My question is about how to quilt on a shoe-string budget.

Does anyone have any ideas? What about recycling

material from used clothing?

I like to check my local goodwill and other second hand stores as well as garage sales and auctions. I also subscribe to joann fabrics online and mail coupons. They do run great sales. Also look for after holiday sales on holiday themed fabrics. My SIL also keeps her eyes open for me. I tell her anything cotton will work for me. Hope this helps!

Least expensive ways to obtain fabric:
Walmart (tends to have the lowest prices in my experience and some of the same fabrics as more expensive stores)
Estate/Garage Sales
Consignment shops
Using old clothes (everything from t-shirts to flannel or workshirts to blue jeans and more!)
Doing simpler patterns that require no fancy rulers, patterns or tools
Using a zigzag stitch to piece extra pieces of batting together so there is no waste.
Holding onto scraps

Right now, I am putting aside my husband's ripped (in the elbows!) workshirts and will make a quilt from them.

Hope this helps

Clothing is fine to use for quilting. Some prefer to just use cotton clothing. Many use sheets, dust ruffles , where ever they can find useable fabric. One note just make sure they all play well together in the washer... in other words all have the same washing instructions.
Sometimes just letting people know you are looking for fabric can help. I have plenty of my own fabric but people often give me fabric they have no use for .
One of my first quilts was old blue jeans .. cut up into squares... it was before rotary cutters ... and local quilt shops.

Ask friends for old shirts. 100% cotton if possible. YOu can use an old sheet for backing, and a flannel sheet or thin used blanket for batting. If you don't have a machine, you can hand piece & hand quilt or just tie. This site has a lot of free quilt patterns made from scraps:

http://www.quiltville.com/

Sound like a good idea to me. I do minor alterations for people to buy fabric. Also, my dad and cousin brought me fabric because I crochet afghans for them. The yarn was given to me by a supervisor who passed away two days before Thanksgiving. Check to see if you have a freecycle.com or a craigslist in your area. A member from this board sent me some of her scraps. Good Luck.

I find that doing SID for the quilting saves me a lot of money. I did invest in a walking foot, so it is a lot easier now. Just another suggestion.

I am not on a shoestring budget but that does not keep me from being frugal. Goodwill and Salvation Army stores are great places to find fabric, old blankets to use for batting (picked up a wool army blanket for $5!) and I have a complete stash of 100% cotton shirts destined to become a quilt, will more than likely get more than one out of them.

I find fabric deals on line as well and budget accordingly for my quilting expenses. I buy a lot now so when I am on a fixed income I will have a stash of all I need, except thread which I don't like to bulk up on ahead of time too much.

I barter with a friend. I babysit her dogs when she needs me to. In return, she long-arm quilts for me. Also, let everyone you know that you would like fabric. You would be amazed at how many people are cleaning out someone's house and finds fabric.

I do a lot of work by hand so it takes me longer to finish a quilt. Since I only work on one at a time, and I'm only able to finish a handful per year, it comes out to just a few hundred dollars a year. I'm buying middle-of-the-road fabric (Joann's and Hobby Lobby, mostly), good batting, and good thread, and I try to buy all of those on sale or with a coupon.

I have fabric from several sources; goodwill, old clothes, local quilt shop(sale) friends; garage and estate sales.
Just make sure everything has the same content for washing.
Also Joanns has coupons and alot of local quilt shops will honor those coupons as well. And don't be afraid to ask local shops when they are having a sale. But usually you can't use a coupon with a sale item.
I save all scraps and use them for potholders as little gifts. And now love the idea of mug rugs !

Enjoy the hunt.

Craft Warehouse carries high-quality quilting fabric, and occasionally their clearance section will go down to $3 a yard. I believe Craft Warehouse is a regional chain in the Pacific NW.

I piece together smaller pieces of batting to use in wall hangings, place mats, and smaller quilts. I always check thrift stores where ever I go. I buy used sheets that are in good condition and use them as backing on a lot of the quilts I make for family. For gift quilts I will buy a new sheet from Walmart for backing. It is less expensive than yardage. Use coupons as much as I can. Keep and use scraps as much as I can, especially for applique.

Yes, thrift stores and garage sales.

What is SID?

It is stitch in the ditch. Or stitch in the seams of your quilt.

SID= Stitch in Ditch

Recycling is what's it's all about..I've lost the idea of how quilting was in the past..they saved every scrap they could get their hands on and tied them..I actually sell a couple and use the money to buy more..lots of ways to stay on budget..this board will help you !!

I am an applique lover, the fusible raw edge kind, and you would laugh at me, if you saw my bag of heat n bond that is in all sorts of pieces. That stuff is so expensive, I never ever waste it. The very small pieces can be use to do letters or little things on quilts. I also keep all of my batting scraps and do what the other ladies do with it.
You didn't tell us where you live, but if you would pay the postage, I would send you some nice big pieces from my stash.
Karen

Old clothes make great quilts!

Cheap sheets. One of my projects right now, I bought $3 twin sheets on sale. I got 6 coordinating colors for $18. That is plenty of fabric for a quilt or two. It won't be an heirloom, but it is still plenty of fun for me.

I use my husband's shirts and pants for many of my projects. Cotton shirting is wonderful -- I've even bought some off the bolt to add to the shirt stash! Tried to attach a photo but for some reason I can't do it today :-(

Keep an eye on Craigslist and Freecycle. I've given away fabric on Freecycle before, but gotten loads from Craigslist. I think my best haul was a woman doing a serious destash of high-quality yardage for $1 a yard (some were $2) - I brought home over 100 yards. I've also gotten bags of fabric for a song, once with an entire bag full of books and patterns thrown in for free!

I just check our local Freecycle and found 4 boxes and large bag of fabric free and must take all. Freecycle and Craigslist has been a good place for me to find free and cheap fabric along with thrift stores.
doglover

I posted on craigslist once that I was looking for some fabric for quilting. I had a very sweet lady just give me a box full :) I offered to pay her and told her that I wasn't expecting anything for free. But she wouldn't accept anything. Very sweet. So instead of looking for the deals on craigslist maybe post your ad saying that you are looking.

I also think that if you buy for just one project at a time it's easy manageable. Most people don't finish a quilt in a week so break up the purchases. Buy just the fabric for the top, you could even wait on border fabric, then batting and backing, finally binding.

Sign up for fabric shops online coupons ... saves a bundle. I went to Joann's yesterday and everything I bought was ON SALE!

I know things can get tough with money crunches in today's world, but, I feel that if I'm putting my time and hard work into a quilt, I want to make sure that it will last. You can find fabric at WalMart that is the same as in some quilt stores, but beware; it is not the same quality. I was told of a quilt made from WalMart fabric that didn't last a year. Also, just because fabric is listed as quilting fabric (ie Hancock and JoAnn's) doesn't mean it's the same quality as found in quilt shops. Quilt Shops have sales also, get on their mailing lists or newsletter list, and watch for those bargains.

I know things can get tough with money crunches in today's world, but, I feel that if I'm putting my time and hard work into a quilt, I want to make sure that it will last. You can find fabric at WalMart that is the same as in some quilt stores, but beware; it is not the same quality. I was told of a quilt made from WalMart fabric that didn't last a year. Also, just because fabric is listed as quilting fabric (ie Hancock and JoAnn's) doesn't mean it's the same quality as found in quilt shops. Quilt Shops have sales also, get on their mailing lists or newsletter list, and watch for those bargains.

I told my quilting friends that I am a "scrap" quilter and to save me their scraps. I get a lot of beautiful scraps from them in color coordinations. I seldom have to buy fabric.

I got a garbage bag of fabric off of my local Freecycle. I also check Craigslist and garage sales. Hubby always asks at garage sales if they have any sewing stuff - amazed at what they bring out when asked! When I'm in the neigborhood, I stop in at a local thrift shop - haven't scored any fabric there, but have gotten batting still in the bag for $1 or $2 at the most.

I've found batting, fabric (yds and bags of scraps), even some pre-quilted at our local thrift shops. You just have to look. Garage sales are good to but I have better luck at thrift shops. I buy flat sheets for backing. I also cut up worn clothes and save the good parts. Good luck!

Just put the word out that you are looking for fabric, many will be happy to donate. I dont have much luck finding it at thrift stores around here, but I am amazed at what people on the board manage to find.

The first thing I do at any fabric store is head to their clearance section. Joannes has a '40-50% off cpn in their flyers. One thing I've discovered at thrift stores is to look at their shower and window curtains. The prices are way better than their fabric prices and many are from JCPenney etc, big pieces and in excellent shape to cut or use for backs.

My quilt groups will provide all the material for their charity quilts. All I have to buy is thread and needles. I can even go choose the fabric from our shelves to make a really special quilt.

I keep quilting, I don't have to store more quilts, and those in need get something made with love.

ali

I only buy on sale or with a coupon and am lucky enough to have a discount store a couple of miles away. His most expensive fabric is the 108" at $5.74. What a buy. I also buy thrift store items, especially designer clothing such as Ralph Lauren in 100% cotton. It is lovely fabric. I make mostly applique and scrap quilts so I don't have to buy large quantities and I usually piece the backs.

I only buy on sale or with a coupon and am lucky enough to have a discount store a couple of miles away. His most expensive fabric is the 108" at $5.74. What a buy. I also buy thrift store items, especially designer clothing such as Ralph Lauren in 100% cotton. It is lovely fabric. I make mostly applique and scrap quilts so I don't have to buy large quantities and I usually piece the backs.

You could use old fabric, sheets for backings, you could go to a thrift store or ask around to see if someone has any they do not want, I get alot of mine that way, my lqs will sometimes sell me their clearance fabric for 2.00 a yard too. And use coupons when you can.

dye and print your own fabric.

i do and it costs me about $2 to $2.50 a yard and we all know hand dyed fabric sells for much more then mass produced.

I found great fabric in a bedskirt at the thrift store.

Most mill supply warehouse stores sell big boxes of cotton rags. These are scrap clothing and other cotton items torn into rags. You can get colored or lint free, which is really just any white cotton. The boxes are so tightly packed it's hard to pull out the fabrics. They are always good size pieces. Check the yellow pages for a mill supply store.