Quality and price of fabrics
#12
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: in the sticks of PA
Posts: 2,307
I bought some yardage from Fat Quarter Shop and The Green Fairy that were Moda fabric and they were as thin as some from Joann fabric. Seems like the higher the price these days doesn’t necessarily mean better quality IMHO.
#13
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 2,489
Odd person out here, but I've had great luck at Joann's. Just bought thread there, and at buy 3/get 2 free, got what I needed. I also do button art, and found the same deal on buttons. They also had some great crafty sale items. I have a weakness for fat quarters, and recently they had them for $1.00 each, and I bought 30! I guess it's all in what you want and need. I frequent 3 different Joann's, depending on what part of the city I am in. I do like LQS's also, but those are few and far between. My favorite one happens to be over 1800 miles away, so I only get there about once a year!
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 547
Visited Joanns in Madison, WI. It is so sad. Most shelves very empty; fabric areas a mess. They cannot get help. Boxes sitting unopened everywhere. Also had the buy 3 get 2 free but there is not enough thread to have options. Also zippers were almost nonexistent.
Agree that you need to watch out for qualiity in their fabrics.
Agree that you need to watch out for qualiity in their fabrics.
I haven't been in Joann's in years, the quality is just awful, and the two quilt shops that are in reasonable driving distance in my part of the world just went to retiree hours so I'm exclusively shopping for fabric online now. My favorites are CaliQuiltCo, MerMer and there are several other good fabric sellers with excellent service and selections.
#15
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Myrtle Beach, SC
Posts: 8,095
i had that problem several years ago. after multiple requests for help, waiting over a half hour for someone to cut fabric, i cut my own, brought the cut piece and the bolt to the regiser. then the front end folks went nuts! i wasn't supposed to do that! they were very busy at the time - no excuse for ignoring me if fabric dept - and finally decided to check me out at the register. Then the clerk asked why I wasn't taking the bolt. I told her I didn't buy the bolt, just the 2 yard piece she checked out.
This is always a problem at walmart, so I don't fabric shop there nearly as much as i used to.
This is always a problem at walmart, so I don't fabric shop there nearly as much as i used to.
#16
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: northern minnesota
Posts: 2,338
I have noticed that some of the newer fabrics in the quilt shops are thinned also and ravel more. I know the price of cotton is way up. Glad I have a stash, if I did not, I would shop yard sales looking for fabric.
#17
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: NW MN lake country
Posts: 3,376
Our super Walmart isn't very super any more! They have almost no fabric, yarn or craft items, and what they do have is so ugly and very expensive. They used to have such nice fabric and yarn selections, but no longer. Too bad as they were the only source of crafts and yarn in our small town. There is a LQS but they have very limited fabric lines, odd hours and are really pricey. As much as I want to patronize my local businesses, they are making it harder to do so all the time.
#18
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: My own private Idaho
Posts: 182
I still buy thread from JoAnn's, but I wait for the sale. I don't worry about the color of the thread as I buy mostly neutral gray or beige. Saves a lot of time and those two colors blend with almost all other colors, except black of course.
I think the fabric has become thinner regardless of whether of I buying from JoAnn's or my LQS. For those of you who have older stashes, it might be interesting to wash 1 yard of new fabric and 1 yard of old fabric and compare the weight and fraying. Might be interesting data collection and give us a basis for whether it actually is thinner.
I think the fabric has become thinner regardless of whether of I buying from JoAnn's or my LQS. For those of you who have older stashes, it might be interesting to wash 1 yard of new fabric and 1 yard of old fabric and compare the weight and fraying. Might be interesting data collection and give us a basis for whether it actually is thinner.
#19
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Arizona
Posts: 5,578
Yes I am finding this also. Also purchased my stash when I was working full time. Guess I was looking into the future …I now have no need to purchase some stash…mostly just background and solids.
I appreciate everyone suggestions to my first post.
I appreciate everyone suggestions to my first post.
#20
They have those Liberty's at my local Joanns, too, and I'm suspicious it's a Wallmart Levis situation. They feel rougher than they should; maybe it's some spray treatment, but it sets off my dubious quality alarms.