I used to purchase a lot of Cranston fabrics. Had some nice paisley from about 5 years ago. Saw it again and decided to purchase more, but it was like cheesecloth compared to what I had!!

And, unfortunately, Cranston is the only mill left in USA!

Blame the government who allowed all the fabric manufacturers to move overseas so the owners could make huge profits. The Chinese are manufacturing almost all the fabric we get in the US now and of course it is cheaper. Remember when they started selling cheap quilts and undercutting real quilt artists who had worked years to establish themselves; the Chinese quilts cut the heart out of their businesses! We knew that the fabric industry would suffer greatly when the plants all left the US. I know of thousands of jobs in SC lost and hundreds of plant buildings standing empty because their work was sent overseas. It seems there is nothing we can do about it; big business has us by the throat and doesn't seem to care about us, the consumer. PROFIT drives the world now, not service and decent products! (That's all for now; my rant is over!)

yes joanns and hancocks have been disappointing lately

I had heard this some time ago that the manufacturers were decreasing the thread count, thus making the fabrics thinner and more likely to ravel. The price is going up, the quality is going down.

Well, the Chinese people have wised up after having more western influence in their workforce. The Chinese workers are demanding better pay and working conditions and are getting them. That is one reason for price increase too. The US manufacturers aren't getting their products made as cheap anymore so they are finding ways to cut the cost, many going to less quality. It won't be many more years and the Chinese workers will know how much power they do have. History always repeats itself.

I just bought some Hoffman fabric that was superb quality, it didn't fray hardly at all, hadn't seenn quality that good in a while

At last I know i am not totally nuts. I have been saying this for about 3 years. Sad to think all the love and caring you put into a quilt for someone, will not last long enough for them to pass it on.

Lu

I also have noticed the decline in quality. My "older" fabric is so much better. The price of fabric has gone way up and it looks like it will continue. The news reporter said that the price of cotton will continue to rise effecting cotton clothing as well.

I've stopped buying FQs at JoAnn's too....I only buy batting and notions when I have a coupon...their fabric I personally think is of poor quality with a high price.