Walmart vs Joann's
 

I saw something pretty cool today.. Walmart..has fat quarters for 97cents. Joann's have them for $1.99 reg and on sale for 99 from time to time. Walmart regular every day 97. No, they don't have the huge selection Joann's does, but they have alot and frankly, I was at Joann's and looked for them while on sale for 99 and with a 20% off coupon making them about 80 cents...and only found 4 colors/patterns I really liked and got 2 each...but I saw a couple that I liked at Walmart! Plus...Walmart ahs some of the same fabrics joann has.. but cheaper. I wanted this horse fabric I had seen at Joann's month or so ago..and went back to get it when I figured out what to do with it and they didn't have it. Stopped at Walmart as it had just opened and wanted to check it out..and there was that horse fabric for $5.97 instead of the 9.99 at Joann's. Plus...bunch of other prints I loved! Granted joann has more selection, but they had what I wanted! So... I know I will be visiting Walmart first.. I have been holding coupons and making 1-2 trips to JOann for the sale/couponsa nd will still do that, as they are only about 1/2 mile from each other...but...nice to know there is an option!

I love getting fabric at walmart! sometimes they have really nice stuff! I can't afford to always buy from a quilt store or even from joanns or Hancocks so walmart is always my 1st stop :)

I have gotten some great fabric at Wal-Mart for very little money. I have gotten some really bad fabric at Joanns that I paid more than I should have for. I just make sure I read the labels & like how the fabric feels & then hope for the best when I find something I like there. So far, so good. Most of the time I shop online quilt shops for the best bargains if I need something special.

Our Walmart has been getting in alot more quilting fabrics. Their fat quarters are $1.00 each ; but the ones I have gotten are not cut straight.

I hate to say this, but our Walmart sells the most disgusting fabrics. They are very thick and very, very rough. I had bought some Winnie the Pooh fabric, but realized you couldn't wrap a baby in that rough material. I threw it all out.

i have gotten some really nice fabric at walmart.

I also buy at Walmart from time to time. I am careful to choose fabrics that I like the feel of, and have found many fabrics that are exactly the same as Joann's sells. Just be choosy and you can get some nice stuff there are more reasonable prices. I also regularly shop our LQS as they have a wonderful selection of high quality fabrics and I can find pretty much whatever I need. If I can't they order it for me!

No matter where you shop--LQS, Joannes, Hancocks, Walmart--you need to check the fabric for quality..I look for the best deals I can get at all these places. This enables me to continue quilting within my budget...To each their own..just enjoy it

i have a walmart closest to me that has 97 cent FQs. Hancock is two dollars, and further away. Imo, walmart has good fabric, if you are careful! I learned the hard way that inexpensive doesn't work if it also means 'cheap'. Fabric that is too thin is pointless!! But, I have gotten some good stuff too!!

First, the Walmart nearest me has finally re-opened their fabric dept...three cheers!!!!! No longer have to travel 25 miles to the other Walmart........I also buy fab from LQS (which is really not so local either), but let's face it....at those prices have to be very special quilts to invest that kind of $$$. So just to satisfy my "have to make something" obsession.......there are other places to purchase fabric at lower prices and not necessarily lower quality.........It is unfortunate that the LQS has had to raise their prices so high to offset their cost/profit margin. I recently had a conversation with a friend who had not purchased fabric for sevreral years and she mentioned after going to JoAnn's how high fabric had gotten and she decided not to "do" whatever project she was thinking of doing...not worth the initial fabric cost in her mind.

My LQS is now charging $13.99 for many of the new fabrics... but my Walmart still has not brought back one morsel of fabric. So I am mostly an on-line shopper.

I do the same thing. Today, every penny counts. I have a tip for those who have the thinner (cheaper) fabric but don't know what to do with it. Don't throw it out! I use thinner fabric for lining in other projects, such as pin cushions, hand warmers, etc. The "nice" fabric is too thick to serve as lining making the project feel stiff, but the thin fabric works absolutely great!

There are no Joanns near me anymore. I miss it.
Walmart is here but not enough selection to purchase all the different fabrics needed for a quilt. They have tons of the ugliest Christmas fabrics Ive ever seen. Did buy a nice polka dot fabric for $7.99 a yard, high quality so they do carry some good fabrics.
I do most of my shopping online as I live 17 miles from a small town and 25 miles to the only quilt shop.

We have Hobby Lobby, Walmart and JoAnn's--Hobby Lobby is uaually my last stop when looking for fabric, their prices are between JoAnn's and Walmart. They are getting inn a much better supply of fleece and quilting fabs but you need to check them well. I have found some nice remnents there and they are usually good size. As with some of you, I have found the same fabrics at Joann's as well as Walmart and much cheaper. Flannel you really need to check at Walmart, some are quite thin or stuff. They also have a good selection of remnents and a sale section where you can get material sometimes for $2-3. I'm cheap ,my mom says thrifty and I really don't like JoAnn's prices so I will wait for a sale or use coupons when their is something I want there. Compare prices, even some of the on-line fabric places have good fabric.

I do shop a lot at my local Super Walmart which is only a mile from my home, my only local quilt shop is closing Nov. 2, and my local Joann is across town, 25 minutes away. I try to purchase the best fabric I can at the most affordable price. I have a huge lifelong stash closet....so I am really trying to use it up (maybe if I live another 50-75 years)...I believe that no matter what is said on this board, we must do the best we can, where we are, with the money we have. Yes not all fabric is created equal, some are better, some are worse and some are really bad.....but no one needs to have their feelings hurt because of the fabric they can afford to purchase is coming from a less than perfect place.....IMHO:shock:

A few months ago I bought some very great quality fabrics from Walmart. They had a lot to offer even tho this particular store does not have it on display very well. I happily purchased them. My local Walmart stopped selling fabric a few years ago but luckily that one still does.

I buy a lot of my fabric from Joanns and sites online. I go to Hobby Lobby once in awhile about as often as I go to that Walmart that still sells fabric.

Walmart may not have as big of a selection of fabric as Joanns but I have found a great bunch of interesting patterned & colored fabric there.
Just finished a quilt of only Walmart fabric and it looked great and washed great too. No issues so I will go there again.
Also it is nice to avoid the major Joanne crowds at times.

Just as you have to do at any fabric store, you have to check the fabric quality. However, for the price and quality combination, you can't beat a Wal Mart fabric department IMHO.

Don't forget to check the fat quarters at Big Lots! They are $1.00 each and the same quality as JoAnn's. I often go in and get a handful for my stash!

Thanks for the info on Big Lots! I have one nearby, but rarely go to it. If they have FQs there, it might be worth the trip!

I'm not opposed to shopping at any store that has quality fabric, and decent prices. I was disappointed in some flannel I bought for a rag quilt at Walmart. I felt it, and it felt decent, and after washing the quilt, I noticed it has piled tremendously. I didn't like the flannel at Joann's. It was way too thin. I ended up getting most of the fabric for the quilt from thrift store shirts. I liked the idea that it had been washed a bunch, and I was able to see that it wasn't piling.
Somebody mentioned on the board that Tuesday morning has fabric .

I don't think it matters where you buy your fabric, check for quality. You can usually tell by the feel it it's decent or if it's sort of sleazy. Feel it, smell it, look it over carefully and if it's what you want and the price is right, buy it. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it!

The local Walmart in the town where I work has always carried fabrics but they have recently added a section of quilting fabrics. From what I have checked out it seems to be quality fabric. Now, the fat quarters are a different story. Very flimsy material.

I am lucky in the fact that our local grocery store has a Ben Franklin area inside. I call it my "personal quilt shop". They have more fabric than I can ever see at one time and carry many of the quilt shop brand names. Their prices are fantastic. Best part...they usually have a fabric sale once a month with fabric, books, and patterns at 30% off..no coupon needed. Plus they have a fabric club where you earn one free yard for every 50 yards of material you buy.
I am with the rest of you, as long as it is good fabric, it doesn't matter where it comes from!

i don't have a problem with Walmart fabric. Like everyone says you have to look and touch. For personal reasons I have been boycotting Walmart - which really hurts at times but again it is a personal decision on my part. The local Walmart has some gorgeous fabric - a couple of ladies in my guilds made some beautiful table runners and they actually bragged about how it was all bought at Walmart.

Im so envious of your usa shops like walmart and joanns.........in uk lqs moda etc are 14 plus gbp pounds a metre/39inches. even uk ebay sellers charge same plus postage as well.

I used to buy from us ebay sellers even with a $18 postage for 8 metres was ok. But now the uk postage service charges 8gbp for collecting the customs charge, which on 8 metres is about 4gbp. Sadly there is no way to prepay the customs charge unless you run an import business so you are forced to pay the post service admin charge.

I love fabric but it is getting very very expensive

As I am not reading all the comments, so maybe someone else said this. Fabric and price depends on a couple of things one being the fabric the print is printed on. I have actually seen the same print in a quilt shop and has been in Wal-mart but on a better quality fabric. Wal-Marts have far more buying power than any other store, thus they will have better prices. Their bottom line is less than anyone elses. I know everyone buys what works for them and oftentimes in our society, price rules.

Keep on quilting!!

Fabric is getting so expensive. We have a LQS and they have great fabric at very good prices. But when I am at Walmart I like looking at what they have. Besides JoAnns has moved here and they are not as close to me as they used to be.

A lot of opinions on this subject!!! Well, I agree with all of you, shop and compare. Our Wal-Marts have finally "cleaned up" thier fabric department. Use to have the fabric stacked on the floor and dirty. But you still cannot find anyone over there to help you. Had the manager come and cut the last time I found something, he did a decent job, I guess.

Our local Walmart closed their fabric dept about 2 years ago. They recently brought it back but on a much smaller scale. Most of the fabrics I have looked at have been poor quality. Not like it was when they had the fabric dept previously. I'll keep checking tho when I'm in the store. You never know what they will bring in next shipmemnt.

On the other hand. We went thru McGee, MS going to Texas a couple weeks ago. The Walmart there has a great fabric dept. They had some nice fabrics on clearance too. I got some great fabrics for $1.50 - $2 a yard. I wish we lived closer to them. :)

WE live here in NC. where a business cuts fat quarters for both Walmart and Joann's. The fabrics come from the same place and are the same quality..... so buy where they are on sale.

My LQS has quality fabric for $6-9 per yard and I've never gotten a piece that was not top quality. I'm just not willing to take a chance on WM fabric in 2-3 yd. precuts and get it home and be able to read a newspaper through it. Not worth it to me.

I understand and appreciate what you are saying. However my local Quilt shop does not have anything under $10 a yard, and on top of that is going out of business. My Walmart on the other hand has continued to increase the size of their department since bringing back fabric about 6-9 months ago. Yes some of the fabric is very thin, how ever some of it is not, it is good middle of the road fabric, for less than $5 a yard, which helps me to continue to be able to make charity quilts. My little quilts will never go into a show and probably will not last more than 10 years, probably closer to 5, but they will put a smile on someones face and help keep them warm during a cold night, that is all I ask. I have a life time stash which I am trying to use up, but everytime I am near fabric be it at LQS, Joanns or Walmart, it does make my heart sing and I can not help my self but to reach out and touch....:p

I love Walmart. I am fedup with Joann's. everytime they do have good coupons they put everything on sale. even if its just 10% off. the coupons are only good for items not on sale. so hardly anything to pick from. Than to boot they redid the whole store. have a smaller cutting table. everytime I've been there a huge line and 1 person cutting.

Love a good bargain .. no matter where its at.. If you watch WalMart in their clearance section you might find some good deals on the quarters.

I could not agree with you more about Joann....only go when I have no choice.....I am lucky if I can not find what I am looking for can go to Hobby Lobby, never a line waiting at cut table.....

I have decided that if I want to sew something I need to be ready to pay the price, but I rather pay the Walmart price if I can get the right fabric. Otherwise I do Joann's and use coupons and teacher discount. I don't buy as much fabric as I did when I was sewing 20 years ago, though! It's hard to adjust to the high prices of everything!

I used to buy loads of fabric when I took a trip out side(lower 48).. we didn't have fabric stores ...no Wal-marts Joanns etc. I made nearly everything my 7 member family wore..(My husband said"You are the only person I know of who makes a shirt for a kid to wear to school before he goes to school that day" ) Times have changed! now I make quilts...My goal is to make each of my 21 grand children a quilt..with some extras added along the way..Was taking me 2 yrs to hand quilt each one..so I bought a Pfaff 1200 quilter last year and hope to get them all done in less time..not much of the older stash left but find myself adding or maybe multiplying when I have the money to spend..where ever I find good fabric! Maybe I'll make it before I am 120 years old! Love the QB!

This is what I do too!

My Walmart STILL has not gotten their fabric dept. back yet! I'm so bummed. I've gotten some very nice fabric from them. You do have to be careful, but easy when shopping in person. That's why I'm always a little leary about shopping online. I do like Connecting Threads fabric, but still can be a little hard to be sure of the color, if I'm trying to match something.

I don't like the quality of Joann's fat quarters. They are so thin. They aren't worth the $1.99 they charge. I can buy quality quilt shop fat quarters for that price.