Difference between quilting fabric store material and hancocks
03-09-2013, 09:23 PM
#21
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 2,503
********************
....but, I have run into a few salesclerks at LQS that really push their fabric on you.....like your wrong if you don't buy from us!!!! That attitude usually sends me right out the door to shop elsewhere! I buy what I can afford and if I find a fabric with a good feel, I will buy it but please, don't push your $12.50 - 13.00 a yard fabric on me!! I've never had a clerk at the big box stores, try to push only their fabrics....they are just there to measure and cut and occasionally, help me find a color or two to match a fabric that I have bought at a different store.
....but, I have run into a few salesclerks at LQS that really push their fabric on you.....like your wrong if you don't buy from us!!!! That attitude usually sends me right out the door to shop elsewhere! I buy what I can afford and if I find a fabric with a good feel, I will buy it but please, don't push your $12.50 - 13.00 a yard fabric on me!! I've never had a clerk at the big box stores, try to push only their fabrics....they are just there to measure and cut and occasionally, help me find a color or two to match a fabric that I have bought at a different store.
03-09-2013, 09:30 PM
#22
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Myrtle Beach, SC
Posts: 8,108
So I'm not the only one who notices a 'scent' on fabric - my nose clogs up.
However, I'm starting to notice it on everything that has any fabric in it, no matter where I buy it, has the same scent and causes the same reaction for my nose and eyes. My thought is that the stores are infusing scent into the air to make shopping more pleasant - not for me though. Actually went into a store where the smell was so overpowering I complained and then left the store. The clerk told me that they were "adjusting" the venting.
All my fabrics are washed before use, or I can't use them!
However, I'm starting to notice it on everything that has any fabric in it, no matter where I buy it, has the same scent and causes the same reaction for my nose and eyes. My thought is that the stores are infusing scent into the air to make shopping more pleasant - not for me though. Actually went into a store where the smell was so overpowering I complained and then left the store. The clerk told me that they were "adjusting" the venting.
All my fabrics are washed before use, or I can't use them!
03-10-2013, 05:39 AM
#26
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: USA
Posts: 1,623
.... I will pass along what I have been told. The difference is if you buy fabric from a quilt store, they receive the first run of the fabric. As fabric is woven the weave becomes looser at the ends. So, when a quilt shop orders their fabric, generally they receive their portion from the best part of the run; that being the best and tightest weave. When they get to the portion where the weave is not as tight (good) then those portions are bought by Joann's, etc.
I was a manager at JoAnn and I can tell you they have good quality fabrics and some not so good. They cater to all checkbooks. Your LQS needs to stay in business, we probably shouldn't complain that their prices are high. It's not a ploy to get you to spend more money, they have bills to pay and they don't have the purchasing power of a big box store. I buy half my fabric at a LQS and half online. I do this to help keep the LQS in business, even though I worked at JoAnn. I bought Audra's Iris Garden online from a quilt shop in another state. They carried the full line of this collection and no one near me did.
I think we need both types of stores, simply choose the one that's best for you.
03-10-2013, 05:46 AM
#27
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Georgetown, Texas
Posts: 342
I judge a fabric by the "feel" ..usually there is a big difference in the feel...I think there are projects that I can use fabric that is just ok..but for most larger projects..the "feel" is the rule
03-10-2013, 06:01 AM
#28
Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Independence, MO
Posts: 47
I agree you have to touch it which is why I have a difficult time buying online. Also the colors are not always true online and I am pretty picky about color matching. I can't tell if it works unless the fabrics are side by side in good light so I tend to carry around the fabrics I am trying to match when shopping for additional fabrics of backing.
Quilted by Vicki
Quilted by Vicki
03-10-2013, 06:14 AM
#29
Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 4
From the link http://www.sewing.org/files/guidelin...ting_terms.pdf
"Greige Goods (pronounced "gray")
Most fabric prints are applied to a solid color "raw" base
fabric referred to as griege goods. Fabric companies
may have several kinds of greige goods (flannel,
corduroy, jersey, etc.) to use with the same print, and
they may also have different qualities of greige goods
differentiated by thread counts (the number of threads
in a square inch). A single fabric company may print on
multiple qualities of greige goods for different types of stores
(independent quilt shops vs. chains vs. discount stores)."
When I first started quilting (which so far means a whole lot of piecework and very little actual quilting), I was building up my stash from JoAnn. Then I spent some time in Shipshewanna (Lolly's, Das Essenhaus, among too many others) and noticed the fabrics were way, way different. Not just in the prints available (never met a metallic I did not like!), but the feel of the fabrics. When I came across the above definition, I finally understood.
"Greige Goods (pronounced "gray")
Most fabric prints are applied to a solid color "raw" base
fabric referred to as griege goods. Fabric companies
may have several kinds of greige goods (flannel,
corduroy, jersey, etc.) to use with the same print, and
they may also have different qualities of greige goods
differentiated by thread counts (the number of threads
in a square inch). A single fabric company may print on
multiple qualities of greige goods for different types of stores
(independent quilt shops vs. chains vs. discount stores)."
When I first started quilting (which so far means a whole lot of piecework and very little actual quilting), I was building up my stash from JoAnn. Then I spent some time in Shipshewanna (Lolly's, Das Essenhaus, among too many others) and noticed the fabrics were way, way different. Not just in the prints available (never met a metallic I did not like!), but the feel of the fabrics. When I came across the above definition, I finally understood.
03-10-2013, 06:19 AM
#30
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Here and there
Posts: 1,669
I so agree with this! When I meet people who won't buy anything other than LQS fabric, I am reminded of "The Emporer's New Clothes." I was at a quilt shop recently where one of the fabtrics in a sample quilt was a staple of JoAnn's collection. I recognized it because I keep it on hand for sashing. Give us all a break and buy fabric based on how it feels and how it looks instead of where you bought it. froggyintexas
The salespeople at LQS will give you one version of the differences, fabric reps will give different facts, and JoAnn's/WalMart will give a third version.....LQS wants you to believe that their fabric is the best and the only place you can get good fabric.....I know from shopping at all of them, that you can get good and bad fabric everywhere....you have to feel/look the fabrics to know....I cannot afford the pricing at LQS, so only shop there if I can't find what I need at a cheaper price somewhere else.....I am very satisfied with the fabrics/pricing from Connecting Threads....I get free shipping on $50 orders and who can't spend $50 when making a quilt?
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