quilt kits
 

Has anyone ever paid for quilt kits that are often sold online from Keepsake Quilting, or other sites? For the cost of the fabrics, and pattern which is usually more than I can do, yet want to , are the kits a cheaper way to go, with quality fabrics than if you buy per yard of other simliar fabric choices? Has anyone been disappointed with a kit of any kind, or are they all pretty true to what catalogs often describe? Thanks for your help..

I wish I could help but I have never done a quilt kit. I only buy the patterns because I have too much fun picking out my own fabrics, and I am cheap and never feel like I can spend that much (even though I probably spend more after I buy my own fabric haha!) :)

I think so, got lots of fabrics with mine.

I haven't brought any from Keepsakes but other inline stores such as Clothide. I just recently brought the Lone Star wall hanging from Clothide and thought the pricing wasn't bad. And while at the Houston Quilt Festival, I saw the same quilt kit and the price was just about 2 dollars difference. I have found in my pricing wars for some kits to be more expensive than just buying the pattern and choosing your own fabric. But at least you don't have to get dress and drive!!!

I never have the money to even buy the fabric, with or without kits, but probably will recieve some for holidays, so wanted to see what others thought. I dont have any stash of any kind, so its always exciting for me if I do get a yard of something.. thanks..

Jingle, is there any one place where you can say you like to purchase from if it is online? I have looked at several places, and types, so was curious what others might like from whichever company.

many kits are quite a bit more expensive than buying yardage---you are paying for the convienience of having all of the correct amounts of fabrics chosen for you.
if you have problems choosing your fabrics- don't want to buy yardage- or just love a quilt as it is exactly on the package- you will pay for it- but it can solve all of those issues.
if you prefer to choose your own fabrics, want to build a stash- and love a pattern- but not necessarily the color way it is in you will save $$ by buying yardage....i've seen quilt kits that were over $200===bought the pattern- chose fabrics and made it for $50
but then i've bought kits that were exactly what someone wanted- that i could not put together any other way....you will pretty much always pay more for the convienience of a kit being put together .

that was what I was thinking, as I love some of the Jinny Beyer stuff but thinking it might be just as fun to choose my own.. Even walmart has some nicer fabrics here in our town ( only store we have that carries yardage without going to the smaller quilt store).. We live 3 hours from any mall, so I dont have much choice to choose from in buying .. thanks for the info...

I bought a BOM for the Dear Jane quilt. I wouldn't have made it otherwise. It was EXPENSIVE that way, thought. I won't do that again soon. I loved the period type fabrics that came in the kits. If I do another DJ, I will choose my own fabrics.

I used to and still occasionally buy them especially if there are many fabrics involved. Buying yardage is often more expensive and the fabrics are often difficult to assemble (gathering them all). Haven't been disappointed yet - from hangings to bed quilts!

I also found out I could save tons of money buy googling a kit - other vendors may have it way cheaper. There was one BOM that I found I could buy the whole thing at once for 1/2 the price!

Back on the topic of quilt kits - here's a bit of insight from one who makes and sells them...

When we price a kit, we use regular pricing for the amounts we use, i.e. full retail with no discounts. Many, if not most kits have a lot of different fabrics in them, so making a kit requires a large investment in coordinating fabrics that aren't used extensively in the kit. As a buyer of the kit you are getting easy access to small amounts of many different fabrics that may be very difficult to find in one place, if bought separately. You are also only paying for the amounts used in the project, rather than having to buy larger amounts.

Kits can be a good way to buy projects, if purchased with your eyes wide open. So...


Advice when buying kits:

1. Buy from reputable dealers who do the kits all in high-quality fabrics and don't do a lot of substitutions. It isn't uncommon for some stores to use one or two of the name fabrics in their kits, but fill with cheaper non-line fabrics that don't coordinate perfectly. Stay away from those.

2. Buy from dealers who provide generous cuts in their kits. We've noted that a lot of kits, especially manufacturers pre-packaged kits, are cut to the bare minimum amounts needed. If you make a mistake you want a little "wiggle room."

3. Buy from dealers who price their kits fairly. A lot of stores will charge a lot more than normal retail for the fabrics contained in the kit, because there is a lot of labor involved in making the kits, as well as a lot of investment in the myriad of fabrics contained in many kits.

4. Pay close attention, when buying a kit, to what's included in the kit, especially when comparing the same kit across multiple stores. One may look a lot cheaper, but may not, for instance include binding fabric.

5. If you're buying a kit that contains a published pattern or book, is there an option to delete the pattern or book and save the cost of that? This could come in handy if you're making multiple copies of the kit, or already have the book or pattern.

6. Does the store offer extras, like free pre-cut binding strips, additional matching fabric in case you want to expand the quilt, etc?

7. Check to make sure you're not paying for fluff, like fancy packaging that you're just going to throw away. Do you really need for that kit to come in a fancy basket, or a tin container? You are, after all, paying for that container.

8. Check to see if matching backing fabrics are available. Advice is to get these right away if possible, because they may not be available when you finish the top.

I only buy quilts when they are on sale. I deduct 9.00 from price of kit...usually the price of a pattern...and do the math to see how much the fab is per yard to see price per yard. No not a math junkie but this way I KNOW if I'm getting a bargain. Usually order kits from Keepsake or Coltilde.

I occasionally buy kits, especially table runners from my lqs mainly because they are at a low price point. I then use the pattern to make my own kits. Sometimes, I just am feeling blah and the tablerunner kits are less than $20, so I get my retail therapy through them. Also, check the clearance section of the online stores as they usually will have good deals.

If you have no stash, a kit would be the way to go. You will end up with extra fabric leftover to start a stash of scraps. You can check the clearance sections of online sites to find quilt kits on sale. Don't forget the kit usually doesn't include the fabric for the backing, or for the binding. You'll need twice the length of the quilt for a backing piece, unless the quilt is less than 44" wide...

I have ordered several quilt kits off Ebay. Some of them are not the best quality fabric but my budget won't allow the highest quality. They are fairly cheap.

I have ordered a couple of quilt kits, mainly McKenna Ryan BOM because I really like the fabric. I like the idea of not having to search everywhere for the fabric. To me it just depends on what project you want to do, it may be just as easy to pick your own fabric if you have a pattern.

I have never purchased a kit, so can't give much help there, but I have ordered from Keepsake Quilting before and found them to be very good. The fabrics were all exactly as ordered, good quality, and nicely packaged. I would order from them again in a heartbeat!

Hugs from Alabama!

I bought a kit from a place in Vermont. I'm sorry I can't remember the name. However, I thought the fabric was very cheap and didn't feel like quality fabric. It was supposed to be cut by laser, yet I thought some pieces were not correct. The fabric ravelled something terrible. Also, when you get a kit where the pieces are already cut, you can't wash the fabric until the quilt if finished. I like the IDEA of the kit with the pieces already cut, cuz I have problems cutting fabric, but I don't think I will ever buy a kit like that again. I know nothing about the quilts you get where you just get the fabric in whole pieces and you have to cut them yourself. I would hope they would be very liberal with the fabric, cuz we all make mistakes in cutting!

When the fabrics are just what I want, yes the deal is sweet. But finding fabric on sale and buying the pattern will always be cheaper. I go both ways, mostly finding fabric on sale and creating my own color combos.

I am just now putting together a Christmas wallhanging I bought at the Expo this fall. What a disappointment. The pieces that were supposed to be 5/8 of a yard were 1/2; the 1/3 yard pieces were cut 1/4 yard and two pieces of fabric were missing. Yesterday I scouted 5 local quilt stores looking for fabric to match--to no avail. I will never buy a kit at a quilt show without thoroughly checking the contents.

With the internet, that's no longer true. You have the world at your fingertips... and often with free shipping. :)

I have purchased from Keepsake and their kits are wonderful. Ample fabric and great color choices. You do need to measure twice and cut once because you do not have extra yardage for too many miss cuts. Try it for sure with one that you love.

Check out Connecting Threads. Their fabric is not priced as high as LQS and the quality seems to be pretty good. Maybe the kits are a little less expensive. When I see something in a store that I really like I like to buy the kit for it but I agree they are usually more money than buying the pattern and picking out your fabric.

I've never bought a quilt kit. I prefer to choose my own fabric for a quilt.
I think the cost would be higher because you pay for someone to put the kit together.
Buying yardage for a quilt allows you to choose the fabrics, and have leftover fabric for your stash.

I have bought several kits and you kind of have to figure out the math. Sometimes I want exactly the way it is printed in the picture so I got to buy that fabric. When I figure out a yard here a yard there and the kit works out about the same, I just buy it. I have never had a problem with quantity of fabric and quality is just what it would have been with the same fabric. If I just like the pattern and don't care quite as much about the actual fabric, I buy the pattern and do my own thing. Also watch those Connecting Thread and other clearance sales - great deals on kits.

The only thing I want to say is that if you do buy a kit, as soon as you get it, check it and measure each piece you get to make sure it is all there and in the correct yardage. It seems they cut it EXACTLY (unlike quilt stores that usually ad an inch or two to each cut) or even short. I put together a quilt top for someone because she had bought it a long time ago and never had time to get it done. The fabric was short and, because she had bought it so long ago, was discontinued. There were two borders I couldn't do and had to replace some other fabric with something 'close'. Be careful. I'm not saying Keepsake Quilting does that, just be careful.

I've never bought a kit, one, because I refuse to pay the amount of money they cost, and two, I want to pick out my own colors and fabrics, not have them picked out for me.

I bought a table runner kit from Connecting Threads. The fabric is excellent quality, and there was more than enough fabric to make two, with some additions from my stash.

I would only order if the whole kit was pre cut. I like choosing the fabric/colors. also you can get free patterns on line so that's where I get most of mine.

Except for BOM's, I have only bought kits from Connecting Threads. You are only paying for the pattern and the yardage in their kits - about $6/yd - there is no charge for cutting the fabrics.

I ran out of a couple of their prints from the "Riviera" line a couple of years ago and the only way to find them was to buy a couple of crib kits. They were on clearance and a huge value - I think they cost about $3/yd.

You might want to take a look at what they have periodically - when you buy $50 at a time, they don't even charge for shipping. And their thread is lovely and very economical, too - you might find everything you need at one place at a price that you can afford. :)

I've bought several quilt kits and find that I need to be extremely careful in cutting since most kits don't have a lot of extra fabric. Have been pleased with the quality of the material. The only one that was a "boo-boo" is one that a bought in batiks. Later learned that batiks should always be machine pieced and quilted. The quilt top is in a bag at the back of the closet waiting to be quilted or something. I learned a valuable lesson but since I'm a newbie I didn't realized that batiks are very hard to hand piece and hand quilt.

I always buy quilt kits. I buy them from Keepsake, Clothtide, Fons and Porter, many online quilt stores and also real stores. I love quilt kits. I have a hard time picking out all the fabric for a pattern. I can't decide which will be what part on the quilt. I love the kits. I even do 6 block of the month clubs online. I always am very happy with my purchases. My local store has quilt kits that they make up and that's all I buy. Usually they have the quilt on the wall and then the kit for it right below it. I always love the quilts they have hanging so buying kits is wonderful. But I have a huge stash of fabric and also many patterns, but I do the kits. The fabric just sits there.

I have bo't kits from Keepsake Quilting and never been disappointed. Fabrics are quality quilting fabrics. I have also bo't kits from other places merely because I really liked them. And I buy patterns and yarding locally also. Luckily, have never had a problem. Once I had a shortage of fabric for binding, notified the shop, and they immediately sent me the missing piece.

This is just my experience, but I'll share it with you, since I've been burned. Unless the kit specifies the maker of the fabric, and you're familiar with that line and like it, don't bite. Once I ordered a really cute kit and found, in spite of frugal cutting, I was shorted in a couple of the fabrics. I called the company, and they immediately sent out a replacement fabric - more than the pattern had called for. The fabric was not the best quality, but the quilt was so cute and comfy-looking, so that wasn't the issue... it was the shorting of fabric. I'd say you'd be pretty safe to stick to the designers (i.e., Jenny Beyer, Hoffman, Moda, etc) and don't order off-brands or unknown fabrics.

Sometimes they offer a kit OR just the pattern. If you order just the pattern, you can select your own fabric. After all, you're after the pattern, mainly. If it's the fabric you're after, stick with known lines, as that offers some safety.

Keepsake Quilting is a high quality store. I've bought a few kits from them, and always found the fabric to be ample and high quality. They say you don't have to pre-wash it, but I do anyway, in the sink, in warm water and vinegar, and then rinse and let air dry to moist, and then iron. The first time I did it, it was worried it would shrink to the point I wouldn't have enough fabric to finish the quilt, but that turned out to be a baseless concern. You can't go wrong with their quilt kits, especially the ones in clearance, and they have super customer service if you have a problem.

If your concern is about dollars, and who isn't concerned about dollars, I would choose a pattern I liked and knew I could do. Then I would go to the clearance section of fabrics for Connecting Threads. They also have terrific fabrics you can trust to be high quality. In my opinion, it's the best place on the web to get reasonably, and even cheap, fabric that is always high quality. I think they're leftovers from their own kits. Anyway, pick your fabrics from there. If you hit $50, shipping if free. And I'll bet you can make a quilt for $50 of their fabrics, or very close to it. So for the cost of a pattern, or find a free pattern, or use one you have, plus the fabric from Connecting Threads, you'll have a quilt of your choosing! Mind you, in the clearance section of Keepsake Quilting, there are kits that hover around $50. So take your pick. You can't go wrong either way.

Although I have an insane fabric stash I will buy kits from many websites simply because I like the fabrics. I also hate and rarely purchase just a pattern for $9.00. Goes against my grain when there are so many free patterns out there especially on the fabric manufactures websites.

I have purchased from Keepsake Quilting (one of the costliest), Connecting Threads (Truly smart buys), and a website www.fabriccafe.com which has 3 yd. quilt kits for $24.99 and less (register for newsletters so you receive notices of their sales). Hancocks-Paducah has great kits with plenty of fabric. I've purchased some kits that if you cut one piece wrong you don't have enough fabric for the pattern-sigh!

For those with limited budgets I highly recommend Connecting Threads and Fabric Cafe. All of these have good quality fabric.

Good luck and happy stitching, Carol-Victorville, Ca.

I like to pick my own color/fabric combinations so kits would not work for me. If you don't mind that the fabric isn't prewashed then I think going with a kit can be a great time saver.

Martina

I purchased the Posey Patch table runner kit from Connecting Threads and was very pleased with the directions and the quality of the fabrics. Plus, I had quite a bit of leftover scrap material that I can use in another project. I waited until the kit was in their clearance section, so I got it for I think 30% off. I think it was well worth the money.

Keepsake has the best prices, since their fabric is usually several dollars a yard less than at LQS. They pass that saving on in the kits. I agree with Carolyn about not having to get dressed and drive...when you could be sewing!

Kathy

There is a site on line where you can pick your pattern and then your materials.