Wow, half yard cuts at 22 to 28 inches--isn't that amazing!!
 

I have been folding my batik pieces the past few days and noticed that some of my half yard pieces are around 19 inches or so but a good portion were measuring 22 to even 28 inches (the average seemed to be around 24 to 25). Then, today I received a delivery from Hancocks of some batiks and they are all measuring at 22 to 28 inches (and the one yard cut I ordered was 45 inches!!!).

Is this an anomaly or do they always cut their fabrics so generous?? My LQS cut at exactly the 18 inch and 36 inch mark with no extra at all. The cuts from Hancocks will yield so many extra pieces. What a bonus!!

I'd guess it depends on the clerk who is doing the cutting. Regularly I had to remind my former staff not to give away the shop by cutting like this. We allowed a "thumb's width" on both edges beyond the 18" or 36'. It's possible you won't get this much from Hancocks each time.

Jan in VA

When I buy fabric online it's usually dead on. If I buy from a retail store (here in the uk, shops like hobbycraft, or abakan) I sometimes get up to 8 inches extra. But then they cut with scissors not a rotary cutter and ruler. So I always lose a bit of that extra straightening the edges of fabric up.

Esmerelda I have found that Abakan rip the fabric to length.
I thought a half yard cut was the width of fabric 42 and 18 inches down. This is what I would expect if I asked for half a yard, and not as you appear to have 18 inches by 22 variable .

At the stores i seem to get exact amount, but when I buy on line there is always some extra.

when i ordered from hancock's, i got exactly on the mark... not a hair more.

In my last order from Hancocks, I seem to get just a smidge (maybe 1/4 - 1/2 inch)- that was all. Recently, I was physically at a shop from whom I now purchase online (they are 700 mi away from where I live). I purchased almost ten cuts of fabrics in either 1 or 2 yard pieces and they were ALL cut exactly at 36 and 72 inches.

However, there is one place I do go (Mardens of Maine which is a discount store which sells fabrics) where they are overly generous in their cuts. I recently picked out a neutral and asked for 4 yards and got almost 5.

Hancock's or Hancock's of Paducah?

Connecting Threads has always given me generous cuts.

I ordered a mix of sale and clearance fabrics from Joann's this week. Three of the clearance pieces had a note folded inside..."bonus yardage included because less than 1 yard remained..." This started me measuring. All of the sale fabrics were at least 3 to 4 inches longer and the clearance fabrics ranged from 13" to 34" of bonus yardage per piece. So it sounds like my order finished off a couple of bolts AND was cut by an overly generous employee.
Phyllis in NC

Sorry for the confusion. It is Hancock's of Paducah. I usually buy a dozen or so half yard cuts of batiks or other fabrics when they have a sale. This past order was for fabrics I needed so nothing was on sale but with the generous cuts, I certainly got good value.

I think all cuttings depend on the mood of the cutter. Anyone that has to stand and cut fabric for a long period isn't going to be concerned about saving the store a 1/2 inch after a few hours. I know I wouldn't.

I went to Hancocks last week when they were having a great sale and somethings still on sale at great discount. One of the clerks was cutting yardage for me and there was about another 1/2 yard left so I told her I'd just take that also. She said she would go ahead and give that to me for an extra 50% off the discount. Basically, I would have gotten that last 1/2 yard free. I told her I didn't mind paying the price since it was such a good deal. I would have put her on notice if I were the manager of the shop. How much money was lost because of employees like this? Would've been different if this was a garage sale but it wasn't. If you figure $6.00 a yard that's a lot of money going out the door on the hour. These employees need to think like this is their wages going out the door. Loss of money loss of employment. Many of these employees shoot themselves in the foot. May have been you got the last of the bolt. If it comes from the factory it's one thing to get the extra.

I considered that I may have got "end of bolt" on the one yard cut but all my half yard cuts (11 different pieces) were made very generous as well.

It reminded me of the time I got a set of 10 one yard cuts and they were all cut at the 32 inch mark. I emailed the store and they said they had a problem with one of the shop workers remembering that one yard was 36 inches!!! When I was folding the fabrics during the week (my previous purchases) and so many of them were over 20 inches I was wondering if they were mixing up WOF at 40 to 42 inches with LOF which would be 36 for a yard and 18 for half yard. Regardless, it is nice for me but as many have mentioned, it makes you wonder how they can give away so many free inches. I would be satisfied with 1.5 inches and happy with anything over that.

As a customer, I always like to get more than I expected -

Also as a customer, I won't complain if the clerk cuts to the thread - as long as the thread is on 'my' side and the cut is straight. I will, however, complain if a cut is only 1/4 inch short! Especially if it's on several cuts.

But do I call and say - Yippee, I got lots extra! - No. Do any of you?

Funny - if we go to the butcher, we don't expect to get 18 ounces of ground beef for the price of 16 ounces. Wonder where we got this 'we expect/deserve extra' when it comes to buying fabric.

bearisgrey-the thing about wanting/needing a little extra is when the cuts on one or both sides of the fabric are quite crooked and need a fair amount of straightening. Most of the time, after a piece has been "straightened" it is less than the half yard or full yard that you purchased. So, are we supposed to buy an extra 1/8 yard to compensate for this or just hope we get a few extra inches??

I have purchased from many, many online shops and only a few have given me really straight cuts on both sides. Most, there can be a one to 3 inch divergenge in size from the top (the fold) to the bottom (the selvage).

You will notice I said - IF the cut is straight -

I've learned to check the fabric grain lines before buying - if I still want to take a chance on the fabric, I do buy extra. There have been a few times I forgot to do that and regretted the purchase. I've also learned to not assume that the fabric will straighten out when it's washed. Sometimes it does - sometimes it does not.

Many places seem to have cutting stations - where there is that groove that the cutter follows - so most of the cuts that I've gotten are perpendicular to the fold.

I've also learned to buy extra to allow for shrinkage - I have a lot of 35 inch pieces in my stash that I KNOW I bought full yards of.

Buyer, be AWARE. Some clerks are very knowledgeable. Some are not.

I think of it the same way I think of hamburger. There is the raw weight - and then there is the cooked weight.

There is the off-the-bolt measurement - and then there is the usable, ready to cut measurement.

I think a store/shop should be consistent in its cutting policy.

Most of the local shops and Joannes around here are pretty much on the mark when cutting fabric. My friend's and I go to Marden's in Sanford and South Portland Me and we have noticed more times than not that when we go the cuts are very generous. And the fabrics are 3.99 to 4.99 per yard, Batiks might be a little more. They are first quality fabrics, but usually last year's or older fabrics. Love going there!

At Joann's, if you finish the bolt, they will give a 50% discount if it is less than a yard to finish it. It is standard procedure. The are not giving away the store. The left over piece would go in the remnant bin at 50% off anyway.

I have noticed that at my LQS stores around here, most give a little extra. If I ever buy at Joann's (not often for fabric) it is always right on.

Usually my Joanns' fabrics are a little short. I think it's because they use the groove to cut the fabric with scissors and it gets dipped down which shortens my piece. WOW, though on 22-28 inches for a half yard. Someone is very generous :)

Maybe the generous cut were end of bolt cuts.

If you are referring to Hancock Fabrics, that had to come from the warehouse. Now if it came from a store & they sent it out then the cut would be pretty much precise. They have to cut actual cuts otherwise the inventory is off. The warehouse isn't that way, which isn't fair to the rest of the company.

your right Jan and they don't even do that anymore and I notice the selveges are getting wider I got fabric from joanns and notice it so I measured and was 3/4 in so that's an 1 1/2 off the width

When I shopped with Mama, I remember that cuts were always made in this "baker's dozen" manner. When I studied "home ec" in high school and college, the true grain issue was taught and that accounted for this fudge factor in cutting. Today I rarely find much of a grain discrepancy but, in the distant past, I've run into some doozies. There may be some sellers/cutters who are still passing along the "little bit extra" without realizing the reason this used to be done with yardage sales is no longer a factor. And this might explain our little sense of entitlement to the extra!

Hancocks is having a big sale all month...I got a flyer in the mail Sat. They have batiks on sale...

I received some fabric, by mail, from them last week. There was a note with one of them that they just gave me, about 6 inches, because it was end of the bolt.
I did not measure the others, I just hold them with my arms and they seemed right.
I did not order any batiks

I am from Maine and know Mardens. Really quite a store if you hit it right. No longer there but curious, are you from the Sanford area? I was raised in Ogunquit.

sounds like you were served by either a disgruntled employee or some one who was trying to do too many things at a time. Now do we call and let them know so we don't feel like we are stealing - of course they will tell you to keep it.

At most stores I have gone to, if the remnant is less than a yard, it is given at 1/2 price.

In Maine we are soo spoiled by Mardens generous cuts of fabric. Of late I have found a lot of very good quality fabrics there...Maywood Studio is a favorite of mine..as is Anna Griffin fabrics..RJR, Henry Glass etc.. I am a faithful customer in Brewer and Waterville Mardens stores.

No extra material cut where I shop at Hobby Lobby on my last shopping spree I was buying several cuts and there was only 7 inches left on one piece so I asked how much she would charge me for it and she said reg price so I just left it. she also measured what I bought very carefully. Our Hancocks also cut right on the inches. But I am still glad to have them close to where I live.

I work at a LQS. honestly with the cost of fabrics now days we are very careful to be accurate. Those few inches add up to yards very quickly! Small businesses in any industry struggle to compete with the big chain stores, etc. I hope you all are willing to get what you pay for. :)

That is the policy at the JoAnn's AND the Hancock's store here, so that employee may have been doing nothing wrong. +
- You tell them how much you want, and if you take whatever is remaining on the bolt, it is 50% off. If you ask for a yard, and there is a yard and a half, the last 1/2 yard is 50% off. I don't think you could ask for 1/2 a yard, and get the last 10 yards at the discount because I'm sure there is a limit to how much can be left for you to get the price cut, but it's worth paying attention to.
Carol B

Anybody remember the little machines that they used to run the fabric through to measure it?

At $12 per yard the fabric costs .33 cents per inch.
"Give away" 2" per cut and that equals $0.66 loss to the shop.
If the shop sells ever 100 cuts per day (whether it's 1 yd. or 1/ yd.) they have lost $66 dollars that day.
If they are open 300 days per year, they can have lost $19,800 that year. :shock: :shock: :shock:

Puts a very different spin on this practice, doesn't it.

Jan in VA

Reminds me of a trip to my Hobby Lobby couple weeks ago a lady was complaining about a cut of material she paid for & she had every right to do so she paid for 3yrds & when she got home it had been cut wrong so many times there was just under 2 1/2 yards both ends were cut terribly, I'm thinking it had been wound & unwound too many times. It was a fight but she got a new cut that was accurate finally.

I usually get exact cuts too, but from time to time I find a store that's generous or maybe it's just the clerk...