Highmtn

I hope this all prints.. if not.. I'll post the link - HERE YOU GO...

Welcome to the QuiltHome Library

We are developing this library to be your resource for information regarding the world of quilting. We will be continually adding more resources for your use. Hopefully you will enjoy perusing the Library and feel compelled to add information that you think other quilters would find useful. Please send any submissions to: [email protected]

We currently have the following resources:

Quilting Fabric - information regarding the quality and availability of quilting fabrics
Quilting Tips - simple tips to improve your quilting techniques
Quilting Glossary - definitions of quilting-related terms
Quilting Links - links to other good quilting references
Fabric Quality

″I try to work with the best 100% cotton fabrics available from my local quilt store. These fabrics are the best available on the market. If you are bargain hunting somewhere other than your quilt store, it is extremely important to understand that the fabric might not be printed on the first quality greige goods (the raw fabric the design is printed on). This may not seem important when you are first trying to establish your stash, but it can cause serious problem down the road. When the fabric is not top quality, all your hard work may be in vain. The quilt might fall apart right before your eyes or stretch and distort, making piecing difficult. This disaster would be due to a lesser thread count (fewer threads per inch) and improper processing. In some classes I′ve taught, students have become quite frustrated because the bargain fabrics they brought in would not behave or piece together willingly. A lot of hard work goes into making a quilt, and your time is worth using the best products available. I would rather have five pieces of high quality fabric than twenty pieces of lesser quality.″

Fabric Shopping with Alex Anderson

The Difference Between Chain Store Fabrics and Quilters′ Grade Fabrics
I′m often asked, "Is there really any difference between the printed cottons found in chain stores for $2.99 to $5.99 per yard and those found in quilt shops and the best mail order catalogs for $7.99 to $9.99?" You bet there is!

Premium brands start with high quality greige (gray) goods. Premium greige goods have a thread count of at least 60 by 60 threads, and most have thread counts higher than "60 square." Higher thread counts produce a silkier hand, less bearding when quilted, longer fabric life and better printing definition.

Most chain store cotton prints are made from less expensive greige goods that have 60 square construction or less. In chain stores, 60 square construction is considered to be the benchmark of high quality.

In addition to thread count, fabric quality is also determined by the diameter of the yarns used, the size of the cotton filaments and the length of the cotton staple. Although premium raw materials are more expensive and add to the final price you pay, you get a far superior finished product.

Premium brands typically make use of a higher number of screens (the number of colors used in the print) and more complex and sophisticated engravings. High screen counts and complex engravings require using slower and more exacting flat bed presses than the high speed rotary presses used by domestic printers for most chain store fabrics.

Once the greige goods are printed, they have to be "finished". The printed fabric is placed in a chemical bath that sets the dye into the cotton fibers. Unfinished or poorly finished goods bleed badly and have a very coarse, "boardy" hand. Premium brands are finished using more time-consuming and expensive processes that create the silken hand of quilters′ grade fabric in addition to superior colorfastness.

It is, of course, an over-simplification to divide the cotton print industry into chain store brands and quilt shop/mail order catalog brands. Indeed, chain stores often carry a limited range of premium brands. But, generally speaking, chain store offerings are price driven. They cannot easily sell the higher priced fabrics to their clientele. As a result, chain stores tend to carry the lower priced (and therefore lower quality) cotton fabrics.

Consider also the element of design. Premier designers tend to design for premium fabric companies. The technical aspects-the use of premium greige goods, printing many screens with fine definition, creating a silken hand through more sophisticated finishing processes-all these elements enhance a designer′s efforts. World-class design brings a unique dimension to premium quality fabric. It comes with a price, but it adds immeasurably to the special nature of quilters′ grade fabric.

There is one more point that should be addressed. That is the issue of service and expertise. Most quilt shops and mail order quilting catalogs-the prime sources of premium fabrics-are well staffed with knowledgeable, friendly quilting experts. Most shops provide classes and expertise unmatched by the chains. Quilt shops and mail order catalogs generally do not sell jobber goods. They offer only first quality, premium brands at fair prices. These firms deserve your support.

In conclusion, there is most definitely a difference in fabrics. You get what you pay for. Premium brands offer a vast quality advantage over cheaper alternatives for just a modest increase in cost, especially when you consider the effort, skill and love that will go into your use of the fabric. Textile fabrication is a large subject. If you would like to learn more about this fascinating subject, I highly recommend Harriet Hargrave′s From Fiber to Fabric. It′s a wonderful book, and you can find it in most quilt shops and catalogs.

By Jim Salinas (used with permission)

Jim Salinas, who has had 25 years of fabric chain store retailing experience, is now a sales representative for Moda Fabrics.
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I decided to provide the link so people can personally ck it out.

Welcome to Quilt Home Library
http://quilthome.com/library.php

patches6032

I absolutely agree...some stores here in Wichita carry it some hardly any and one a half way decent amount , but I can get a better selection at Joann's or at Hancock fabric. also Walmart does not discount remenants. service not great because they have to cover several departments. appearance pretty good.

deedum

I agree, the appearance of the fabric department is very nice!

Betty Ruth

I went to WalMart just a few days ago for an odd assortment of items. I needed long, flat head straight pins. This was the first time I had been in the craft department since they brought back fabric. There wasn't as much fabric as they used to have, so the selection wasn't that good. The cheap fabric was just that - cheap junk. However, it got better as the prices increased. Some of the higher priced fabric would have been fine for quilting, but I didn't buy. Am trying to downsize my stash. Right now, I have fabric stashed in every possible spot in our small house, including my husband's den.

kitsykeel

I have shopped Wally World for years. For a while they closed out our fabric dept. but have now reopened. I always peruse the $1.50 (used to be $1.00) fabrics and have on occasion found 100% cotton and I buy it because even if I can't use it right now there will always be something like doll clothes, doll quilts, quilts, curtains or whatever in in the future.









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QuiltedCritterLady

I rely quite a bit on advice from a friend who has been quilting for decades. She cautions me not to be a fabric snob. Basically, she has said to look at the fabric. If it is so thin that you can see your hand placed behind it, it is too thin. If you can't see your hand through it and you like it, by all means buy it! I have found some junky fabric at Wal Mart, and I've found some to be acceptable. Lately I've found some there that was quite a lot better - not as nice as the LQS, but neither were the prices. I try to buy the best I can afford and decide for each project. My Christmas quilts were made with better fabric. When I made Christmas table runners I used fabric that was a mix from various places. If I were to make pot holders, Wal Mart fabric would be just fine. Dog blankets would be fine from Wal Mart fabric too, no question. Decide for each project individually based on your budget. If all I could afford was yard sale fabric, I would still quilt. If I could not even afford that, I would still quilt, and I would just cut up old clothes. That's what our grandmothers did anyway, right?

penski

our walmart used to have a great fabric dept with good prices but after they took it out , remodeled the store then brought the dept back there fabric is ugly , cheap looking and the price has gone up ,there is no sales help designated to the dept you have to ask and someone from another dept that knows how to cut fabric will come over and help you, it is sad

Scissor Queen

Not if your grandmother had any sense. Back then when clothes were worn out they were really worn out. People did not have the amount of clothes they do now and they wore them a lot longer than people do now. By the time they were worn out had already been worn by every kid in the family and repaired numerous times and maybe even made over a time or two. By the time the last kid was done they were nearly rags. They tore them in strips and used them for mops or dust rags or cleaning rags in general.

Quilts were made from the SCRAPS from MAKING clothes!!! Most people made clothes back then and would have lots of scraps leftover.

Richer women that had purchased clothes would even buy special fabrics specifically for making quilts.

oldbalt99

I go to five different Walmarts in maryland. They each have different arrangments and faric. You need to make up your own mind on your experience. Stores are like snowflakes no two are the same, nor fabric quality guarenteed because of where you buy it.

sewbeadit

I was gifted a beautifully made quilt, after about 3 normal washings I noticed that there were holes popping up in different places, I asked and found that the lady had made it using the 1.00 fabric, (flannel) from Walmart. All that work down the tube. I still have it, sitting there wondering what to do with it. Perhaps, recover it or something.

I just know that when you buy fabric don't let only the price dictate what you buy. At the J's stores they used to carry different brands of fabrics, now it seems like most of the cotton is made for them and it is of varying quality even though most is up to 9.99 a yard. I can go to most LQS in this area and find a lot of beautiful fabrics for that price. The hand is wonderful the prints are awesome. Look at some from J's and see if the prints aren't a bit muddied and the colors too. My point being check places out and buy what you can afford and get the best fabric, as we all try to do. Lots of LQS have sale fabric off in a corner somewhere that is nice fabric, go look, might find something you love.