Onebyone

I stopped in today at my favorite LQS. New fabric was being put on the shelf. All of it was $15.99 to $16.99 a yard. Layer cakes were $48.99. I looked at the new fabric, beautiful, but I got to thinking. Is a quilt really worth the price of this fabric for me to buy it? My answer was No it is not.

tallchick

Yup hard pass for me too! I just saw a Quilt Pattern where they wanted 30.00 for a simple and I do mean simple pattern and it was for a PDF. The hard copy did not include shipping.

Synnove

Well that's what stash is for! I could sew for years on what's already in the closet.

sewingpup

well I got sucked in. OK, my nephew's son wants a black and grey quilt. Not too much in my stash. I had a pattern he liked. It is 86 by 96. OK it is a good sized quilt. I found a black tone-on-tone 5 yd piece in my stash good. Now a little lighter one was needed and also a light grey. Nope, not in my stash so off to the quilt shop I went. Well I found what I was looking for 3 yds of one, 4 yds of the other. Ouch...then I went to look for the sale fabric. OK, if you bought the whole bolt of what was left, it was 50% percent off. I needed about 6 yards which would have been 30% off. So I bout the whole 9 yds! It is a hoot, it is an elephant print which is quite large and directional. I am going to use the for the backing. Damage to my checkbook...$160 Ouch So it worked out to $10 a yard. Maybe I will get a couple of pillow cases too out of the elephant print which will also be a hoot.

NZquilter

If I bought new fabrics at today's prices, this hobby wouldn't be even an option anymore. Luckily for me, I have a large stash and I hunt for garage sales or estate sales. The small quilt shop here in town has new fabric prices comparable to the Quilted Twins website and a lot of the same fabrics. The owner sometimes buys huge stashes from estate sales and auctions, and then sells those in her store for very reasonable prices. The other week she bought all the vintage fabrics from a shop going out of business. She then turned around and sold it for $3 a yard! Some of it was from the early 2000s or even '90's, but I certainly supported her, lol! I don't need to latest line of fabrics. I tell myself "They aren't going to stop making pretty fabric!" There will always be more and 20 year old designs never bothered me.

quiltedsunshine

I just joined a couple Facebook Groups where people sell their stash for a good price.

lindaschipper

Fabric going up and up in price doesn't make it better than the older stuff in our stash. You would think some of this expensive fabric wouldn't fray as much, that the weave would be better in it. I have not found this to be true! Seems like all this quilter is doing lately is trimming strings everywhere.
As far as buying off Facebook sites, some of the sellers have uped their prices also and want as much as the brick and mortar stores...it's ridicious. Having said that, I plan on selling off some of my stash soon, but at much more reasonable prices. In the meantime I'm going through patterns and fabric and making kits to sew this winter. Excess will be cut down into scraps and anything left over will be sold off. I will only need backing pieces this winter.

SueZQ from MN

I remember the first time that I paid $9.95 a yard for a beautiful Hoffman print with metallic highlights. At $2 a yard higher than anything I'd ever bought before, I was in fabric shock. I hoarded that fabric for years waiting for a project worthy of it. Today, as $14.95, $15.95 and even $17.95 per yard prices become commonplace for fabrics that aren't anything special, I cannot justify me paying those prices. My only exception would be the discontinued black with red poinsettia fabric that I have been searching for for years to complete a tree skirt for myself, but for gifts, donations and crsft show items, the prices are just too high. I am aware of all the factors that are causing this to happen, but in my opinion, the quality isn't keeping up with the price. I have a big stash and when I run out of fabric and projects, I guess I'll have to find a new hobby and sell what I have left to the next generation

copycat

Several years ago I went to a quilt show and there was a booth called Second Time Around. The fabric was all recycled from cotton clothing. It was cut into fat quarters, 10" and 5 " squares. There was also yardage they had purchased at yard sales or estate sales. Great prices!

quiltsfor

I like shopping now at Hancock's of Paducah in their fabric from sale fabric and daily treat fabric. Lots of choices from 4.99 to 7.99 and up. Also if I need a lot of the same fabric I also check out and go to Marshall's Dry Goods and buy it by the bolt. Otherwise I watch for good sales for fabric, plus sales for fabric for a new line coming out if I want to purchase a bit from that same line. Same goes for patterns. I watch for sales or I hunt for a like free pattern and make adjustments.

There is no way I'm going to pay those higher prices for fabric or patterns.