Difference between quilting fabric store material and hancocks
03-12-2013, 05:16 AM
#61
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 203
Mary: Everyone has there favorites, I can only tell you mine. Beware: You can sign-up to receive their e-mails on sales etc. These are my favorites, have ordered from them all with good results:
Fabric.com Now having a sale (4.95 a yard for QS quality)
Connecting Threads Now also having a sale.
Whittles
Thousands of Bolts
Marshall Drygoods (never ordered from them but they have some good deals)
I know there are hundreds more but this is where I go. Maybe others can add others.
Fabric.com Now having a sale (4.95 a yard for QS quality)
Connecting Threads Now also having a sale.
Whittles
Thousands of Bolts
Marshall Drygoods (never ordered from them but they have some good deals)
I know there are hundreds more but this is where I go. Maybe others can add others.
03-12-2013, 05:46 AM
#62
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 203
The best quality fabric comes from Japan and South Korea, not China, Pakistan or India. Your LQS normally purchase from Japan and South Korea where the fabric is much better woven, both tighter and thicker, the prints are clearer and the metallic fabric is awesome. South Korea and Japan, first world countries with higher labor costs, have higher standards for their fabrics, so I know that anything purchased from those countries will be exceptional.
The manufactures that sell to the LQS, generally don't sell to Joannes. There is one manufacturer that does, except that the fabric sold to Joannes is printed in China and the good stuff sold to LQS is made in South Korea, thus there is a price and quality difference.
The real question that I see is this... You are making a quilt with love for someone. You have spent 20 to 60 hours working on that quilt and alot of people spend the money to have a quilt, quilted for them. So, why have you spent all that time, then spent the money to have it quilted, to end up with a finished quilt made of inferior fabric?
The other issue is of course customer service. If you come into my store, you will get personal help. If you need help with a technique, we give it. If you have problems choosing fabric or colors, we will bring fabric to you that will go together for you to choose from. We have a classroom that you can sew in free of charge and bring a bunch of buddies to sew together. We have classes. Get stuck on a project, we will help you out. Want a demo of anything in the store, we give it. We can custom print fabric, so bring in your pictures and designs. Want to brag and show off what you have done, we would love to see it.
So these are the differences between the chain stores and the LQS. Yes, some LQS need lessons in friendliness and helpfulness. I just hope that all LQS will demonstrate the love that we have quilting.
Meredith, Beautifulquiltfabric.com, Beautiful Quilt Fabric, San Dimas, California
The manufactures that sell to the LQS, generally don't sell to Joannes. There is one manufacturer that does, except that the fabric sold to Joannes is printed in China and the good stuff sold to LQS is made in South Korea, thus there is a price and quality difference.
The real question that I see is this... You are making a quilt with love for someone. You have spent 20 to 60 hours working on that quilt and alot of people spend the money to have a quilt, quilted for them. So, why have you spent all that time, then spent the money to have it quilted, to end up with a finished quilt made of inferior fabric?
The other issue is of course customer service. If you come into my store, you will get personal help. If you need help with a technique, we give it. If you have problems choosing fabric or colors, we will bring fabric to you that will go together for you to choose from. We have a classroom that you can sew in free of charge and bring a bunch of buddies to sew together. We have classes. Get stuck on a project, we will help you out. Want a demo of anything in the store, we give it. We can custom print fabric, so bring in your pictures and designs. Want to brag and show off what you have done, we would love to see it.
So these are the differences between the chain stores and the LQS. Yes, some LQS need lessons in friendliness and helpfulness. I just hope that all LQS will demonstrate the love that we have quilting.
Meredith, Beautifulquiltfabric.com, Beautiful Quilt Fabric, San Dimas, California
03-12-2013, 06:10 AM
#63
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Roseburg, OR
Posts: 2,976
Yorkie: Your right, the color on the monitor is always off but I am mostly a scrappy quilt maker so it isn't so important. I am always pleased with the color even if it isn't quite what I had invisioned. Plus paying $4 per yard rather than $12 encourages me to adjust. If you are just stash building you can do the matching once you get it in hand. I just recently placed an order at CT for an entire quilt top. Don't know whether the colors will work together, but at their sale price I thought I would try. For me, the good price makes the risk worth it. It is a question you have to ask yourself. Some of the sites have "color walls" where you can point to a particular color in a fabric you like and the program will pull up like colors in other fabrics. Really a lot of fun to play with.
Connecting Threads and Fabric.com both have free shipping for a minimum order but even if shipping is an additional cost I just divide it by the number of yards and it is still a very good deal.
Guess what I am trying to say is that I have been very pleased with my on line experiences, the service has been great and the prices have been superior. Hope this helps.
Connecting Threads and Fabric.com both have free shipping for a minimum order but even if shipping is an additional cost I just divide it by the number of yards and it is still a very good deal.
Guess what I am trying to say is that I have been very pleased with my on line experiences, the service has been great and the prices have been superior. Hope this helps.
03-12-2013, 07:59 AM
#64
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,789
I don't have time to read thru all these answers. It is a myth that only quilt shop fabric is better.
Fabric Manufacturers do not have the luxury of buying different grades of base fabric for different markets.
Some manufacturers as a general policy may do lesser quality than others but you find excellent quality at quilt shops as wel as any and all of the chains. There may have been a time when chains only had poor quality but not any more.
Lets learn to feel and test the quality and make the decision for ourselves. I have used fabric from the same manufacturer and in the same design line and some of it had a different feel in quality than others. Sometime it depends on where the fabric is printed. Please lets get rid of this myth and learn to test the quality ourselves.
Fabric Manufacturers do not have the luxury of buying different grades of base fabric for different markets.
Some manufacturers as a general policy may do lesser quality than others but you find excellent quality at quilt shops as wel as any and all of the chains. There may have been a time when chains only had poor quality but not any more.
Lets learn to feel and test the quality and make the decision for ourselves. I have used fabric from the same manufacturer and in the same design line and some of it had a different feel in quality than others. Sometime it depends on where the fabric is printed. Please lets get rid of this myth and learn to test the quality ourselves.
03-12-2013, 09:42 AM
#65
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 862
I've been quilting since the early 90s and I can just tell you that the LQS fabric will last longer and hold the color longer than anything you buy at Joann's or Hancock's. Long ago, I had a fabric that was the same print at an LQS as at Hancock's. The color faded much faster. You could feel the difference after washing. However, if budget is your most important issue, don't beat yourself up for using fabric at Hancock's or Joanns (just avoid the calico wall, if you can). Both have some better quality fabrics. Save the quilt shop fabric for something more for an heirloom or for yourself. For a kid's quilt though, not a problem. They will be on to some other theme by the time the quilt wears out.
I do occasionally get fabric at Joanne's and Hancocks. Sometimes it's a print I need for a themed quilt. However, I can pick up plenty of fabric on sale at the quilt stores - I want them around because they provide services and selection for me that the chain stores can't.
I do occasionally get fabric at Joanne's and Hancocks. Sometimes it's a print I need for a themed quilt. However, I can pick up plenty of fabric on sale at the quilt stores - I want them around because they provide services and selection for me that the chain stores can't.
03-23-2013, 02:25 AM
#68
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 421
Several of the LQS in the area sell their fabrics as reasonably if not more reasonably than the fabrics I like at Joann's. I can get the Joanns fabrics at a similar price if I use a coupon, but if I have to do that--why wouldn't I support the local folks? I'm sure its not that way everywhere, but several of our shops do their best to keep their fabrics reasonable and competitive.
03-23-2013, 02:55 AM
#69
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 6,395
I have found that different Walmarts, Joann's, LQS will have different selections of fabrics. Some have a more knowledgable buyer than others or something. The fabric is not better or worse at one or the other because of the name on the front of the store. The WM I get a lot of my fabric from has a good portion of fabrics from major manufacturers that the date on the edge is several years old, quite nice fabric, just not the latest seasons offering. Same is true for one of the LQS nearby. Pricing is good at both. And both have some fabric that is better and some not so great. So as others have pointed out already it is up to you to feel it and decide if it is what you want.
Last edited by mom-6; 03-23-2013 at 03:05 AM.
03-23-2013, 04:45 AM
#70
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Illinois
Posts: 9,018
I think the spelling is either greige or greige fabric....meaning the start of a printing run and usually (supposedly) is of lesser quality and is what the box stores buy.....but if you ask either the mfgr or store if that is true they will deny it and say their fab is same quality as LQS. So I personally do the touch test.......
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