a myth of the quilt police!

I apologize for not reading all the responses to this yet. My personal opinion, I think 'outdated fabric' is probably more of a personal preference. One reason I don't have a stash as such. I'm afraid my personal tastes in fabric will change over time, as they do with other thinks. Hence, those fabrics would then be 'outdated' to me.

By the time any quilt gets finished in my house, everything is "outdated!" :thumbup: Who cares? No one else knows it's "outdated" but the quilt police who don't rule my life. No one has ever refused one of my quilts because it was "outdated."

Justflyin in: yes, I have coral, turquoise, and dark green fabrics just waiting to be made into a stunning quilt, and I really don't care that the pattern is also from the 90's. I liked it all then and still like it. :thumbup:

The quilt group from our church uses donated fabric. Some of them are very outdated so we make strip scrap quilts. They turn out very nice. We are thankful for what has been given to us. We make quilts for our graduating seniors. So if anyone has some "outdated" fabric they don't want, we'll take it! Hint hint lol

A few years ago a co-worker of my husband was cleaning out his mothers house and came across 12 bolts of fabric that was 36" wide and sold for 15 cents a yard. The tags were still on the blots. I was the very fortunate recipient of these vintage fabrics. I made a Dresden plate quilt for the friend and have made several more vintage style quilts with the fabrics. Every quilter wants to know where I found the fabric. So much for going out of stlye.

Hang on to your "outdated" fabrics. They will be back in style. As was said previously, just look at the 1930s prints - which I personally dislike, as in really dislike. Maybe because it was old lady fabric when I was young. Seafoam and peach are still my favorites and you may feel free to send them to me. LOL Try using an "old" fabric with a new one. You just might create a new craze!

IMHO the only thing that may make a fabric outdated is the colors ways. I have some great peach fabric from several years ago and it is very hard to find fabric to match it. The fabric and clothing manufacturers change the colors each year for example by adding 2 more drops of blue to the green to make a "new " color so you will have to buy more if you want stuff to match. .

sewmom,
I like the idea of your church group making quilts. I will happily send you a few pieces free, about 3.5 yards total. I'm trying to get organized. I didn't want to create a new topic in the "offers" section for various reasons.
Please just send me your address in a private message, sewmom.

I think of mauve when I think of outdated fabrics. There are other colors also but remember when everything had mauve in it?

I don't worry about what's "in style" and what isn't. I use old fabric, new fabric, middle of the road fabric, anything I can get my hands on. They all look beautiful once they are made into a quilt. Happy quilting! :D

***
*** I am an antique, so
*** I love everything old.
*** Fabric is not old unless it is DRY ROT.
***

I love old fabric - have some from 50-60 years that are just waiting for the perfect quilt. But if a fabric no longer apppeals to you and you can pass it on to someone that will use it, then pass it on.

Here are a couple of pictures of quilts that our group has made with donated fabric. Some of it was really outdated and some was really nice. We had large amounts of some (6-8 yrd) that we are finally getting to the end of. [ATTACH=CONFIG]461747[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]461748[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]461749[/ATTACH]

I have heard all my life, what is old today will be new tomorrow. I have found over the years that is so true. I have some very old fabric that I have seen new fabric that looks very much like it. To me if I loved it thirty years ago i still love it now.

OMG i have 'OUTDATED' fabrics.. and i use them all the time.. I usually call them 'uglies' fabrics but im a scrappy quilter and I MUST use uglies for character and charm..

Now isnt this a Peach !!! def outdated..
[ATTACH=CONFIG]461756[/ATTACH]

but as a whole quilt not to shabby..
[ATTACH=CONFIG]461758[/ATTACH]

and how about them uglies.. ?!?!?! paisley, puke green, mustard yellow, and whatever else i tossed in the mix.
BUT cut into 2x2 they play well..
[ATTACH=CONFIG]461762[/ATTACH]

Sooooo if anyone feel the need to toss the 'outdated' stuff.. send it all my way... theres some Kiddo out there that would love an ' ugly' quilt..

Outdated fabric? What in the world is that??? I didn't know there was any such thing. As long as fabric isn't rotted or just plain old bad quality, it is NEVER outdated. Only someone who grew up on Sesame Street would think of something like that. Don't worry, Froggy, I'm with you (but then I'm from Texas, too <G>)... must be something in the water.

Mauve is not outdated, for goodness sake... it's just another color. It's pretty evident that we have become a nation of people controlled by the advertising and fashion industries. Who are THEY to tell US what's outdated and what's not? Don't drink the kool-ade, quilters. Go on what you like, not what the industry tells you is fashionable. Their profits depend on your buying what they tell you to think. We need to learn to discern when our thoughts (and our spending) are being controlled by interested parties.

If mauve is outdated, what about puce? <G>