Selling Fabric
 

My parents moved to an assisted living facility and had to downsize ALL my Mom's sewing fabric & notions.

We are planning a rummage sale and I am thinking about selling the fabric by the pound. Any suggestions how much per pound you would charge? I was thinking about $2/pound or how would you suggest selling it?
I just hate to have to mark each piece. I would like this as simple as possible.

Thanks in Advance

Mary

You might try making several tables (or piles or baskets) with smaller cuts for say $2 each, and larger cuts (perhaps 2yards-4yards at $6-8 each) and then full yardage pieces of 5yards or more for $12-15 and just post signs above. You can always take a quick measure to keep everyone honest!

I would contact any local quilt guilds and give them an opportunity to do a preview sale the day or so before, you might just not have to fool with any of it when they finish!

I think quilting cotton weighs about 6 oz/yard, which would be just over 2.5 yards per pound. $2/pound would be a very good price (for the buyer) for good fabric, so it's probably about right for a rummage sale. I've heard of others selling fabric by the pound and think that's a good way to go.

Fabric by the pound is the way to go. Have been to a couple of sales where that was well received. :) The seller sold out. Have a good scale handy.

There was a "scrubs" store in the area that used to sell their scraps by the pound. They priced it by the size of the scraps and the largest were $2.00 a pound and that was about 6 years ago. They had more people than they could handle. Not sure why they stopped - probably moved the sewing part down to Mexico. But they sure did a booming business when they did it.

My friend in Oregon is selling on Craig's list and been getting $5 a yard for her better fabrics (bundle into 10 yards). You might want to sort the really good fabrics from the so so fabric.

fill a bag for $5

Depends on where your Mom bought her fabric. If she bought it at Joann's or Hancocks or some such, $1.50-$2 a pound should be fine. However, if she bought a lot of fabric from quilt shops, you will want to separate that out and mark it separately. It's a much higher quality of fabric.

I made the mistake of selling my quilting items at an auction my husband was having when we moved. He had a lot of large heavy equipment and guy stuff. I did send post cards to quilt guilds. Needless to say, the auctioneer had no idea about quilting. Would have been much better to have a sale of my own. And much more fun, too. Lesson learned.

You can also consider selling by the plastic grocery sacks. $10 a sack is a normal price. Or you can sell $2/pc under 5 yds and say $8-10/pc over 5 yds. All is still a fair price and less hassle for you.

How did you plan to do the $2/lb? Were you gonna guesstimate or weigh?

I was at an estate sale the other day where they had fabric stuffed into maybe quart sized freezer bags for $10 a bag. It seemed like a fair deal, except that I would have wanted to choose the fabric at that price (the lady in front of me grabbed the bag of batiks, darn!).

I've also been part of sales where people pick and choose and pay by the pound. Yes, a good scale is necessary, but it's an enjoyable way to shop!

Ditto to go with by the pound. I have been to sales where this was done and it is easier for both buyer and seller. You could even have a separate scale for them to try and weigh their own before getting to the sales table. Hey, even Eleanor Burns store did it at Paducah to sell all their scraps.

Also this method results in full bags and less room taken up at the cash our area since 1. No haggling over measurements, no time needed for sorting and pricing, and bonus all scraps can be easily sold.

by the pound. don't work yourself to death for a 1/4 yard of fabric.
If something is for sale it should be priced to go :)

I've been to a number of sales done this way, it also saves quite a bit of restacking the stack.

Personally, I hate doing garage sales. No matter how cheap you mark the fabric, you will get people insisting that 50 cents for 10 yards is a fair price. I did one garage sale about 26 years ago, and will never do one again. I get more joy out of donating stuff, especially when I do my taxes.

Unless you really need the money, why not consider donating it to your local Project Linus or Quilt Guild. Project Linus blanketeers make quilts that are given to children in crisis. Some groups also donate quilts to nursing homes, homeless shelters, etc. My local group has donated over 30,000 quilts so far. Some women can afford to donate quilts using their own money to buy fabric. Project Linus also puts together quilt kits using donated fabric so that more quilts can be donated. Many of our most talented quilters are retired and have more time than money and love to quilt and donate their time. Just a thought.

This must be a very difficult time for you and your parents. Assisted living is a big decision and a big adjustment, and, depending on the health of your parents, it can also be a big relief to you to know that they will be watched over and cared for every day.

You can donate fabric to specific charities. Project Linus is good, Quilts of Valor or Wounded Warriors would be delighted to get any Red, white, blue fabrics, etc.

If you give it to a local quilting guild and you want it used for charity quilts, you need to say that to them when you donate, and get a tax receipt for the value of the fabric.

If there are any completed quilt tops, see if anyone in the family wants a quilt pieced by your Mom, let them select and they can get it quilted on their own - but it's pricey. Otherwise, either donate to a local guild for charity or sell right here on the QB.

i would have yardage sell seperately than scraps and i would have the scraps in a bag and X amount for the bag and you can sell the yardage by the pound if you like to make it easier for you! have fun with it!

I think $2 a pound is way too cheap. That would mean you would get 2 1/2 yards for $2. Have you thought about selling any of it on the QB? Many ladies do real well doing this.

"Regular" quilting cotton weighs four to six ounces per yard. Usually closer to four ouncees than six.

A lot depends on how "attached" you and your Mom are to these fabrics.

I think each piece should be seperately priced. Piece should be measured by yardage just using the nose to finger tip method and then priced accordingle. also you can bundle smaller pieces by color and sell the bundle for $8-10. I bought budles this way and really got a deal. All thsi may seem like more pre-work but it will save much time at the sale. Also a savy shopper I like to know beofre hand how much the fabric is going to be. Also you need to decide if you just want to get rid of the stuff or if you want to make $$$$. Good luck!!!!!

I prefer actual yardage versus estimated yardage. Some people have had very short arms!

Also, if it is only 34 inches, don ' t call it a yard!

I prefer actual yardage versus estimated yardage. Some people have had very short arms!

Also, if it is only 34 inches, don ' t call it a yard!

I would sell by the yard or by the bag. Not everyone knows how much fabric is in a lb. I also think weighing it would be a pain. If you don't want to mark I think by the bag would be the best way.