Spring Inc, Material from Joann's
 

My daughter picked out some fabric for the back of her Quilt(One Block Wonder) that is finished and ready to be quilted. This fabric is so bad quality, I stopped pressing it and I am not going to use it. It is the worst I have seen. $30.00 for 5 and 1/2 yrds. I cut it and sewed two 74 inch pieces together and was pressing and starching. I spent so many hours on the quilt top and decided, No Way). I don't know why I was not more carefull when we picked it out. I ordered something else from Connecting Threads. first time I got junk from Joanns.

I agree I avoid any thing that has Spring in the selvage. There was a time they (Spring) used a better griege goods( base fabric) , but I find the stuff now is some of the thinnest I have ever seen.

A lot of the Spring fabrics are cotton/polyester mix as well.

Connecting threads is very similar quality to Joannes IMO.

I'm leery of ordering online....I want to touch & feel the fabric...

SO far, what i have ordered from Connecting Threads has been great. ...just sayin.

I order from CT a lot and hve never regretted it

I'm glad to know about the "spring"; thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the info on the "spring" fabric.

I've ordered from CT for almost 2 years and I love them. They have been VERY helpful and have always addressed any issue I've had.

When I'm getting ready to invest (like 15 yards of a fabric for a project) I order a FQ of the selection of fabrics I'm considering from CT. That way I can "feel" them and see them. Then I order. I can always use FQ for a stash builder.

I have some older Spring or Springs fabrics - and they are - in my opinion - very usable.

Has the quality changed over the years?

I agree with you. Maybe I should order from them again to see if the quality has changed.

Yes it has changed. Interesting that after this topic was posted I was playing in my stash last night , and I have some very vintage Jo'Ann .. Spring manufactured fabrics . I also had a piece of a current Spring fabric that was given to me. HUGE difference.

This has been my experience at Connecting Threads as well. I haven't shopped at JoAnn's in at least 10 years so I can't comment about their products. I'm sorry you received such inferior fabric. Will they take it back? Connecting Threads will take custom cuts back, no problem.

I have a piece of Spring fabric. I didn't think it was as good as fabric from my LQS but not as bad as some of the stuff I've seen at Joann's.

Spring is very thin and not too practical. I have found that alot of JA fabrics are getting worse. I have to really search to find the quality lately.

Same here... & trust me, I've gotten LOTS of it... LOL! Plus good customer service.

I order from Fabric.com and have been very pleased with them, both in quality and customer service. And you get free shipping over $35 ordered....not affiliated, just happy with them...

My girlfriend had fabric that she had cut up and then realized it wasn't the quality she wanted in her project, she took it back to Joannes with her receipt and they refunded her money.

I agree - never a problem with Connecting Threads fabric.

My CThreads order of flannel arrived a few days ago. I'd never ordered flannel from them and was a bit worried, although the fabric was for charity fabrics. Still, I don't give away what I wouldn't want myself. What a joy! The flannel had a nice heft and when I washed it, colors stayed true and the nap fluffed nicely! Ordering from CThreads is my "go to" place when I don't want to drive to the LQS (30 minutes each way, minimum).

Don't laugh... The following is from Springs website. http://www.springscreative.com/
I agree that sometimes their fabric is poor quality. Maybe if we complain,they'll do something about it?

"Quilting

Since quilters are among the most discerning of sewers, we take great pride in offering the most unique designs on the finest quality high thread count all-cotton fabrics. Our manufacturing techniques include fade-resistant fiber-reactive dyes in vivid long lasting colors. With Springs Creative quilting fabrics and project sheets, you can make every quilt an heirloom!"

You really need to get over this. I too used to be this way so I started paying attention to manufacturers I really like and have consistant products. Now I order on line much more than I buy in person at an LQS. I have gotten LQS name brand fabrics for as little as 3.50 per yard when hitting a good sale of older discontinued lines. On line shopping is the BEST! You can shop in your jammies from the comfort of home at any time day or night and in a few days it is like Christmas with a package at your doorstep full of lovely fabrics. Just start paying attention to the info on the selvedge the next time you go fabric shopping at an LQS and see what brands you like. I have yet to get a bad apple on line. Additionally, most on line sources I have dealt with do not hesitate to take the stuff back if you are disappointed. You will, however, be out the shipping charges and will have to pay for shipping to send back, unless of course it was their mistake, and often, in my experience when something like that happens they have let me keep what they sent by mistake and simply reshipped the right stuff. This has happened to me with Fabric depot, connecting threads and most recently with Thousands of Bolts it was a wide back so a lot of yardage. I decided to keep the one they sent as I liked it so much, so they gave me a $10 GC.

I don't blame you after all that work!

I live in a town the was all Springs for a long long time. We had (notice that word had) a cotton mill, a bleachery and Springs store. Everything was done here. Col. Springs - idea of hard - when things got bad he built warehouses and kept making. The quality was very good. We also had a section at the bleachery that made sheets and pillow cases, another building that made comforters, etc. Then the younger Springs crowd (last name Close) decided they would move everything overseas. Now it is all JUNK. If it has Springs in the selvage it is from China or Mexico. Maybe other places but those are some locations. Can't even find decent sheets anymore. It's really a shame. The clothing made over there is also JUNK. Also since I'm on a run - even their customer service center has also moved overseas. For many a year they blocked any other type of industry from coming here. Now we have very little industry and our town has really suffered from all the moves. Such a shame for a family to tear down all its forefather created.

thanks for sharing.

I was just at a WalMart in Michigan the other day and bought 3 pieces of Springs fabric. It is absolutely gorgeous fabric, in color and content. The clerk said people have been buying it and she had some also and loves it. I wonder if this is the same fabric ? It was on sale for $3 a yard, down from $4.97 a yard. I only bought some for purses. I always feel my fabric and this fabric was fabulous.

I didn't check the brand name, but I saw some fabric at Joann's that had a beautiful print that I really wanted, but when I looked closely I was shocked at how thin and feeble it was, especially since the price (before the "sale" discount) put it right up against prices in our LQS. On the other hand, I bought some other fabric at Joann's recently with the name "April Cornell" on the selvage that I'm very happy with. I don't remember how the price compared, but I don't think it was overpriced at all, at least not considering the "sale".

I think it would be great if we had a law preventing companies from using their long-trusted brand names after they have moved the manufacturing offshore and reduced the quality. To continue to use that trusted name is deceptive, IMO. Also deceptive and despicable are companies gradually shrinking the size of their products, such as fabric being woven a few inches narrower than we're used to, which could really mess up a lot of our planning, if we can't cut as many pieces across the width!

I also have used Spring in the past and don't remember it being this bad.

I don't think they will take it back because I cut two 74 inch lengths and sewe.d them together and cut out 8 bnding strips

Feeble is a good way to discribe the material I am talking about. I just wrote to Spring Inc, about the problem and I got my fabric and receipt ready to take back to Joanns this week end. I live 240 miles from Joanns in Phoenix. I will let everyone know what happens about this. Thanks to all of you for the help.

Joann's will let you return fabric as long as it is not washed or cut.

Thanks for sharing all this info with us! I had no clue about Spring products! I have bought fabric from CT also, and no complaints from me! They are great! :)

I like Connecting Threads.

I too have great luck shopping Fabric.com - and if I am looking for a particular line of fabrics it is so easy. And customer service can't be beat.

Could be. I've noticed that Moda is not what it used to be even though the price is astronomical. froggyintexas

I disagree. I find CT fabrics comparable to my LQS. To each their own!!

TAKE IT BACK!!!! Even if you have cut and sewn it......then write to the company that made the fabric and ask for a refund.

Good luck!

delma

I buy a lot of fabric from Connecting Thread and am very happy with it. At least their own lines are good. I have gotten some other fabric that they had on clearance and it was very stiff. I bought some fabric from JoAnns last week to make a dress for my granddaughter. Luckily I prewash my fabric because the fabric was a grey with a mauve print and after washing the mauve print was completely washed away. Not happy about that at all.

What an excellent idea Carrie. Thanks for posting it.

Same here.....good prices too!