Quiltingboard Forums - Value of a kit vs purchasing yardage for the pattern

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Butterfli19 (Post 6310872)

So convenient-grab and go-and a timesaver too! But...is there extra for oopses or if you want to use more of one color than another? Are they cut evenly? Is anything ever missing? What's the mark up, have you ever figured it out?

Please share your kit buying experiences and things to watch for for those of us who are still a bit leery of those tempting plastic bag delights.

I work at an LQS, and one of my jobs is cutting kits. Here are our policies for kits: There is enough of each fabric in our kits to finish the project according to the directions (and yes, our cuts are straight). On the rare occasion that we mistakenly omit a piece (we are human, after all), we will gladly replace it, even ship it free if required. We do not mark up our kits, nor do we add a kitting fee, therefore, we do not discount our kits when we have a sale. Of course, I can't speak for other shops...

Kits are worth every penny unless there is a large upcharge for them. When should you buy a kit? When you want THOSE COLORS. Depending on the type of quilter you are, sometimes it isn't the pattern that attracted you to the quilt, but the colors/designs of the fabric. In some cases, you may not be able to get the feature fabric any longer unless you buy the kit. In those cases, a kit is worth its cost. You have everything. You can start right away.

When is a kit not right? When you always change things. When you want to use much less expensive fabrics. When you want a different colorway. When it is the pattern, not the fabric, that is pulling you towards that quilt.

If you are beginner or simply have no stash, a kit may or may not be the difference between sewing tonight or sewing sometime next week.

As you can tell from my response, I do sometimes buy kits. USUALLY it is because it is on clearance and marked down, but I have 5 or 6 quilts that I bought as a kit because I wanted THAT quilt with THOSE colors. While my checkbook complained, most kits include more fabric than you need, but they include ALL the fabric that you need (unless stated - sometimes you have to provide backing or binding).

edited: One thing to add. Don't put off doing your kit for eons. While the shop is willing to providing you any missing pieces, the last kit I bought was from a shop that closed 2 months after I bought it. Had I been short on fabric, I would have been out of luck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by svenskaflicka1 (Post 6315119)

i've always loved fabric, and have a lovely stash for many kinds of projects--but a few years ago, i started buying kits for two reasons: i could never be certain that fabrics i loved would still be around when i got around to doing the project, and because i knew that my income would be greatly reduced when i retired. so, i started investing in kits, knowing that i'd be retiring soon (have now done that), and that i'd have the security of having both pattern and fabric. and if it's a bit short, somewhere, i have my lovely stash to choose things from to make up any differences. the storage is easier, because everything is in one bag. while i've done the same thing with magazine patterns and the intended fabric, i miss having that access to the articles, etc. so yeah. i like kits. and i'm almost to the point where i'll be able to start in on them, and lose myself in that world, again. and i still have a stash to play in, besides. life is good.

Svenskaflicka, I like the way you think!

I'm a Connecting Threads kit person. Always more than enough fabric and reasonably priced. They have clearance kits too, if you figure out the cost of yardage and compare to r\the kit (especially clearance), it's quite a bargain.

I do like FQ, but where I shop, they're usually from ends of fabric bolts, and unless the mfg name happens to be on the edge (1 /4 chance), it can be hard to identify the fabric. I have found great fabrics that way, though, and then ordered yardage online. When there are FQ sales, you can pick them up at yardage prices, but it can be a bit of a contact sport, depending on the store and time of year.

I have two quilt kits, but I haven't made them yet. Too many others ahead of them LOL

I generally do not buy kits as I have a ton of fabric and a good part of the fun for me is playing with the colors. I also prefer scrappy quilts, so a quilt with a limited number of fabrics doesn't usually appeal to me.

However, I am seriously considering giving up attending my yearly quilt retreat so I will have the $$ to buy a kit for a beautiful queen-size bargello from Keepsake Quilting. I do love the colors and since it is all in solids, and I don't have many, I would have to buy almost all new fabric to make it instead of being able to pull from my stash as I normally do.

I agree with the previous poster about the cost of BOM's. When I realize I'm making a committment to spend $400 or $500 for the fabric alone, and then add the cost of having it quilted on top of that, it makes me think twice ...