Stitchnripper

good ideas all. I quilt mainly for my own pleasure and am not planning on my quilts lasting forever. I make them and stack them up. Sometimes I make one for someone else. So far even the less expensive fabric hasn't faded or shredded on the give away quilts. And some of them are for the grandchildren so they get washed and dried a lot.

ckcowl

connecting threads, fabric.com, joannes, walmart, hancocks...and many more places sell fabrics for less --- i guess i'm lucky my local quilt shop sells their quilt fabrics for $7.95- $8.95 for batiks.
if you join the
fabshophop
you will have access to over 150 different shops across the country- they all offer different fabrics and there is a vast range of prices.
often shops offering classes do ask you to buy your supplies in their shop- but i have picked up my supply list and shopped where i wanted to many times.

lakekids

My first quilt used light weight upholstery fabric that I found for $2.00 a yard. I wasn't sure that I would like quilting and I did not want to spend a bunch of money and then discover that I was never going to finish the project. but 15 years later here I am. I still buy what I can afford - although a lot of it is quilt store fabric - I also buy from Joann's. There is a quilt I made for my dad from lower grade fabric that has faded a lot but hey the quilt was to be used and it is. If I was going to make an heirloom quilt I would probably stick with quilt store fabric. However, for everything else I am more inserested in color, and design.

Favorite Fabrics

Thank you for mentioning our shop, Tartan!

Most stores - whether online or local - have "sale bins" where you can find top-quality fabrics that have been marked down. Another way to s-t-r-e-t-c-h your fabric budget.

gramma nancy

You will fine LOTS of debate on this very issue on this board. There are those who use only LQS fabric and those who use the nicest fabric they can find at any shop or website. The best advice may be to go with your wallet and your best judgment. Welcome newbie!

jitkaau

Nice, kind people often give me fabric or batting for Christmas and birthdays. They know they are giving me something that I love and it also helps them appreciate the worth of a finished quilt.
I find that it is best to buy little affordable bits often and then very soon, you have a big enough stash to make another quilt.

KITCHEN WITCH

I just received fabric from Connecting Threads that was on sale for 2.84 yd It is beautiful.

suzanprincess

A few months ago I bought 20+ yards at my LQS from the half-off room, $5 yard. Today I received a box of even more yards from Connecting Threads at $2.48 yard, with free shipping on $50 purchase. I do not see a difference in quality among any of them; they all have a smooth hand and lovely colors. I won't mind at all cutting them up for Project Linus quilts at these prices, even on my limited budget. My most difficult decision making now is how to organize my stash, since many pieces were bought to go together, and many more just because I liked them! I even (blush) was overcome with fabric greed and sent in another order to CT because they put another group on 50% discount, and besides my son found a batik on sale there that I will make into some lovely non-sheer curtains for his French doors, and if I'm spending $25 (ordered extra to keep, of course) I might as well give in to the "need" for some of those great new designs and get the free shipping, right?

Anna O

Quality does matter, it doesn't matter where you buy it. Some brands tend to be of better quality. And don't go by price either. Judge each fabric you consider purchasing on it's own.

anita211

I think that the quality of fabric used at the beginning is something that doesn't need to be addressed. You buy what you can afford... and you use it up. You might not get a stash immediately, but over the course of time, you will. You will also learn what feels nice to the touch, and will discover that some fabric manufacturers are more suitable to your style of quilting than others. That said, you can find good quality material just about anywhere. However, if you can actually count the number of warp and weft lines, you might want to steer clear of it. You will not be happy over the long term with it. You have to remember that this is going to be washed over and over again. And it will probably be dried in the dryer too. Inexpensive fabric doesn't wash and dry as well as the branded stuff, say Moda or Bernartex.

I should also note that you must be sure to use 100% cotton for your quilt tops. Regardless of quality, you want shrinkage to be about the same when you do wash it. I learned that lesson the hard way about 35 years ago when there wasn't the same shrinkage in the blocks. If all you can get is 65% cotton, 35% polyester, go with that the entire quilt. Don't mix it.

I hope this helps.

Anita in Northfield, MN