I want to start my next project but I don't know anything about what Brands of fabric to buy. What are some of the better Brand names, reasonably priced, about $8.00-10.00 a yard. I should be able to get some pretty nice fabric for that price, right???

IMHO you can't get any better than Moda.

Yes you should! Robert Kaufman, Kona Bay, Moda, ect., those are favorites of mine, but pretty much most LQS will have good fabric at the prices you cited. If it feels good and the weave looks good to you..you should be fine.

That's just it, I don't know what it's supposed to feel like or what the weave is supposed to be like. I'm Very new to quilting, lol, as you can probably tell, lol.

there are so many quality fabrics out there..
you should go visit a few on line stores.
or visit your local quilt shop..

thousands of bolts
fabric.com
etc..so many !

I don't like the online stores, I can't actually see the fabric or touch it. I hardly ever ever ever buy online. But I do have a favorite QS and I'm planning on going to a few more before I choose my fabric. Thanks! ! !

I love Fairy Frost.

Patty, when I am looking at fabric I will hold the fabric up to see if I can see my hand through it. If you can, it means the weave is looser and the fabric will shift more and probably fray. Another thing to check is the "feel". Quality fabric should have a smooth feel, not lumpy or knotty. You can take the fabric in your hands and check it for stretch, both on grain and on the bias to see how much flex it has (again you are looking for a tighter weave so not a lot of flex, though bias will always have flex to it). Another thing to look at is the print - rub it with your fingers and see if any dye rubs off. Is the pattern printed straight and is the printing evenly colored throughout? These are some things you can look for when checking fabric for quality. Generally speaking, if you are shopping at LQS you will have only good quality fabrics being offered. But if you go Joanns or Walmart or another big box store, you can check the fabric using these guidelines.

Sorry for the long response. I am really picky about my fabric, so I don't buy from Joanns or WalMart. I would rather buy less, pay more, and get good quality from my LQS. Hope that helps!

I can't buy online either, because I have an elaborate petting ritual I must observe when fabric shopping :lol: But if I have one in hand I like, I will reorder it online if I need to.

,

since you don't care to buy on line, i am sure all the fabrics in your LQS are quality.
Thimbleberries
andover
michael miller
marcus bros
Benartex
Hoffman
Henry Glass

Go to Joanns or Walmart and feel the fabric then go to a LQS you can feel the difference.

I was agreeing with you until you got to your comment about JoAnns or WalMart.

Your suggestions of what to look for in a "good quality fabric" are excellent.

Experience is wonderful - I don't think there is a short-cut around it - your suggestions of what to look for are a good place to start from.

However - I have found SOME wonderful fabrics at WalMart that I would compare favorably to some of the so-called "better" lines. I've also gotten SOME LQS fabrics that were a disappointment to me. I have also gotten selective after over 50 years of buying fabric!

I have never noticed a selvage that says "WalMart Fabric" - any more than I have noticed a "WalMart Brand Toaster"

WalMart and JoAnn both carry several types of fabrics. So it is necessary/helpful to buy something that is suitable for the purpose intended. I think it is unreasonable to knock the store for carrying a fabric (or other item) that was not appropriate for something I intended to use it for - and I was dumb enough (or uninformed enough) to buy it. Or too "cheap" to buy some of the "better" lines available.

Most LQS do carry a much greater selection to choose from - but even with many bolts to choose from - sometimes one has to go to another store to find the last "perfect" piece for a project. (One of the excuses to have a stash!)

Back to the OP question:

Depending on the LQS you go to, you should be able to get some nice fabrics in the $8.00 to $10.00 price range. If there are several shops near you, it might be worth the time and effort to visit them all and compare prices.

I've found that the price of the fabric is not a guarantee of quality any more than the type of store purchased from.

Quality is determined by several factors, most of which have already been listed. To me, feel is the important thing. If it meets all the other signals of quality and doesn't feel good, then I won't buy it. And if it feels good and may not be quite top quality, but the color/pattern is what I'm looking for, then so what...it feels good!

My suggestion is to visit your local quilt store to get educated then you can shop online at some fo the stores previously listed.

Very true. Browse quilting/sewing magazines. Learn what makes quality fabrics and then you can pick and choose quality no matter what store you are in.

Your point is taken. I have not had the good fortune to find fabric I like at Joann, and have not had the bad fortune to get poor fabric from my LQS. I shop at my LQS because I like the quality of their fabric but also because prefer to support local businesses (a fact which I omitted from my previous post). I try to wherever I can, whether it is fabric or car repairs. Just my personal preference. I am not knocking Joann or Walmart or anyone who chooses to shop there. I am only speaking to my personal experience. I have found their fabrics, as a rule, not of the quality I like. But I do appreciate your point of view and thank you for sharing it.

I totally agree- although I do buy online quite a bit, but I look for brand names.

I'm like you. I won't buy online unless I have already seen the fabric before and know What I am buying. I bought something for a project and it was nowhere near the color I needed online you just don't know until it arrives

I agree. I love Moda.

you could also get scrap packs (hopefully ones with the selvedge intact) or fat quarters, squares, etc, from folks right here on this board, and compare the fabrics... not too expensive and a good way to sample different fabrics

Moda, Red Rooster, Benartex are just a few

My favorite is Legacy Studio. I buy it on sale or with a coupon.

I just took a quilt class and the instructor suggested this site: http://www.thousandsofbolts.com. You can look at a fabric, then click on the COLOR MATCHER icon and it gives you all sorts of choices as to what would match. These are all high end fabrics at about 1/2 price.
I buy fabric where ever, but the suggestions you've already received are great! I love the Moda charm packs, vibrant colors all matched.

I have found some good fabric at Hobby Lobby. They seem to carry a better line of fabric than Joann's, Hancock, and Wal-Mart. All stores seem to have a cheap line as well as good stuff. They cater to everybody's pocketbook. I tend to get too excited when I find something special and forget to check fabric quality.

Don't stress out and just have fun with selecting fabric colors and designs while it's still new to you. I figure I've got plenty of time to get serious.

I found 12 Joann's Block of Month packets at Goodwill for 99 cents each from last year's line. I had 2 or 3 blocks with the same pattern but that cheap who cares. I just switched the pattern around so it doesn't all look the same. It was the best learning experience I've ever had. I discovered the fabric was a little thinner. It didn't have perfect fabric cuts so I had to make adjustments. I bought sashing and border fabric. Best of all my husband took part in the process and gave his suggestions. I gave it to him and now to my horror he wants to hang it on the wall with all it's mistakes!

Moda, Moda, Moda!!!!!! Can't go wrong there :thumbup:

go to localquilt store and talk to to a sales person and explain what u want . ask questions about whats good fabric .

****************

Ditto..
While I do shop online at times.. I ALWAYS hit my LQS first. If we don't support our LQS's they will end up closing which is a LOSE~LOSE for everyone.

One of the classes I took way back when I started quilting was on the quality of "grey goods" which is what fabric is printed on. That was an education and a HALF about staying AWAY from inexpensive (and big box store) fabrics. I will experiment on cheap fabric, but NOT put a lot of time into a quilt using them.

Buy your fabric from your LQS and you will get quality fabrics.

Ditto

If you go to thousand of bolts online you can get quality, brand name fabrics for less than $5.50 a yard.

if you want quality brands do not go to Joanna fabric store, the first time you wash the fabric from there you are left with gauze, or very thing stuff. all the sizing washes out.
If you lived in San Diego I would take you to rose quilt shop: www.rosiescalicocupboard.com/

Check out your LQS, they also may have a reduced section, ask about sale events. EQuilter.com I found to be most true to color for on-line, but have had great luck at Thousand of Bolts, also for less expensive backings. Thing about on-line is you cannot feel the "hand" of the fabric or review colors/value placement as well.

Do not buy fabric with a lot of sizing in it. When you wash it there is nothing left. I usually stick to the well known brands.
good luck with your new project.

If you have a nice quilt shop owner, explain to her you want to know about fabric. She might explain to you, if she is not busy, how fabric is made and thread counts, etc.

I don't know what part of Maryland you're from but I am on the Eastern Shore and if I'm careful (ie if I actually look at the price on the end of the bolt!) I can still get good, LQS fabrics for less $10/yd.

I don't want to jinx you (or myself!) but I have bought a lot of quilt fabric on-line and never been burned by the quality.

my rule of thumb is : if you hold 1 layer up to a well lite area and CAN"T read a newspaper through it then it's usually a good fabric. I have tried the feel or touch method but so fabrics that feel good may not be that great once they are washed. I have never fail with my rule of thumb method. Give it a try, go to any store you wish and pick out a few fabrics that you like and hold them up and compare what you can see through them.

If you can almost see through the quilting cotton, that is not good quilting material. I see a lot of fat quarters made from this at Wal-mart, yet there are a few that is good. Start feeling the quilting fabrics, as you can tell if it is good or bad for quilting, just by the feel. It will feel skimpy or feel thicker.

GO MODA!!!!!