iamsogone

i love fabric and the feel is one of the the things i consider but iam always looking for the ultimate deal and i do find it alot i have quilt from my grand mother and i am sure that when quilting was started the quality of material is not what it is today they used old clothes or what ever they had so i dont feel that you have to have the best but what you like and can afford it is the gift of thought to me that should count

Edie

I have found that if I decide what I am going to make, how much fabric I will need, you can generally get by with 1/2 yard of this or 1/4 yard of that and you have fabric that is $10.00 a yard. That's what shocks you! Go for 1/2 yard - $5.00 or 1/4 yard - $2.50. I do pay the most for my backing at 108" and that is generally $10.00 yard and that I get at JoAnn's for 50% off. I love to buy fat quarters and fat quarter bundles. Sure you pay $9.99 for them but there are 5 fat quarters and use a coupon on that and you have 40-50% off. And then you use what you need and you have fabric left over for the next project where you want to match a block. I love to make Samplers and I have bits of this and pieces of that and everything one way or the other go together and I figure I paid for the original fabric for the one project and what I do with the leftovers is money in the bank! I can use the leftovers on 2-3 more quilts just by using the leftovers. I made a whole quilt with nothing but leftovers. I am working on two quilts right now with leftovers. Sometimes I can get beautiful fat quarters from JoAnn's or Hancocks for 99 cents (on sale). I may not use them today or tomorrow but for 99 cents, I'll get around to it. I am not making sense here, but I do know what I am trying to say. I hope you can understand me. Edie

mbmquilts

Yes Yes Yes...........as far as fabric goes you only get what you pay for. The fabric from Walmart, etc. is fine fabric for making craft items BUT for making quilts you really need to spend more and get the best. The fabric Walmart, etc sells is not first run fabric, quilts shops receive that fabric it is a better weave, color , first run fabric, the best. After all the time, effort, fun , etc you put into making a quilt you want the best and you want it to last for ever.

nursie76

Glad to help. I just love all the colorful fabrics! Have fun choosing :-)

Connie in Indiana

Dose anyone remember when they first started making quilts they use feed sacks! Egg money quilts.It can get to be what you want it to be or have the money for it to be!In joy thats what counts.

nursie76

AMEN!! It does bring joy.

minnow895

i have been quilting a number of years i still mess up even on expensive fabric when buying fabric at wallmart make shure you have enough to compleat your project because you may never see it again at wallmart on cheaper fabricn look at the whole piece you are buying some of them have miss prints of inprofwection that could efect the out come of your quilt i still buy cheap fabrics but i look at them to see what they are like got one piece the oth day i was in a hury and did not look at it it had a larg miss print in the middle of the piece i wound up having ton buy more so bear in mind you get what you pay for
good luck in you quilting you are addicted once you buy that first piece of fabric lol

cbuchanan

I agree with "you get what you pay for".... When I am giving a quilt as a gift, I always buy the better fabric, usually from my quilt shop. When I'm making prayer quilts for our church, because we work from donations, many of our quilts are made from Joann fabrics and there's definitely a huge difference in the quality. like others have said, get the best you can afford for those special projects. Joann fabric is always a good choice for a beginner until they master a few quilting skills. Also, don't always use the expensive fabric on wall hangings or mini quilts because they get no ware.
Good luck and enjoy the art...no matter where you buy your fabric.

mbmquilts

You said it in a nut shell!

vickig626

I agree with all that has been said so far. When I started quilting, I bought the cheaper fabric and didn't feel so bad when I messed up. But, realized when I started the actual "quilting" on the cheaper fabric, it would stretch causing puckers and overlaps. If I buy JoAnns fabric now, I only buy the higher end fabrics (Debbie Mumm, Legacy Studio, Heidi Katz (I think that's her name) and if not on sale, use my 40-50% coupon. I also have a LQS that always offers 25% off 1/2+ yard cuts so that's awesome.

Bottomline, buy cheaper fabric to practice on but buy best fabric you can afford for more precious projects. You're better off have a smaller stash of quality fabric than large stash of cheaper fabric you'll regret in time.

Hope this helps.