I found 108" wide fabric for backing of a large quilt for my daughter in a dark, dull blue color, and ordered it. Package arrived.........and was I ever disappointed. Not only was the color off (far too bright) but the fabric was so stiff and rough it would have scratched you, and so thin that you could see the individual warp and weft threads (not a homespun fabric either)....and the light just poured thru the fabric...........

Was I just unlucky with this one fabric, or have others received very thin, poor quality fabric from this on-line shop?

i order from them all the time and i've never had a problem. i only order fabric from them when i know who the manufacturer is and the quality of that manufacturers fabric.

when i buy commercially made fabric i tend to buy Moda, Kaufman, and Benartex.

i've gotten fabric from all of these manufacturers thru thousands of bolts and the quality was perfect.

Oh, I hate to hear that. I just ordered 5 yrds. of 108 in fabric from them Friday. I'll let you know what I think when I get mine.

Give them a call tomorrow and see if they can help you with this problem.

I have only ordered brand name fabrics from them and the quality and service has been wonderful.

I ordered twice and really liked the fabric but the wide width backing is/was stiff & not the best quality. However, the wide width at my LQS is not great either, guess I just assumed that wide stuff is poorer quality?

I have purchased wide fabric at my LQS and it was just a soft and thick and nice as the regular fabric that I buy there............so no all wide fabric is this poor...............guess I should have limited myself only to those manufacturers that I know and whose fabrics I have purchased in the past.

Send me a note when yours arrives and let me know......I may wind up calling them - as I just cannot use what I received.........it is almost like the dye was spray painted on the fabric (that stiff and hard) and I am really concerned that if I used it, it would rip, tear, with even the gentlest of use.......

My sister got some 108" from Marshalls, and I bought a bit from her for my queen sized that I am hand quilting now. It had a hole in it. I decided to go ahead with it because it "lands" just about where I will be putting the label. I do not know if I will order from them.

I'll let you know if it is ok or not.

I ordered wide backing from them about a month ago and it was fine. Maybe you should call and tell them you are not happy with what you got. I'm sure they want happy customers.

i've had wide backing from them and it was fine. you really should call them as soon as possible. that's the kind of thing they want to know about. if they don't offer to, then ask them to work with you on this. explain how disappointed you are because they came so highly recommended by your forum. the least they should do is credit it toward a new purchase, even if they want a return. they normally have lqs quality fabrics by known manufacturers.

Call/write them.

Tell you want to return it for 1) a refund
or
2) good quality fabric.

Ask for the shipping charges, too. (sometimes it works!)

I'm sure they would rather you tell them about the problem - or at least give them a chance to fix it - than to have you tell all of us.!

I buy from them all of the time. Like Kluedesigns said as well I buy only name brand also. Never had a problem.
jazs2

Did you call them today ?

I am curious as to how they handle this, too.

I hope they take care of you. I have never ordered from them before and may think twice about it now.

i hope customer service takes care of you too. if they don't it will certainly make me hesitate buying from them in the future

I sent an email today, rather than call..........explained they came highly recommended and how disappointed I was.............their response was, basically, sorry......they sell to several long arm quilters and have not ever had a complaint regarding the quality of the fabric...........nothing more.......it was a brush-off..........I can guarantee you I will not ever order from them again!

i agree, there are many places to shop, take your business elsewhere

I would come back with a call to them. Sometime you would just receive a canned message, if you call you will get better results.

OK - just got another email from Thousands of Bolts. I am attaching here.............I did wash fabric, as I thought it might soften up enough to be used..........I am still not happy with their response............I did not look at the price - we were searching for the right color blue for the backing.........Company's response seems to indicate if their price is cheap, then fabric quality will be poor..........you all be the judge.........

[b]Again - we are sorry you are disappointed. We would have accepted a return if the fabric had not been washed. I guess pricing may be a factor also. Since this backing is the least expensive available, it cannot be expected to match the quality of those selling for 50% more. [b]

I am sorry you had a bad experience with Thousands of Bolts. I have been ordering from them for several years and only one time did I get a fabric that was stiff. I have always had good luck with their fabrics. I watch the manufacturer and order the brands that I know to be best.

I buy from them all the time and love the fabric, but I have never bought the wide backing. I know a lot of the retails wide backing is also stiff compared to most fabric. To get the good grade wide you may have to go to a LQS.

So sorry to hear you had a hard time with them. I have ordered fabric from them, but never 108" width. I buy that in muslin and from Joann's. Guess I am sticking with that.

Please keep us posted on what they say....so we all know how they treated you. Thanks.

I agree. Especially when you're shopping at a budget-priced store, you have to be a little bit more knowledgeable about the products.

I just looked at their site, and they do have a range of quality brands among their selection of quilt backings. You won't go wrong with Benartex, Henry Glass or Timeless Treasures. (You'll note that those ones cost more, too.) Merrivale and Quilt Traditions I'm not familiar with. I think that the Quilters Choice is the budget brand I bought two bolts of and, frankly, would not do so again. I wouldn't call it stiff, but it is thin and doesn't have the nice hand that better lines do. It is also wrapped very crookedly (as in, order a foot more than you need to compensate for the crookedness, unless you know the shop is going to do you right by giving a VERY generous cut). But... it is budget priced.

Quilters Choice kis the one I bought at 8.95 a yard. Hope it isn't too thin for my project.

I have purchased quite a bit of batiks from them (name brand) and have been happy with all my purchases.
I agree to give them a call. They are wonderful to do business with.

Which brand did you order.......?

I'm thinking that from the comments that they are done with you. That is truly disappointing. I was going to go there to look for background for my DJ...I will think twice about it now. Seems like they don't realize that you are posting this in a forum with this many members..... :roll: I'm so sorry you had a problem.

So Sorry they were not more help... Maybe it was a bad batch, but I would hope they would be more helpful. And yes it may be a little bit less expensive, but you should still receive something that is useable :shock:

You could write to them again. Squeakly wheel gets the grease - and all that.

Tell them that you had heard from others on the QuiltingBoard (with over 8000 members ) how wonderful they were and how disappointed you are with this product.

Also give them suggestions for what you think is a fair thing to do.

Return the fabric and get a refund. Might work.

I had a similar problem with ordering wide backing fabric - it was Benartex brand. (Magic Vine by Eleanor Burns). It also is very coarse, almost a linen weave, and not the soft drapable fabric I like in my quilts. I'm thinking it would not be very cuddly.

I have washed it once and it didn't help much. Not sure what to do with it!!

I have ordered several times from this site....I have always been pleased with the quality of their fabrics. And, of course, their prices are good. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience....email them with your complaint; possibly they will let you return the fabric???

I ordered the Quilters Choice.

This is a dicey problem! I just got my first ever order from 1000's of Bolts--all recognized manufacturers--and the cuts are perfect in color, hand, and you cannot beat the price at 1/2 of quilt shop prices. Makes me wonder why LQS are selling fabric @ 10.00 per yard.
So, it sounds like if we get something from them that is less than expected or promised, we should contact them and ask to return it--but don't wash it! To me, the price of the fabric, the quick service, and the reasonable shipping fee (USPS) makes it worth the risk.
Marie

I finally received my 108 in. Quilter's Choice backing fabric. It was not stiff, but is pretty loosely woven. I will go ahead and use it for the back of my project, but will not try to quilt this project in sections and bring the backing to the front and stitch down between sections as in fun & done quilting as I had intended to do.
Next time I order backing I will try one that is not the least expensive. I'm sure that it will be better.

Thanks for letting us know....at least we know what to expect when we order that.

Was yours a dark color? That may have been why mine was so stiff - it was a very dark blue.....I agree the fabric is very loosely woven........and I will certainly be more careful in the future.........