What Would You Give?
 

My 40 year old niece used to sew childten’s clothes to supplement their household income. Dresses, mostly, for little girls, so she used a lot of bright, fun fabrics.

Recently she had to take a full time job from home that pays much better, and came to realize she will probably never sew again for money. So she cleared her stash. She had a yard sale. Toward the end of the sale, her deal was “fill a plastic grocery bag for 2 bucks.”

Her mom came here for our daughter's wedding, toting about 25 yds of that fabric with her! Most are 1-2 yd cuts. I’d use them predominantly for donation dresses, quilts, and pillowcases.

She didn’t want anything for it, but I know her family struggles financially. I’d like to pay something but not sure what.

I am curious what you think would be a good amount to give. I’d say 75% of the stash is stuff I’d choose on my own.

I think at least $50.

Well I guess it depends on Your situation.

If it were me, and I took into account that she has a need, she's obviously working hard and trying hard, not abusing the system, and most of the fabrics are what I would purchase anyway, I'd pay retail. In other words, I'd figure out approximately how many yards there were, and I'd pay $10-$12 per yard. If this isn't in your budget, then maybe $6 per yard would be more reasonable, and still more than she's asking/expecting, especially if she didn't want anything for it.

The clearance price at my LQS is $4-5, so I would probably go with at least $100, but a minimum of $50.

if it's good quality quilt fabric that I can put to use, I'd pay $3 a yard and be very glad to do so. At the local thrift store, fabric is sold at $2 a yard.

Wow, it's unusual for someone to have fabrics you would choose yourself. I'd say $100 at least.

If it's 25 yards of "usable" fabric - and you can afford it - maybe $50 - that's $2.00 a yard

However, if I was going to yard sales - it has to be really good fabric for me to pay more than $1.00/yard.

Another however - have you been helping her out over the years?

Another another however - sometimes it feels good to be able to give something to someone - don't spoil the fun - show great gratitude.

You know the players and their situations better than we do.

Depending on situation and they might be insulted w/money...think abt a gift card to a place like Amazon where staples/groceries etc...can be purchased thru Prime Pantry...I wouldn't do less then 100

I do like the saying, "It's more blessed to give than to receive." Maybe the niece gave the 25 yards of fabric to her mother. The mother didn't want anything for it. If that's the truth, then let the mother give it. If you pay her for it, she will lose her chance to be blessed by giving it to you.

If you want to help a struggling family-- by all means help! Don't pass up your chance to be blessed by giving. There are lots of ways to help the family without paying for fabric. Listen to your heart, and ideas of how you can help will come to your mind.

For example, sew a quilt with some of the fabric, find a venue of a raffle or auction or sale for it, and give the proceeds to the family.