Question About Fabric Manufacturers
 

Is all the fabric made by name brand manufactures high quality fabric? Plus do quilt shops only carry brand name fabric? I am trying to figure out how come some quilting fabric are thicker then others.

Thanks,
Mary/stitchengramie

This has been discussed previously and I seem to recall that the "thinner" fabric at some stores, is actually "higher" quality. It also will have a higher cost due to the quality. You might be able to find the original discussions in doing a search. Most folks seemed to agree that many of our quilts are not "keepsake quality" (mine certainly aren't), but there was concern about the thinner fabric facing the tests of time. Use what you like because there are no quilt police to tell you to use the "same thickness" for all fabrics in a quilt. Happy quilting!

Hi Mary. My opinion on this subject is that almost all of the fabric is now manufactured in China (the only exception that I know is Connecting Threads where it is made in Mexico from US grown cotton). There have been several consecutive years of bad weather creating shortages of cotton to be used and so the price of cotton got higher. The companies made choices to lower thread count and are trying cheaper ways to keep their profit margins. This results, unfortunately, in lower quality fabric, even in name brand. I am so glad that I have a substantial stash of fabric that I amassed in the past 8 years or so. I love it and can't bring myself to settle for the lesser quality now. I believe, as most do, that the fabric sold today will hold up, it's just not made as good as it was 4-5 years ago. Just my opinion, for what it's worth. Sure saves me money as I'm rarely tempted to buy today.

Joyce

I didn't know this, thanks for sharing.

I love Hoffman, Robert Kaufman and Kona Bay. I also like Timeless Treasures. I order most of mine from Hancock's of Paducah or Keepsake quilting. I ordered the batiks from Connecting threads and love them, but they are much thinner. I have not used them yet so I will have to try them to see how I like working with them. When I see fabric I like I buy it. I know my quilts wont last forever, I just want them to be used and enjoyed.