BellaBoo

At all the Walmarts I've been to in AR since the fabric dept came back, the quilting cotton fabric is $6 - $8 a yard and quilt shop quality. The cotton craft fabric, character prints, etc is $3 - $4 a yard. I buy all my muslin, fusibles, no scrim batting, Warm and Natural white batting, insulbrite, Pellon, and interfacing at Walmart. I haven't found it cheaper anywhere else unless on clearance.

MadQuilter

Whether Joann, Beverly's, or Walmart, I check the quality and if it is good, the pattern/color is what I need, and the price is right I get it.

crafty pat

I buy fabric that I like where ever I find it. I have been sewing long enough to know my fabrics and I inspect it good before I buy from anywhere except that I order. I have found a lot of good fabric at Walmart, however They have some that I would not buy. I picked up some last week that was so pretty but the weave was so loose that you could see light through it. I did not buy it. At the one I use there is never anyone there to cut so last week I found a store manager and filed a complaint. That store was one that fought bringing fabric back. I ask him how the fabric was chosen for each store and he said the manager for fabric and crafts department chose the fabric. She does not have the best of taste in quilting fabrics but has a lot of good fabric for children. I told him I knew they did not want the fabric department but if they have it they need someone to cut it. I have seen people that had to wait so long they put it back and left. I think they want that so they can say they do not sell enough to keep it.

bearisgray

One of the 'thinnest' fabrics I bought was a Nancy Crow purchased at a LQS. It's fairly tightly woven, but it does not have the 'hefty' feel of - say, a Northcott.

Some people prefer the heftier feel - Usually the heftier feeling ones have fewer threads per square inch. Some prefer a smoother, more tightly woven feel.

There really is no substitute for experience when it comes to buying fabrics.

Some of the thinnest, most see-through cotton fabric was the most expensive - it was a cotton batiste purchased for a christening gown. It was, however, fairly tightly woven.

I can't say about the current lines of fabrics at WalMart OR LQS OR JoAnn fabrics - I haven't bought any fabric from ANY of them for about a year.

I do haunt garage sales, though! The pickings have been very slim.

Pennyhal

The bottom line is that the better the quality, the more expensive it is to manufacture. A manufacturer may print the same pattern on different quality fabric to be sold to different retailers. I love the feel of a high quality cotton (which is why I don't like to use starch) and I also like to support my local quilt stores. They provide more than just fabric and I like to help them stay in business. But I don't always need a high quality fabric, so I shop wherever I can get the fabric that I need for a project.

LadyElisabeth

The thread count is what is important. Always FEEL it, we can tell a lot just by the feel. There is some fabric that is ONLY SOLD to independent fabric stores and that is higher quality.

Jeanette Frantz

Frankly, I have purchased a lot of fabric from Walmart. The quilting fabric stocked by my local Walmart is very good quality -- priced at $2-3 a yard less than the exact same fabric at JoAnn's. I think a body has to "Know" their fabric and be able to ascertain whether the quality is there! After all, our forefathers did not purchase expensive fabric -- they used what they had. I have some quilts that I know have to be 75-100 years old and they are still beautiful and in great shape. I have a project that hasn't yet made it off the cutting board for which I purchased quilting fabric (from Walmart) that is high quality fabric (the top alone has already cost me $300.00). I guess the real question is "does Walmart fabric bleed more than JoAnn's? I submit that certain colors will bleed, no matter how much you pay for them. I don't take a chance, I just do the dye-setting, and get on with my project!

Jeanette Frantz

ArtsyOne

I've noticed that WalMart has the exact same patterns of fabric that the LQS does, it's just on a less expensive and thinner fabric and the printing seems not to be as precise or the colors as clear. As everyone above has said, if you like the fabric and it's the weight you want, then the source doesn't matter. And like another poster commented, my local WalMart has no one to cut fabrics either and I'm often wandering around the electronics department looking for a live person to capture.

meyert

I have purchased walmart fabric but I have found that it can be thinner, but if I like the print and I don't want to wait for an internet order to ship I will buy it from Walmart. I have already used 2 layers of a walmart fabric to make the lighter colors better - like yellows and pinks that are on thin material. I can also say that I think it depends on your Walmart. I am 15 miles away from 1 Walmart and 35 miles from another Walmart and the one farther away has a much better fabric selection. I think they watch what sells and stock that. There must not be many people close to the WalMart closer to me I do love Fabric.com ... free shipping and they usually get it out the door in a day or two.. and I have had good luck with their fabrics and threads

mike'sgirl

I have found that you can find nice fabric online for cheaper than at WM and it's name brand quilter's quality. I am not paying those prices at WM, when I can get better fabric for less money online.