uneven backing fabric
 

It took me all morning to figure and finally square my backing fabric. Because the way it was cut I am loosing about 12-14 inches on each end. Frustrating but I am glad that I have purchase a bit more otherwise I would have to piece it. Disappointed that the fabric store cut it so uneven.

wow, that's not even just a little bit!

I always buy extra for that reason and always square up the ends.

It might be the way it was put on the bolt.

I would let the store know how much waste you had. What is the worst that can happen in letting them know, I am thinking they would do nothing. Best case scenario, they may actually give you a store credit. I have bought a fair amount of wide back and have never had it as bad as that. I think the most I lost to squaring up was 6".

I usually buy extra as well and usually get my backing on line. The fabric is pretty and you can use the waste bits in scrap quilt.

I got tired of this and started buying wide back solids by the bolt. That way I can rip the fabric off of the bolt myself - always comes out straight! For awhile I was asking shops to rip wide backing off of the bolts but I got tired of the looks of horror.

I still buy cute prints in wide backs too, but I buy lots of extra and then I rip the ends off when I get it home to get it square. I swear most of the fabric I buy these days are printed out of square and then wrapped onto the bolts in a less-than-straight fashion too. No wonder the staff can't get a straight cut!

Plus, it's just fun to rip fabric! I trim the ripped ends about 2 inches in, and fold & braid the strips into dog toys, so it's not really very wasteful. :)

I too always rip to straighten but I rip one end only and work from the rip end down. Then once I have my quilt sandwiched I cut off the extra. Yes extra wide backing because its folded then wound on bolt has a strong tendency to get uneven if they just lay it out on the table and cut. Its like cutting a plaid or stripe straight off the bolt versus cutting down the stripe. Burns me - I just lost 7" off a repeating plaid for this very reason.

For dramatic effect have you considered taking the ends in to explain to the store why you are upset? The visual of more than 1/2 yard might drive the point home quite quickly. I'm with the others on letting the store know or buying elsewhere.

wow!!! out of curiosity, how wide was that fabric to begin w/??? And i would take it back to the store if possible and complain.

i have been pretty satisfied w/ fabric cut at quilt stores - but the bolts of fabric are usually first runs and they are wound pretty good. I find that bolts at found at Joann's tend to be wonky a lot of the time and i have to watch very carefully.

i bought it on the web, next time I will mention it when I place the order. My local QS does not carry wide fabric. thanks for your comments, never thought of ripping the fabric on the end, next time I will, too!

Quilters should rise up and demand the wide backing be torn. When I ask my local shop to tare they said " o we give 6" extra. Well I lost 6" from both ends making 12" waste. File a complaint with the site where you bought it. Send a picture and emphasize you purchased x amount of usable fabric.

That is unacceptable. I would send a picture and complain. The least they could do is give you money back for a yard or so.

The last few wide backing I've quilted have been a nightmare. I prefer a pieced backing because of this.

The 108" wide stuff is folded twice and wrapped on the bolt very wonky. We just tear it.

Ripping fabric is funny - seems like it's an "old school" thing now. It seemed to me that the older shopkeepers knew what was what and would rip into the bolt without blinking an eye, but the younger staff would give me a look like I'd just asked them to slice off one of their own fingers.

But I remember buying "material" with my grandma; the shops always snipped the selvage and ripped across the fabric - only certain special fabrics and trims were cut with scissors. Then we'd take our ripped fabric home, get out the cardboard template, and start marking out a grid which we would then carefully cut apart with scissors... :) It sure has changed since then!

In looking at the center fold, I think it might be a vendor problem not just a fabric store problem. It looks like it was put on the bolt and stretched so the store thought they were cutting straight. I work in a fabric store and I am amazed and saddened by how bad the fabric production has become. It can be a huge problem when the print has a definite straight pattern and it is printed on an angle! I have seen the straight pattern as far off as 3" on a 42" WOF. I usually cut it to the customer's benefit and write off the 3ish"'s but try to explain to them that they will never get a straight edge on pattern, but, they rarely believe me - who am I - only someone who has sewn for 60+ years and works in a fabric store.......

I have never seen a cut so bad. I've had moderate ones, but gee whiz! I'd be down at the store with a few choice words for them.

One of the reasons you can't 'snip and rip' fabric is that so much of it is not 100% cotton anymore. Try to rip polyester....not good. Also, while I know the difference and the reason to rip some, you should see a customers face when you rip fabric! The rough edge really upsets them, they think we are doing something wrong. FYI - this is from a large store, not in your LQS. Most of the customers in an LQS know fabric and trust the employees.

I would guess it came off the bolt that way. It would be hard to cut it that crooked.

Looking at the fold and the edge, that doesn't look like it's been cut straight either. Have you tried pulling on the bias to get it "square". As I remember from 4-H days, even tearing the fabric, made it come out somewhat like this picture shows. We had to pull on the bias to bring it back into being straight. I'm sorry this happened, especially with it being an online order and you can't talk face to face with the vendor.

Bummer! They really owe you something for this.

When I was growing up and woven fabric was generally all that was available it was always ripped. Remember the little machines on the edge of the counter at the store that the clerk ran the edge of the fabric through to measure it and then when they got to the correct measurement pushed down the lever which snipped the edge of the fabric so they could then rip it?
My mother was an wonderful seamstress and paid close attention to grain of fabric so garments hung correctly. When she got fabric home she would examine how the threads in the fabric ran and also hold up the fabric by the fold and look at the torn ends which were torn with the grain. If they were askew then she would take two opposite corners of the fabric (across the bias) give one to me and she would take the other and we would stretch the fabric back into square. Worked every time.
Wide backings are difficult to roll on the bolt and if they are cut then they are going to be off because they are no rolled on the bolt with the true grain. I would only buy wide cotton quilt weight fabric that has been torn so I know I'm getting the amount I need. I go to one quilt shop where they measure all the fabric with a yard stick, add a smidgen more and then tear the fabric. I always know there I'm getting usable amount of fabric that I requested and paid for. When I get home I fold it with the ripped grain matching and cut away the torn edge to start measuring for my pieces.

Yes! I was small, but I remember going with my grandma to places that had that. It was called "material", though, not "fabric"! Other stores just snipped with scissors and ripped across.

I want to say I remember fabric being sold at places like JC Penney too, but I'm not sure if that's right. Some kind of department store in So. Cal in the late 70's/early 80's, anyway...

Sewnoma,
JC Penney,Sears and some of the other department stores sold fabric. I lived in southern CA during that time frame.
Sharon

There we go! It was probably JC Penney that I'm remembering, Grandma liked Penney's. :)

My Mom and I used to buy fabric at a Ben Franklins store. Don't remember if they had the meter that measured the amount of yardage but the tiny country store in my home town did.