Pre-cut or Yardage?
 

Hello Pretty Ladies!

I wanted to post because I was curious to see if you all prefer buying yardage or pre-cut fabrics. I am fairly new to quilting, and I have a ton of projects in mind. Will possibly be working on my first baby quilt shortly. I was just curious to see if you can get better deals buying pre-cuts, or if the yardage ends up being the better deal in the end.

Thoughts?

Yardage is generally cheaper than pre-cuts - you're not paying someone else to cut them for you ;) Also, pre-cuts are sometimes cut badly, regardless of the manufacturer.

I agree with Knitette, you do get a better deal in the long run if you cut your own (providing you can do so accurately!). One thing you may wish to consider is an accuquilt or other cutting system if you find you have trouble with precision cutting. It takes guesswork out of it and allows decent cuts. But it is pricey.

If you find you want to experiment, maybe do a blend of both. Buy yardage for the quilts you have material you LOVE and wouldn't mind having scraps of, and buy precut for the rest? Although you will most likely end up with scraps there, too. They multiply you know!

Either way, there is no wrong answer here. Do what is best for you, which may only be found out by trying both :)
good luck and welcome to the madness!

Better deal with yardage, but its nominal. Buy what you like. Buy what you want.

Thank you Everyone for your advice! I was considering doing an I spy quilt, because I think they are so FUN! And Iwill potentially be making a few, that's why I was wondering.. because then if I got yardage, I could use the scraps for all the blankets.. and vise versa. I have hardly any fabric right now, so I def need to get some.

What do you all think about the fat quarters? do you only purchase them when they are on-sale, or just stay away? I purchased a few a couple weeks ago when JAF had them for $1. But I got them primarily to do some practicing.

I prefer yardage because washing the fabric (I soak it in HOT water before washing it on gentle) before cutting it is extremely important to me - and it is easier to work with larger pieces.

I also prefer yardage. If you do the calculations, you will find that many precuts are more $$/yard than fabric off the bolt.
Also a gentle reminder that there are lots of gentlemen members on this board!

just do the math and you will see that there usually is a premium in buying pre-cuts. Let use, for example, a 40 count jelly roll strip. That is 2 yards and 28". So lets just compare between what 2.75" of fabric cost compared to the jelly roll strip. At my favorite online store, they sell a jelly roll of Kona cotton white for $30.50 (40 strips). The same fabric bought at the same store is $5.49 a yard. 2.75 yards of Kona cotton white would cost $15.10. But some quilters would rather pay the extra charge so they wouldn't have to bother with cutting the strips. Just depends on your budget and what you can afford.

Opps, I feel terrible now! I'm going to edit that!