I usually buy a yard if the fabric is neutral or wow or just plain fabric I know I can use it on another project.

I was told by a fabric shop owner that giving an extra inch of fabric will add up to big money in a year. She makes sure the first cut off the bolt is straight and it is cut straight, exactly on the mark after that. Not many will give an extra inch like Walmart usually did and those that do will stop once the realize how much fabric that adds up to. Hancock's of Paducah cuts exactly the measurement even the bargain backroom stuff. I've never had a cutter give me 1/4 inch extra there.

The best thing about ordering from Fabric.com? They give you a 37" yard! (I think they ought to start paying me a commission :roll: )

I broke out in a rash the last time i bought less than a whole yard of fabric. :shock:

if we ask for a certain amount, and pay for that amount, i think it's unfair to be disappointed when we get exactly that amount. any extra should be a very pleasant surprise, not something we feel entitled to for any reason.

the flip side of that is that i expect to get the full amount i paid for. nothing irritates me more than to get home and find that a piece measures less on one side than it does on the side they used to measure for the cut.

the buyer should examine the fabric to make sure she'll get her money's worth. the seller shouldn't put anything out for sale at full price unless she knows the buyer will get what they pay for.

that's my dime. (i'm waaaaaaaaay too long-winded to call it two cents. :lol: ) :wink:

P.S. - how wonderful to know there's a shopkeeper out there who cares enough to have asked the question. your customers will love you for it. :P :P :P

HUH? what's 1/4 yard?

I usually buy whatever catches my eye, 1/2 yard to a yard and a half, two yards if I think it'll have multiple usages and the price factors in too.

The times that I've bought for specific projects (still yet to make) I always buy 1/4 to 1/3 yard more.

I NEVER buy exactly what I need - shoot, half the time I don't know what I need. So a yard is a good start for me. hehe

DH was with me the one time I just needed a bit for an art project. When we left the store he said: "Honestly, you can buy less than a yard????"

Regardless, washing may (and usually does) shrink a bit, and not all cuts are perfect. So that exact cut will be a bit short for sure.

Thanks, Patrice, for the kind words!

I've instructed my staff, from the beginning, to always give that extra inch. We don't really talk about it - or advertise it - we just do it, 'cause it seems the right thing to do and we don't want to come across as "cheap".

But... it really does add up. We figure that due to "generous measuring" on every 15 yard bolt, between 5/8 and 3/4 yard "vanishes". That's 5% of the bolt gone. I don't even want to do the next calculation, that of multiplying it by all the bolts we buy in a year! In the end, it comes down to trying to please our customers.

And yet... we still can't please them all the time. I posted this question because I was wrestling with the issue. We have a repeat customer who almost always orders 1/4 yard cuts, and she e-mailed us to complain that after straightening the cut she didn't have her 9". Well... it's probably that "warped grain" issue - or perhaps she washed it first and it shrank a bit. Whatever it was, she wasn't happy this time. So I thought I'd take the question to the "professional customers" on this forum. Clearly you all have a lot of experience BUYING, and I wanted to get a sense of what most people think. So thank you all for posting. Seems what we're doing is pretty much on target.

do you really want that customer? give her chocolate!

Awww, shoot... with my luck we'd get a heat wave and it would just melt all over the fabric!

But I re-ordered some chocolate fabric today, would that work?? :D