Have you heard that JoAnn's fabric is poorer quality?
#111
A lot of us, who live in places like El Paso, Texas, have no other choice! We have Walmart, Joannes and Hobby Lobby, there ARE NO QUILT SHOPS. We can travel to Las Cruces NM but even there, a major quilt shop just went out of business. I purchase online many times and stay with good brands, such and Moda but then you are stuck with shipping as well. If you have quilt shops you can frequent, count yourself very fortunate indeed.
Michelle
Michelle
#112
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 619
I get frustrated, aggravated, exasperated and intimidated by this kind of thread. MY problem is I just don't have the money to buy the "best" fabrics.......I enjoy quilting and am thrilled when I make someout out of a JA's fabric that looks half way decent ! When I think back to our ancestors making quilts they didn't have LQS, JA's, Wm"s, etc...they had to use what they had. If I could I'd buy the finest quality fabric i could fine,but I can't. I'm retired, live on a very limited incom My heart and my gut tell me to do the best that I can with what I have; I really don't care if these quilts last 50 years or not, I make them for the moment, the joy and the joy of sharing them with my loved ones.
Again, work with what you have available and enjoy it !
!
Again, work with what you have available and enjoy it !
!
I personally know a talented quilt artist-her quilts also sell for thousands & one of her quilts is in the Smithsonian. I know she buys her fabrics at Joann's-especially when there are the big sales.
Look at the antique quilts in museums-very unlikely that any of those fabrics came from LQS.
In a perfect world we would all buy only the best but in the meantime we do what we can. I do buy from the LQS sometimes, when I can, when my family has given me a gift certificate for a present or a special sale.
The happiest people are those who are content with what they have.
#113
I see so many people say the same thing over and over "I can't afford LQS fabric." You are sitting in front of the world's biggest shopping tool. I've paid as little as $3.50 a yard for TOP quality fabric from internet stores and as little as $1 a yard in a LQS!! So be honest. You buy JoAnn's and Wal-Mart fabric because you want to and you're making excuses. Whatever. But don't call people snobs because they can shop smart and buy TOP quality fabric cheaper than you buy the so called cheap stuff.
#114
I must be one lucky lady but I have used fabric from both Joanns and Walmart and have never had a problem with fading, bleding, shrinking or anything else. In fact, my favorite fabric is a gorgeous red paisley that I have only found at Walmart and have used successfully in many projects. I actually have found some Moda fabrics that were very thin and didn't work up as well. That's my two cents.
#115
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 106
I had a bad experience with Joann's but I will Hobby Lobby fabric all day long! Especially since I realized they have the Robert Kaufman Kona. Also my Joann's feels just slightly larger than a bathtub so it is not a pleasant time in there.
#116
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SW Minnesota
Posts: 1,590
I used ot buy a lot of fabric at JoAnn's when we had a store near us....never had a problem with it, and I always prewashed as it was used for clothes for my kids. Now I have to go either 60 miles or over 100 miles, depending which direction I travel. Would I go to JoAnn's again if one would open up nearer here? In a heartbeat! As many others have said, you have to go with your gut feeling when it comes to fabrics!
#117
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SW Minnesota
Posts: 1,590
I must be one lucky lady but I have used fabric from both Joanns and Walmart and have never had a problem with fading, bleding, shrinking or anything else. In fact, my favorite fabric is a gorgeous red paisley that I have only found at Walmart and have used successfully in many projects. I actually have found some Moda fabrics that were very thin and didn't work up as well. That's my two cents.
#118
I haven't really shopped at Joanne's since they closed their branches to create their super store. Now, they don't really carry as many fabrics but instead have more craft supplies and framing service. I am used to shopping at Fabric Depot which has a huge selection and is largely broken down by quality brand names. I received a Joanne's gift card of $20 so went to spend that last week. They don't carry quilters flannel but have a cheap flannel which I bought a piece of. They only have a selection of off whites in the large backing fabric. I bought a couple of Christmas things on sale but ended up only spending about $7 and that took a while. I did notice they had some fabric that was released several years ago which could come in handy for some people.
#120
Someone posted "I think JoAnn's fabrics was better quality years ago." Yes, true but so was the quality at LQS. That said, I shop for my fabrics by look and feel and buy at Jo's and LQS depending upon the quilt and/or my budget or stash needs.
Here's an example that shows that you never know where the perfect fabric is waiting for you. My DGranddaughter Elizabeth told me that she was sitting on the orange and cream quilt I made her for her dorm room and her roommate remarked how the fabric in the quilt was just so "Her". That's exactly my reaction when I saw the bolt of soft orange and cream fabric in Joann's. If I didn't stop at Joann's first when looking for fabrics for Elizabeth's quilt I would have never found the perfect fabric for it. May in Jersey
Here's an example that shows that you never know where the perfect fabric is waiting for you. My DGranddaughter Elizabeth told me that she was sitting on the orange and cream quilt I made her for her dorm room and her roommate remarked how the fabric in the quilt was just so "Her". That's exactly my reaction when I saw the bolt of soft orange and cream fabric in Joann's. If I didn't stop at Joann's first when looking for fabrics for Elizabeth's quilt I would have never found the perfect fabric for it. May in Jersey
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