Question about fabric manufacturers - are there different qualities?
 

I have a general question about fabric quality. Does a fabric manufacturer create different qualities of their fabric? I'm wondering if a well-known quilt-quality fabric manufacturer makes a lesser quality fabric to sell to "chain stores" under its well-known name.

for example only: Is KONA fabric the same quality whether you purchase it at a quilt store or at Walmart? Is Northcott the same quality whether you purchase it at a quilt store or on-line?

I am in a group that makes Quilts of Valor quilts and I need to try to be as thrifty as possible in my purchases. I've tried to utilize chain store coupons and seek out the well-known fabric manufacturer names at those stores.

But, I'm wondering if there are different qualities of their fabric. Does anyone know? I do not want to purchase inferior fabric for such a great cause.

Thanks!

some people swear they do make different grades for different vendors.
but no manufacturer of truly and consistently quality fabrics would risk their reputation like that.
you will, however, find "knock-off" fabrics named and printed so they are nearly identical (and easily mistaken for) their more expensive counterparts.
just like clothing.

People are often confused about Kona. Kona is the copyrighted name of a type of fabric produced by Kaufman, the manufacturer. Kaufman Kona is the same everywhere. However, there is another fabric manufacturer that has the name Kona Bay. Sometimes people see Kona Bay on the bolt and think it's Kona cotton. Well, in a way it is; however, it isn't Kaufman Kona!

I have seen arguments both ways about whether the same line of fabric comes in different qualities. I honestly don't know for sure. What I have noticed, however, is that sometimes fabrics at Walmart (and less frequently at JoAnn's) are slightly misprinted. Printed fabrics run through rollers with different colors and, if the positioning is slightly off, the colors will be slightly off. This makes the print more "muddy" in appearance. If you're not used to looking for this, it's easy to miss. If I am buying printed fabric at a non-LQS, I tend to take a close look at the print to make sure that the colors are clear and the lines defining the print are sharp.

I do think that flat folds are often "seconds". I have found that flat folds are often not as pretty as other fabrics.

Check out Connecting Threads online. Their clearance fabric can be as cheap as $3.50 a yard, and I think it is great quality. You might be limited by the colors for QOV.

Years ago I was told that they made different quality fabric using the same print for different stores. Nowadays, I don't see that at all. The fabrics that come from quality mfg all are the same. My rule of thumb is to hold the fabric up to the light. If I can see through it, I don't buy it.

On the other hand, I don't always buy the highest quality fabric. If I want the quilt to last for years, I buy the best quality I can find.

last week I bought fabric on a bolt with a well known company. Not sure if I can say but they also send out a small catalog if you want to subscribe. I never had such a problem with bleed. Yes it was a batik but this thing bled like a stuck hog even after I used Retayne and 3 color catchers and a couple terry cloth towels to help absorb bleed. The inside of my washer had to be washed down then I ran a cycle of bleach. Then my dryer had a lovely aggravating shade of green. This was not fun to wipe out since I've recently been diagnosed as severe osteoporosis. Butt I got down on my hands and knees and wiped my dryer out with rag and some bleach water.

Forgot to say I bought my fabric at JoAnn's.

My mother back in the early 90s worked as a seamstress at a jeans factory. They made Levis for Wal-Mart and Levis for department stores. She said the denim for the Wal-Mart jeans was noticeably thinner.

However ... while the WM jeans were made with a thinner denim than the Dept store Levis ...... the question I would have is, were the Jeans marketed as the same model/style?

My guess is that while they were almost the same ..... there was an identified difference, such as a different style name/number!



Likewise, I would suspect similar may happen with quilting fabrics .... almost the same but not quite.
Yes, Buyer Beware!!

... but also Buyer know and understand that there may be identified differences which could mean, there is no deceit.

That's a good question and I'd have to say that I don't know. Probably not marketed quite the same. As for fabric shopping, no matter where I'm shopping at, if it feels too thin or poor quality, then I don't buy it.

People have suspected this, but the manufacturers say emphatically, NO. They do not produce lesser grades of their fabrics.

The best thing to do is buy in person and feel what you are interested in. The hand test always tells you the quality. OR, if you can only buy online, always choose the name brand manufacturers.

No doubt, but this is a different issue. It's a lesser product made with lesser goods, not the same goods of two different quality grades.

I am in the same situation.. I started my own chapter of Quilts For Kids and I have to be "thrifty" on what fabric I purchase. We do get fabric donations but I still need some "filler" fabric to fill things out

I don't know how you feel about your projects, but I try to get decent fabric but I don't feel like I need top of the line... I just want it to hold up.

I have not seen where a certain brand/manufacturer has a cheaper line to sell to lower end markets. My experience is that those are different lines. They could be made in the same factories for all I know - but they have a different name/line they sell under

Just because you purchase from a quilt shop does not always mean it is top quality. But will be priced as if it were top quality.

There is a identifiable difference in fit and styling on the more expensive jeans vs the Walmart jeans. The construction is also cheaper not as durable in Walmart clothing in general.

When I remember the history of quilting, I have to chuckle at those who put great money into quilts today. If I were going to show quilts at a national competition, I'd probably do that but my quilts are for general use and I put into them what I like and think is a reasonable price. So far, nothing has failed to meet the test, even the ones that have been favorites of the grandchildren and had hard use. Most of the antique quilts that have failed, it is because of the dyes that were used at the time and those quilters used what they had, feedsacks or even recycled clothes. Putting aside that Quilts of Valor are certainly for a worthy cause, charity quilts may meet with a fate that is not what we'd hope. Use what you can afford and looks good at the time. Broadcloth is cheaper and holds up well but some quilters would not put that into their quilts. Sadly, some charity quilts are only appreciated by the family pet or end up in the trash. Some people do not realize the time and money put into them. Some may end up at nursing homes and endure harsh laundry methods. The real value of a quilt is the love that goes into it. Others can be purchased a lot cheaper at big box stores.

Robert Kaufman has consistently said that they do not make different grades of their cotton kona fabrics

Whittles.com has some great fabrics for QOV at reasonable prices. They sell lots o name brands. Thousands Of Bolts.com is another good source.

In the manufacturing of fabrics there are different runs to produce the final fabric. These first runs are not the same quality as the final run. These are the fabrics sold cheaper at the some stores. The best quality usually are sold at the quilt stores and more expensive.

Last year, I bought an "I spy" type print of dollar bills that was labeled with a name brand at Hobby Lobby. I ran short, so went to a different Hobby Lobby and bought some more, as it was closer. When I got home with it, it wasn't the same. It was coarser fabric and not printed as well. It was not labeled with the name brand, though.

A couple of weeks later, I was a JoAnn's and they had both versions - the name brand and not name brand.
bkay

No, No, and No. This has been a discussion for years. A company may make different fabrics BUT they will be under different names. Robert Kaufman is not going to put different 'qualities' of fabric in different location and create problems for his brand. If Kona decides to make a special thinner fabric to sell at some location, it will not be called Kona (maybe kona light or kona thin, but not Kona). If there is a thinner, lighter, less durable fabric within the line, it will be the same for that fabric anywhere it is sold - that particular fabric, not the whole line.

I have always felt that some of the fabrics at JoAnn's were ok, some weren't. I always feel them. I do prefer quilt shop fabric for most projects. There is fabric called Kona at JoAnns it sure doesn't feel like the really thing to me. My friend who has a small longer business opened her own Checkers Distributors account. You need a vendors license and have a minimum per year amount you spend. They have a good sale on batting every December, free shipping. When you buy fabric you of course have to buy a full bolt. Not sure if this is something you could do or not. My guild get their QOV supplies this way.

I always appreciate links to good places to shop. Unfortunately, I tried both of these links and they were not links to fabric stores. Actually, they didn't go anywhere. Maybe you have some other links to share? I'm always looking for places online to shop.

These are good sources. I am also in a QOV group and Fabrics4less is another good source at reasonable prices. You can buy whole bolts for as little as $2.88/yard. The fabric feel varies, but we wash all of our quilts before we present them and they come out quite nicely. This is where our group leader gets much of what we use.

www.thousandsofbolts.com is the correct URL www.marshalldrygoods.com is another good one.

I don't buy fabric at joann's cause most times i find it too thin, i also hope to keep our quiltshops which carry top of the line fabric in business. Just my take on stuff

It's <cite class="_Rm">https://www.whittlesfabrics.com/.</cite>

I have purchased from 5bucks a yard and the fabric is wonderful. even the batiks

I've never been disappointed with either of these:
https://www.whittlesfabrics.com/
https://quiltfabriccloseouts.com/

Usually the first run is to check the printed pattern and then the colors are added and checked in subsequent runs. I saw some second runs at JoAnn's about 10 years ago. I haven't seen them recently. Usually the color is not as clearly defined. I found some FQs at Tuesday Morning that were very thin but good colors. I made a doll quilt with it. It shrunk quite a bit, but it turned out fine for its purpose.

I don't know about other manufacturers, but I've written to RK (as have other members here) and they state that they apply the same rigorous selection process to all their fabrics, regardless of destination. They do not have different standards for quality for big box stores vs. LQS'es.

I personally often shop at LQS'es because they have a much wider selection of RK fabrics, but I've bought at both places... used RK fabrics from JAF, online and my LQS together in the same quilt and cannot tell the difference. One thing that I have found a bit problematic at JAF is that often the bolts are very sloppily wound, so I have to spend extra time & money squaring the fabric up before I begin. Sometimes if I point this out, the lady at the JAF cutting counter will cut me a bit extra at no charge (sometimes not).

There are occasions when there are issues with the fabric regardless of which vendor received it. I have a JAF Superstore and 4 LQS'es nearby. At one of the LQS'es (with the widest selection of Kona solids), I once found a fabric that was of unacceptable quality on the shelf. They immediately removed it from their inventory & received a replacement from RK. I found a couple prints at JAF over the years by RK that has issues. They just put them back on the shelf. I suspect, but don't actually know, that may be why it seems to some that there are different "runs" of fabric for JAF. Perhaps it's just that the LQS'es are more conscientious about inspecting & caring for their stock.

If you can get a good deal on Kona at JAF, go for it! Even if you have to lose a bit more fabric squaring it up, it's usually still a lot cheaper than buying properly wound fabric at the LQS. With solids, do buy as much of each color as you would need (maybe plus a little bit for oopsies) because different dye lots can cause slight variations in the color.

I've stopped buying fabric at JoAnn's because I just had too much trouble with their fabric. It is so disheartening to slave away on a quilt and then end up with fabric that makes it look like a rag after one wash. They are great for notions and thread and patterns. My store has wonderful people too! Their fabric product is not worth the time to park!

I've seen the same PRINT on different qualities of fabric, but I don't believe it was from the same manufacturer.

I bought a bunch of the Tim Holtz fabrics from Fabric.com, but ran short and found some more at Joann's. When I got the Joann's fabric home I could tell it was different. The print looked just as clear and the coloring was nearly the same, but the Joann's fabric was thicker and about 2 inches narrower. I actually liked the hand of the Joann's fabric better, but once it was all mixed into the quilt together I couldn't tell the two apart anymore.

I wash my fabrics before cutting them - so if one does end up " looking like a rag" affer it has been washed - then i do not use it.

Another reason to pre-wash fabric.