I have a couple but find that even though they look like good quality, after a bit of use, tend to literally come apart at the seams. The seam allowance is sparse at best. Use them now to keep in car for emergencies.

I have been using a double wedding ring quilt from Pamida that we bought at least 12 years ago. It gets washed quite often and still looks like the real thing. Guess I was lucky!!

I bought one from QVC a few years ago. It did hold up well but I know it was made with cheap labor and the fabric costs a fraction what we pay here. The workmanship was OK and it has stood up to washing well. It isn't the same as a quilt with fabrics specially chosen, made by hand and sewn with love.

The quality is not nearly as good as a real hand made one, but the price is so much cheaper! I think they are great for spare bed rooms or picnics :) or for children/teens that get tired of their bedding quickly

I bought a mass produced quilt about 15 years ago. It is still good and gets daily use.(my DD uses it all winter) You can tell the difference although not immediately as at first glance it looks just like the ones I make. It isn't the same though as look more closely and the pattern is printed on and the outline sewn around to make it look quilted. Although usable I should say that it has faded considerably so now looks kind of dull as well.

Maybe1day

I don't think you were lucky. I just think that, just like with every other consumer product, there are good and bad quality commerically made quilts available. I'm glad you have a good one!

I purhased a wonderfully well-made whole-cloth quilt at a store in New Mexico that sells only high-quality imported quilts. I've washed and dried it a number of times and it's good as new. It cost $160 for a super-sized king, and is obviously machine quilted. It was made in India. They must have a big sophisticated machine-made quilt industry, much more sophisticated and high-quality than before.

My feeling about the labor practices involved in the making of these quilts is that for many people in third-world countries, doing this sort of job is an actual job, and probably provides income that supports more than the worker him/herself. It's one of those problems that have two sides--employment versus none, and concern for working conditions in another country versus having no way to impact it at all. I don't have any answer to these questions.

I, too, have noticed some really pretty & cheap store quilts. I was really surprised at some very pretty quilts at Cracker Barrell...of all places. And the price was really good. I'm pretty sure that they're made in China and maybe they are not quality, but they sure look good.

this is like anything else that crafts people make. wood turners make beautiful hand turned bowls that are unique and expensive and they should be. but you can still buy wood ones that are nice that are cheap. it depends what you plan to do with it, what you want to spend.

same with knitters, weavers, men who tie flies, leather workers, furniture makers, etc. it depends on whether hand made with love means something ALL THE TIME. for dragging around and cat sitting , not for me.

don't use my quilt, that cost several hundred dollars to make and who knows how many hours, to change your baby's poopy diaper on, please. use the pretty, mass produced copy.

First time in the washer and its a rag.

I like real paintings and watercolors. I don't have any reproduction pictures on my walls. I think it is the same idea. We are the "artists" with fabrics -- I imagine that painters cringe when they see a houseful of pictures. And the owners have every right to love what they have. We all have what we can afford.
Mim

the very sad sad thing is they are hand sewn. People in China especially, 3rd world countries are hand sewing, doing anything that we used to pay an honest days wage for, or made by hand as a craft item.
There was this TV doc on a few yrs ago and it was shown where things were coming from. They showed this middle aged woman hand sewing shoes! for LLBean. the pcs were brought to her hut and she had to provide her own needle (25C ec) she go paid 15C (CENTS) to hand sew a docker style LEATHER shoe. She could sew up 7 pair a day - her and all the people in the village who lived in huts, no water, electric, it was sickening to see.
Another girl worked in a sweat shop in a city and when she was told what people pd for her jeans/ sweatpants she just laughed cus she couldnt get her head around the number. She got pd 20C an hr to work at a machine 14 hrs a day. They even brought her to the states, took her to a walmart and pulled her work off the rack, she didnt get it at first, the stuff was selling for 16$ a pair of pants - she broke down and sobbed. when they told a shopper who the girl was and how little she made so those pants could sell at 16$, the customer said she was sorry, but she had to think of her own, that "those people" should go on strike if they want more money.
I do most of (new undies, swim suits! -) my shopping at yardsales/goodwill now. Yes, the stuff came from overseas, but when it gets to good will the next stop is a toss between going back thru to another 3rd world country or to the rag boiler. stuff no one wants goes to the dumps.
its not the money, its the point. We have no jobs here and people are being turned into slaves overseas. These are manufacturing jobs, even nice office jobs are farmed out. I was hired to do 3rd party medical billing last job I had. Started at min wage: 7.50$ /hr, had to drive 45min each way for this, couldnt buy medical ins, not enough pay for that. The job was farmed to a call center in India. They make (now) 2.10$, no benefits, no breaks, no rules or laws for the worker. sharet

These people are making a living also, Even tho their wages are low so is their cost of living. I am ready to make quits from my stash for $20.00 because for the last two years I have been unemployed and not able to find a job. Unemployment only lasts so long and there is no medical for me either. I am not sure what I am going to do now We just had our car totaled so I am without a car and live in the country. I do not agree with slave labor either, but that is what I would be doing.

I have seen the store bought quilts, I would never buy one. I just look and walk on. To each their own.

I bought a store bought quilt for a huge empty wall in my home for $50. After about 10 years hanging there (probably filled with dust and pollen by that time--embarrased to admit this), I washed it and it bled all over itself. But it looked great for a long time. It has large stitches...obvioulsy not great work. I must admit that it had held up to lots of lounging now that it has blurry colors. Bought several quilts from the shopping channel and they look good, stitching is good, but quilting is not so hot. I know that they are not anywhere near the quality that I am making and that is all that counts.

They are poorly made, I did buy one for the dogs to use on the couch. {They don't think I know they get up there when we are gone. lol!} A quilt appraiser will never let one pass as home made. They also have commercial labels.

The heartbreaking truth is that they are usually hand made. What kind of labor cost do you think may be involved? And could you even come close to buying fabric for what they must be paying?

They are good for the pets or for making crafts with.My daughter uses one i got at a garage sale for a table cloth and loves it.But they arent as good as homemade that is for sure.As long as you know what you are getting.

I love your avatar IB -- is it all flowers?? a pattern name, please -- Mim

They don't stand up to the wear and tear of normal usage. And, if you look at them closesly, you can definitely tell the difference between them and the handmade ones.

It wasn't that long ago that sweat shops were operating in the United States.

Or the child labor laws enacted.

I think they are comparable to furniture that's available. There's mass produced versus that quality made. We havve some Amish made and some that my husband made

If a person doesn't know qaulity, they're 'good enough' but to someone who does, they're not really worth any amount

Several years ago I was asked to repair a purchased quilt I am not sure where it was sold originally but almost every seam had pulled out. This one was very poorly stitched and one small piece of fabric had worn out in several places I would much rather make a whole quilt than attempt this sort of job again. She said she had only washed the quilt one time and it came apart like this the colors were still good but the construction was not. I too have seen these quilts offered at very low prices much cheaper than we can make them ourselves but since than have not been tempted to buy one I want mine to last.

I agree. These types of quilts set people up with a false sense of how much time and money it takes to make a quilt. They don't understand what goes into a quilt. When I make a quilt there are countless hours thinking about the person I'm making it for. There is alot of love put into the gift.

Hang in there Up North. Michigan will recover from this...the state is too beautiful and full of wonderful people for everyone to give up on us. There are others in the same boat..(DH and me)---unemployment gone and cobra insurance is $700+/month...but I am confident that we will find jobs...
I am just concerned about the families with children that do not have food in their refrigerators... Things WILL get better.. Somehow we will replenish our savings!! I am confident!

I've never had a store-bought one hold together more than a couple years, where my quilts still aren't falling apart

I have couple that I bought years ago for our "weekend" house that we now live in full time. The quilting is starting to go and they are hand pieced and that is coming out too. We use them as ground covers now, so I plan to put them on the quilt frame and practice FMQ on them.

You get what you pay for.

When I see that cwap on QVC for a mere hundy, I get a little upset, and here's why:
I bought a bunch of fabric to make summer dresses, cuz I don't like wearing shorts. When I told my friend I got enough fabric to make 5 dresses for about $30 total, she wanted me to make her some. When I told her she couldn't afford me, she wondered why. When I told her how many hours per dress x $10 per hour, she was shocked. Shocked I tell you!
Did she think my time was free? Just try to get a seamstress for $10 an hour.
People think handmade = less cost.
Yeah, with a good sale and some coupons, it's less cost to the sewer - Not to YOU. Duh!
[Before ya'll think I'm a meanie, the second reason I tried to discourage her was her size and the fact that I'd need to buy another pattern plus custom fit her]


So when QVC, or anyone else has that junk, I think it perpetuates the myth that made at home = cheaper.
So far I have not made a quilt for myself. I'm workin on that. I obviously don't mind giving them away, though. Sell em? I think no one can afford me.

that is only true of some, not all.

as i said earlier, i have one that was a cat-hair catcher for eight years and got washed weekly, and we still use it for this and that. it's still hanging in there. it's now about fourteen years old. handmade baby quilts don't always last that long. they certainly don't get washed weekly for eight years. if they do, they look just like the imported one i have.

i also have one that's made in upstate new york. made, not distributed. there's a place for those quilts, just like there's a place for costume jewelry. not everyone can have gold.

as for what they look like, they are what they are. buy them or don't buy them.

but they lasted for years, right? so they served their purpose.

a couple of years? how many years do you want for that few dollars? ten? twenty? how much do your quilts cost?

She probably assumed that since you told her it was $30 for you, it would be $30 for her, not realizing that you would charge her for your time and the altered pattern.

I don't expect much from store-bought, they are more for a quick decoration on a spare bed ~ or a kids favorite character at that point in time. The all-pink-room we did for my daughter when she was 7 (at her request) was an expensive set from JCPenney ~ the curtains have survived, but that "comforter" and dustruffle fell apart inside of 6 months. I have the surviving pieces in a box, daughter is learning to quilt, so that fabric will be upcycled into something new for her room when she feels confident enough to sew it.

I was just making a point ~ my quilts are quality, lots of time and effort put into them ~ and I don't sell them, I would never recoup my costs. So I make them with love and give them away. Works for me.

The first "store bought" quilts that came out were from China and yes, they were constructed by prisoners (slave labor)and the patterns were provided by the Smithsonian, I understand. Anyway, yes, they are of poor quality, but people buy them - I have even seen them at craft shows, but of course the prices have been upped--but the little tag that reads "made in China"is still attached. Those were "hand quilted"-primitive. Now, I have seen some lovely newer versions-done with the big floral prints and machine quilted, quite good, I must add, and I see the tag "made in India".....and of course those are priced cheaper than if "we" were to make one for someone on commission......I'm sure the machine quilting is done with a computerized machine, would love to know the mfgr... though.....

I had no intentions of charging her for my time and altering the pattern. I just didn't want to do it, because the patterns were on sale when I got mine. So was the fabric.
I've offered to teach her to sew, but she doesn't want to learn, and won't drive either, so I have to go to her house 30 miles away . . . to do do anything with or for her. I just don't have time for that. Sometimes I only have 15 or 30 minutes to sew. That's how I get stuff done. 30 minutes here, or an hour there. As of right now, I've only finished 2 of those dresses. If I promised to make hers, she'd still be waiting.

I think it was just the idea, not the cost. smile

Really? Well then I'm confused about why you'd charge her "how many hours per dress x $10 per hour".

that's what i meant. yours will last because the construction quality is good and the raw materials are good quality and costly. MOST of the others are poor quality and cheap. they're made by people who don't care what they're doing. you can't expect them to last so to complain when they fall apart is foolish. if you want something for real use, you're better off buying a machine-made quilt that has no pretensions or spending more on a better made fake. there are some that last a long time.

To discourage her. You'd have to know her. Let's just say I know how her mind works.

Okay THAT makes sense to me, lol. I've had experience with people like that!