krisgray

I've noticed that mgr's other than Moda, Hoffman, and Timeless Treasures seem to have some pricey pre cuts. If I want 5"xWOF of a fabric, then I"ll just buy 1/4yd of the fabrics that I want, usually the prints and focus fabrics. Often the lines are filled with "solids" or "blenders" to get to the 40 or 42 fabric count. I can usually find matching fabrics in my stash and don't the need the fillers placed in the pre cut packs.

mollymct

Too much for me and I usually don't want the entire line unless it's in an inexpensive charm pack. Then I can see what I want more of.

I love to buy half yard bundles on Etsy. I pay the same price per yard and get a variety of fabrics.

catmcclure

I occasionally like the convenience of having someone else cut my strips and squares. I don't know about anyone else, but finding 40 coordinating fabrics, and cutting one square or strip off each takes me a long time. I'm willing to pay a small amount for convenience. I do prefer to buy the precuts at my LQS because, unless I get free shipping, adding shipping to the cutting charge is sometimes too prohibitive.

Once in a while, it's nice to buy precuts so I don't have to search out 20 or 40 fabrics and cut into small units. That said, however, this is my breakdown of costs and cutoff for purchasing. The prices are from Fat Quarter Shop.

Charm Pack - 42 5” squares - $8.50
Candy Bars - 160 2-1/2 x 5 - $25
Jelly Roll - 40 2-1/2 x WOF - $35
Layer Cake - 42 10”Sqs - $35
HoneyBun - 40 1-1/2 x WOF - $23
Turnover - 40 6” Sqs cut diagonally - $15.50
Fat Quarters – really varied sets and prices

Charm packs are reasonably priced. 42 charms is slightly over 2/3 yards. At $9.50 a yard, that’s $6.50 for the fabric and $2 for the cutting and having 20 to 40 different fabrics.

Candy Bars are too expensive. It’s basically 4 charm packs cut in half and sorted. It’s cheaper to buy four charm packs ($34) and cut each in half. You end up with two Candy Bar sets at a savings of $16 over their price.

Jelly Rolls are equal to 2.77 yards At $9.50 a yard, that’s $25.30 for the fabric and $9.50 for the cutting and varied fabrics.

Layer cakes are equal to 3 yards. At $9.50, that’s $28.50 for the fabric, and $6.50 for the cutting and varied fabrics

Honey Buns are equal to 1-2/3 yards. At $9.50, that’s $15.77 for the fabric and $7.33 for the cutting and varied fabrics.

Turnovers are equal to 1 yard. That’s $9.50 for the fabric and $6 for the cutting and varied fabrics.

Fat Quarters – Figure on $2.60 a fat quarter – At $9.50 a yard, 1 / 4 yard is $2.38. Anything over $2.60 a FQ is too expensive, unless it’s a special collection. That’s still giving them almost $1 a yard for cutting and having varied fabrics.

AnnWill

I usually stay away from the pre-cuts for just that reason--I think they are too high. I know it takes extra work to pre-cut them, but do they charge me for cutting the fabric when I purchase what I want and have it cut? I think the charge for cutting is generally included in the overhead costs.

catmcclure

I've been in a couple of swaps where we cut x number of strips and send in x number of sets. The mailing cost for about 45 strips to the swap site and back is usually $9. That's equal to the price for the fabric and cutting cost of a jelly roll at the LQS.

annette1952

Too expensive for me!

ckcowl

when you think about a 'jelly roll bundle (2 1/2" strips) selling for $32-$35...it seems about normal to double that for 5" strip bundles...personally i will not spend that much on precuts. i have heard too many complaints of poor cuts. i have spent money on a few charm packs but only when they were very inexpensive (have to be $8 or less with a minimum of 40 squares for me to buy it) other than that i don't even look at pre-cuts. it seems that yardage and cutting your own is much more cost effective.

Favorite Fabrics

It seems that when you work it out to price-per-yard, jelly rolls are coming in at a couple of dollars more per yard than FQs.

Maybe because jelly rolls are expected to be precision cut whereas FQs are not? (You could cut and bundle FQ packs using just old-fashioned scissors.)

Are jelly rolls worth a bit extra? I know they're popular...

QKO

One of the reasons jelly rolls cost a bit more is that there can be a lot of waste involved in cutting jelly rolls, depending on what kind of equipment is used.

As far as higher prices go for specialty cuts goes, there is a lot of extra labor involved in cutting them as anyone who has ever done a lot of FQ's or smaller cuts is aware.

desertrose

Too rich for my quilting budget as a senior on fixed income.
Havn't bought any pre cut fabric bundles yet only remnant quarters from my LQS.

Andie