Reasonable price ?
 

What do you consider to be a "reasonable" price for quilting cotton fabric nowadays (May 2018)?
Per yard? per fat quarter? per meter?

Assumptions: width 40-45 inches, 100% cotton

Do countries that sell fabric by the meter sell it by tenths (or decimals -instead of eighths like the USA)? Do they also sell it by the fourth yard- as in a fat quarter of a meter?

I have noticed that WalMart has an inch to decimal conversion chart on the cutting table.

No, on retirement I cannot afford fabric at $12 to $15 per yard. I understand the 'why' of it, but we have enough problems with budget without adding that one. I do get emails from several fabric places so I can be informed when they have excellent sales at $3. to $6 per yard. And since a local quilt fabric store went out of business, I made like 5 trips and stocked up my stash that way at 75%off the fabric. Sew now time to complete and make new quilts!

I buy most of my fabric online and never pay more than 8-9.00 for a yard. I buy brands I like ,for example Moda is one of my favorites and I know what I'm getting that way.

I love Quilter's Dream fabric from Marshall's Dry Goods. I buy most all my fabric there. I do buy fabric from LQS but only on sale. Even at sale prices the store is making a profit so I am supporting the shop. I won't pay over $9 a yard for quilting fabric. That is my cut off price. Nope don't need it that bad.

I would pay up to $10 a yard for fabric I loved. I usually get it cheaper than that.

I am in Canada and watch for sales, but good quality batiks can cost $23.00/m.

A friend just opened an online fabric shop, her prices are in the $15.00/m range. http://https://trollbrothersquiltdesigns.com/collections

Depending on the shop I can buy a minimum 10 or 20 cm. FQ if in a bundle like Moda, are US sized, but some Canadian shops cut Canadian sized FQ.

Shop cut FQ range in price from $3.00 to $5.00, perhaps more. One shop had a buy 4 get the 5th free once a month.

Canadian stores sell by the metre, but can cut by fractions of a yard. Most have two measuring strips on the table to accommodate customer needs.

Similarly, when I worked in delis, I knew what a quarter pound of sliced meat was in metric, our scale was only metric, so I would cut the the metric amount (114 g).

I always look for the clearance bins and can get some good bargains if I like the fabrics. My LQS has a sale table that is $5.99 a yard and that is where I head when I first go in the shop. I don't mind paying that price.

I try to gage the price I am willing to pay based on what I am making. :) I look for a lot of sale prices and clearance. I know I don't want to get crappy material cause I don't want to put work into something that will not hold up. If I am getting fabric for about $9 it doesn't hurt me if I am making something special (for family or friends) my donation quilts I hit up yardsales and rummage sales for that fabric. That being said I have paid $12 a yard and it hurt :( but the fabric fit my plan and I was shopping in a local quilt shop and I like supporting them when I can

10 to 12 is the average I see and what I expect to pay for yardage. Yes sales are nice but it is what it is if we want shops in the future we have to be willing to pay what keeps them in business. Most have closed by me so now it's hard to shop for fabric because I like knowing what fabric looks and feels like before I buy and online is never what it looks like, colors are off alot making matching hard. I still enjoy online shopping for most notions and thinge but I wish more fabric shops stayed in business

Well, there's reasonable and then there's what I am willing to pay most of the time.

Reasonable at quilt shops near me seems to be 9.99-12.99/yd. Clearance prices are 50% off.

If I have a particular quilt in mind for a special someone or occasion, my upper limit is $11 for a focus fabric, and then I tend to pick out coordinating fabrics that are less than $8 if I can. For donation quilts or pillowcases, I don't like to pay more than $5/yd.

In my area in Ontario, Canada, the local stores are asking an average of $15.99-17.99 a metre for quilting cottons and 23.99 to 26.99 for Batiks. They sometimes have 40% off sales.

We can order by the .10, so 2.4 metres, as an example.

Do I think it's reasonable? No. Which is why I usually shop for fabric in the US and mostly buy notions and such at my LQS.

Watson

Anything $11 or under to me is a bargain. There are two places near me that are approaching $12 or more for batiks. I just love Missouri Star. Some of theirs are only $10.45 a yard.

This type of discussion most usually ends up with people upset at each other. We unwittingly either get into defensive or sympathy mode. Let's sew something or organize patterns instead! What is reasonable for me depends on many factors. And if the price is somewhat high for one extra-special, hard to find fabric, that I have been seeking for many months, I will buy it, and it doesn't mean that I purchase other fabrics at that price.
I have also been known to buy way more fabric than I needed at rock bottom prices. If the fabric is piled high to the ceiling in my sewing room because of clearance prices, and the house floods or catches fire, or I get gravely ill, I won't feel the least bit happy about how much money I "saved" on that fabric.

To me, what is reasonable is what I am willing to pay, for a specific fabric, at a specific time. Some times I really want something and am willing to pay. Other times no. Everyone has different circumstances, and decides what is comfortable for them. I love a bargain, so I shop clearance a lot. We also have a fabric outlet store that I frequent. They have a clearance area. I buy a ton of fq's. I do a lot of applique and stock up when they are on sale. I figure buy what you want, where you want, when you want, and spend what you can...no judgment here!

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I agree with you.

I mostly buy clearance and closeouts, or from the really low priced websites like Thousands of Bolts. I pay $4-$6 per yard. To me, that's reasonable. If I need something specific I might pay more from a local shop.

I think Sewbiz and I have to be related, somehow! I like 1000's of bolts as well. Locally I have a warehouse type place I can get good brands for $4/yard. I get fabric from a couple of EBay sellers and a FB destash group where I try to pay no more than $6/yd. I've lucked out lately at a couple of Goodwills where I found Moda, Northcott, Robert Kauffman, etc yardage for $1.87/yd. Some quilter must have been destashing. Everybody's taste/budget, etc is different. I also buy Goodwill sheets-lots of yardage for cheap. Some of my favorite prints are the vintage ones.

Not even a thought for me. I am using a lot of my fabric stash up, I still have a long way to go to use it up. So other than selected remnants, I don't buy fabrics.

I agree. I have leaned very heavily into my local quilt shops for my learning and very much want to see them stay in business. That being said, I also have to admit I’m a MSQC junkie.

Ideally, I'd never pay more than $8 a yard, but we don't live in ideal world. I have paid $12- $13 a yard, but only for smaller amounts of specific fabric. I think I have found a new site to purchase from. Quilting Twins. Smooth, silky fabric for $3.99 a yard. 108" wide backing for $6.95. Not as smooth as the other yardage, but nice enough. Some of the fabrics are older lines, but that doesn't bother me if I like it.

Mandy, I can understand your perspective, but I view this sort of thread more along the lines of what does fabric cost where you are? OP asked about prices and cutting in Canada and metric as well.

We all have different budgets and differing fabric needs for different projects. If I was making charity quilts, very large quilts, I would have to be more mindful of costs. For small projects such as wall hangings or placemats I may splurge on a feature fabric, as the yardage is less.

Personally I ‘treat’ myself to fabric when travelling, in a way that I do not when I am at home.

I also find it interesting what the LQS prices are in different areas.

I am interested too that in some areas people find quilting fabric in thrift shops, I have only once found it in a thrift shop, but it was 150km from where I live, so not close enough to haunt regularly.

I just took a look there and ended up adding the site to my favorites. :thumbup:

https://www.quiltedtwins.com/

they have some interesting free patterns for scrap busting, too.

Those of you who live in Canada, are you quoting prices in Canadian dollars? That would bring them somewhat more in line with prices here.

I like Quiltingtwins. They bundle fabrics together and everything I have purchased has been great!
I am fairly cheap but end up buying every price range! I generally do buy from quilt shows and when out of town. I can’t change my mind and go back for it later so I get it!

My only problem with Quilting Twins is buying a full yard. I don't always need that. The bundles are cool. 17 coordinating half yards for $34 is the one I'm still drooling over. It hasn't made it to my cart yet. $5 shipping for a big package wasn't bad, either. Becky - the sewing twin, not the selling one, has hundreds of great scrap patterns. I like their Facebook site just to see her work. Interesting blog about her life in Poland, too.

Yes, in Canadian dollars. Depending on the province sales taxes ranging from 5% to 15% are added to the price at check out.

I am currently in Paris and will be visiting a quilt shop on Tuesday, I believe they cut 20cm minimum tax will be included. I will post what I find. Also precuts and quilting rulers are in inches, not cm. For fashion sewing we have metrics and imperial tape measures and patterns have both as well as French instructions.

Reasonable to me is that the store selling make a profit they can stay in business with. With internet there's many ways to buy fabric. There's also sales. Doesn't mean I'll buy at that price.

Get's down to supply and demand.

I wonder if there is a saturation point where the cost just gets too high and people back off from buying new fabric and become more resourceful, such as repurposing fabric, etc. I know I am doing that already.

Quilting Twins seems to be a good online shop. Most of the fabric and backings I see there are the same as Marshall's Dry Goods.

If you are ever visiting the Orlando area, go to a fabric store called Sewing Studio in Maitland. They have the most fantastic sale, 50% off of their fabrics area to choose from. Sometimes they will have multiple fabrics from the same line . And if you get there on a super good day they have just thined out their batiks. I have since moved to San Antonio, but every time I go back to visit that’s one of the first place and last places I go.

I just went to the Marshall Dry Goods site. I didn't realize they carry so many name brand fabrics. It's good to know.

I feel like we are always discussing this topic. https://www.google.com/search?q=fabr...64956&dpr=1.33

This topic does come up quite frequently. I make quilts, but not nearly as many as most of you. I love making them and picking the fabric. At the same time, I am on an extremely tight budget -- most of us are somewhat limited by income. I really don't have an "average" price per yard. I shop quality and price. I have purchased a lot of fabric from Marshall's and have been very happy with the quality and price of their fabrics. A lot of quilts take a few yards of each color. Most of the quilts I make are King or Queen size, and end up being very expensive fabric wise. That being said, I'm not going to say you have to buy from a LQS, nor am I going to insist you shop at Wal-Mart. Each of us has to decide for ourselves. The fabric need not cost a thousand dollars but I wouldn't spend the time to make a quilt at all if it were $2 a yard fabric and looked like $2 a yard cheese cloth. For the red and white log cabin I made (my avatar) -- the top alone cost more than $300 in fabric, plus a lot of $$$$ for thread, etc. and I doubt if any of the fabric was more than $6 a yard, if that. Of course, this quilt was started 3-5 years ago and prices have increased dramatically since then. The price you pay depends entirely on the circumstances, who the quilt is for, and how good a deal you get on the fabric you want.