My LQS has really done a great job of keeping the prices as low as possible. Most are 9.99, some 8.99. I have only been to JoAnnes twice in the last year and the first of those visits, batiks were 12.99 then and not the best quality, so I buy what I can right here at the hometown store and some online.

I am with you Sandybeach. I found a shop from there that has 50% off. www.blackberrypatchquiltshop.com is the address.

Not in this lifetime - and not when there is fabric available through repurposing !

Same here...

I will still buy quality fabric, but will only purchase when my LQS has sales. My stash will probably be used more.

Absolutely NOT!! At least in THIS area. we can get fabric for UNDER $5 a yard. We bought some batiks for 3.99 last week and they are gorgeous!

nope! I am a bargain shopper or not at all

I go to my 2 favorite local store for fabric that is a discontinued fabric store. It is last years fabric but it has always been reasonably priced. I can't afford the new prices but hey fabric is fabric.

After yesterday's experience I will be doing as much of my supplies shopping as I can at my favorite local shop, Country Fabrics in Shiloh, OH. I bought a 45 mm rotary blade there for $6.98. Later, at Joanne's for items not carried in the Shiloh store, the same blade was $16.99. Even with my 50% off coupon it wasn't as good at the Shiloh price. I know this doesn't help if you are not in north central Ohio because they do not take online orders, but I have to think the same might be true of other "local" shops run by Mennonites or Amish. Fabric prices are a little cheaper but we must all be aware of the cotton crop problems.

I don't buy anything at Joanns unless it is on sale or has a coupon, someone else will have it.

Hancock's of Paducah is having a sale right now for $6 a yard.

Frugal me loves treasure hunting, and fabric is one of those treasures! Goodwill, thrift stores, yard and rummage sales, online sites like etsy and ebay - all excellent places to find new, barely used, or still good fabrics.

NO, I only buy on sale or with coupon....I give away all of what I do so it's too pricey to pay that much, may even have to cut back on what I do it's getting so expensive.

The wholesale prices have increasd 120% and will be increasing again after Jan.1. I buy wholesale by the bolt and try to charge only 50 cents to $1 over my price per yard for my customers.
The wholesale prices for 1st quality quilting fabric are running anywhere from $4.95 to $6.95 per yard. Occasionally the warehouse has sales and I will try to continue to buy then.

Cotton has been at an all time high since the Civil War for many years now. It's just that folks only realize things when they FEEL it... The old inventory is going and new is coming in and the prices are reflecting it more and more.
Better be stocking up on sugar and other things to!~IT"s going to get bad.
I've been buying 100% cotton tshirts and things and putting them up.
Seriously.
Watch Glenn Beck

Your local quilt shops will be going up, as the company they buy from goes up, they will have no choice. It's only a matter of time. If your LQS does not, they will go out of business. Times have changed. They should technically be charging around 11.00 for a standard mark up on some of that stuff and are just not marking it up like they usually do so they can move it and hope for volume. Seriously.

Amen sista!!~ And buy on sale... I am going to a LQS today who has 50% off inventory reduction sale on first quality, premium fabrics and 20% off everything else. Once a year she does this to get ready for new arrivals. She was telling me how she does not mark up the standard mark up like she should, just hoping for volume. She says when things come in now they should be at around 11.00. SO... today when I pay 4.00 or so I'll be stashing it and i do NOT buy fabrics anymore unless I absolutely need a particular fabric to finish a project.

It not only cost more, some of it is thin, you can see threw
it. My Joann's worker friend, said you need to watch especially the solid colors. Like all things take a good look, and decide what you want to pay for.
She showed me the black from 3.99-12.00 as you go up it is a tiny bit better. But hold a piece up and look at the light. Know what your getting now, she said.
one more a ironing pad I bought a month again 15. is now
25.00. This was the biggest change I think. I still want to buy and sew and be happy. I will beware and make good decsions.

Not only have fabric prices increased dramatically in the last two years, it also costs a lot more to get them shipped in to the store. Most shops have seen their shipping prices increase at the same rate as their fabric prices.

List prices on new premium fabrics now are mostly 11.95-12.95/yd. If you see shops selling brand new lines for less than that, they're trying to move fabric in volume, or they are very close to distributors so they don't need to have fabrics shipped.

We've quit buying from east coast distributors and are focusing on west coast distributed products just because of the shipping costs, except for specific items that we want that have to be shipped in from overseas.

We recently had a bunch of fabrics shipped direct from Europe, that aren't available in the USA -- the shipping cost and brokerage fees alone were nearly 3 dollars per yard.

I use quiltshops.com as well. You can almost always find what you want at a good price. Luckily I have a big stash ;)

This is completely true. And the $11 / yard "standard price" is for prints. Batiks would be even higher than that.

So if you see your LQS charging less than this for new, current prints, then you know they are trying to take the sting out of it for you. Which means, of course, that the shop will have a harder time making their own ends meet in the middle.

It is just bad on everyone, buyers, shops, stores, workers,
etc. It is a worry for us all, but we still live in a far better
place than others.

And we're on the east coast, so it's exactly the same situation but in reverse. The west coast brands we can't live without are RJR, Hoffman, South Sea Imports & Wilmington, and Robert Kaufman.

With RJR, we have a choice of buying directly from them and incurring shipping costs of about 35 cents / yard, or we can order their products through an east-coast distributor and less than half as much in shipping. (With the savings, we can re-stock the office candy jar!)

But for South Seas and Kaufman, the east-coast distributors charge more for the fabrics than what I would pay buying it directly. Guess what? The difference in price is just about what the shipping cost would be. So it's a wash. No bargain to be had.

Wilmington only sells direct; you can't get their product through distributors so we have no other options.

If it's something I really want for a project I will otherwise I won't.

I do buy from sale tables whenever they have such but for the most part what they have isn't that good of a quality so I stick pretty much to full retail bolts that range from $5.95 to $9.95 a yard.

I have also learned to start hitting thrift stores and have found really nice cotton fabric for pennies on the dollar.

JoAnn's was also bought out by another company and everything went up drastically when that happened. I hesitate to deal there any more.

Canada quilt shop prices $12.00-$32.00 per meter!!!!! And you think you have it bad! I usually buy on line from Connecting Threads.

I'm another Connecting Threads fan. Also, I get sale flyers from JoAnn's, Michael's, Hancock's and Hobby Lobby (which is opening in our town in 2 weeks - color me excited!). Retirement + recession + more hubby/less money. I NEVER pay full price for anything. The clearance tables at Macy's & Pier 1, great op shop finds and coupons are my shopping mantras.

I have seen fabric that used to be $8.99, at Jo Anns, now $12.99 a yard. I think it was the Legacy Studios fsbric. Legacy Studios has put out some nice fabric but at that price I will pass. Three dollars a yard more, for a yard, seems out of line.

I rarely buy fabric at quilting shops anymore - go to ThousandsofBolts.com or Fivebucksayard.com. Great quality at half the price - even with shipping.

I've also heard that cotton prices are up because of the drought last year, and I can understand that, but I haven't seen a lot of fabric made in the USA. I used to buy lots of fabric from JoAnn's, but the last couple of times I was there, all of the bolts that I pulled were very thin and made in China.

I also buy in a variety of places: thrift, Ad Bulletin (local paper free to call ins), and Connecting Threads has a great section of clearance fabric at 31-50% off. My stash is more than adequate, so I'm not too worried, but I do feel sorry for those beginning quilters.

Joyce

I just found a new on line supplier called suzzettsfabric.com. I was a little hesitant ordering, but her prices were wonderful and she takes paypal as well as credit cards, so I know paypal stands behind your payment and they would not do business with a bad vendor.

I am a hand dyer and the cotton I used to buy in bulk for $1.99 a yard to dye is now $4.00-$5.00 yard. The other reason is that China and India are draining the world's resources as they come online in their development. Also, some fabric is manufactured in China where the demand is higher. Higher demand=higher prices. Don't look for this to change for at least a couple of years.

NO NO NO Absolutely NOT
:thumbdown:

I cant pay that. Hancocks has a lot of great batiks for $6.00 a yard including quit a few of Mckenna Ryan

You can also check out the fabshophop where they have a big list of online stores. Just look for sales. You can still get quality fabrics online for $5.00 or less.

If I REALLY love a print I will spend the money and buy what I want. But I shop around first. I'm a stay at home Mom on a budget, and our family has definitely been effected by the poor economy. We are struggling this year for the first time in about ten years, and I will definitely be pinching my pennies more than I have in the past. I haven't much choice but to buy on sale and lower priced fabrics these days. But you know, on a positive note, fabric quality has increased in recent years and you can get a lot of good material for a low price.

me too-and I agree that some times charity begins at home. I will not break myself to make for others. Been there-done that

If we don't, then it will go away again. I work with their fabrics for the Million Pillowcases and take a week to make a whole batch. I figure they will get dirty, get washed often and look bad in about 6 months and actually, they turn out quite soft once they are washed. $9.99 a yard fabric wouldn't be appreciated in this instance, so Walmart is the place I go.

Going online and seeing their fabric prices is a real treat for me. I don't know how they can keep Moda and other brands I love so low. Ebay for my charm packs is also great.

Did you know there are thousands of Canadian quilters to whom $12 a meter is a bargain? Most LQS are at $18 or more! Count yourselves lucky and stop grumbling! If we shop online, we have duty, postage and exchange costs as well; we still quilt prolifically.

Time to use the stash for all its worth....Have fabric from my mother and she has been gone almost 20 years.....but I dive into my stash as much as possible just because of the prices....maybe getting a yard here or there....we need to re-cycle, re use, share, pay it forward.....whatever....so the craft continues to grown even in these hard times....