quiltsRfun

A June Talor Shape Cut ruler will make short work of cutting charms and they'll be nice and square.

kathdavis

I used Walmart charms at 100 for $9.00 while making my D9P and they worked great.

Tropical

Thanks quiltsRfun for this advice. :) I hadn't heard of this ruler before so I googled it and it looked good. So I went to JoAnn today and used my 50% off coupon and it is now airing out on my back porch. I hope to be able to use it in a couple of days. I am so glad I joined this board. So much fun and so much to learn. Thanks, again. :)

Tropical

That sounds like a good buy. I saw some at JoAnn today that are 30 for $7.99. I didn't get any. Our WalMart is getting fabric back very soon so I will check there. Thanks for posting about these kathdavis. :)

jaciqltznok

You really need to touch/feel the fabric these days.
While not a fan of Moda, I do enjoy their charm packs and find them to be THE BEST out there.
When buying from ebay, etsy etc you will find many irregularities, miscuts, strings, etc.
even with the ones cut with the die cutters they will be stringy and can be out of whack/off grain!

walmart charms that are out now are really horrid..very thin as are joanns.

also remember that with bought charms the fabric is NOT washed, so you have no idea what will shrink, how bad it will shrink and what will bleed!

Tropical

My DH asked me about that today since I have to wash everything to get rid of any smells before I can use it. He thinks about that because he always zigzags all of my fabric before I wash it to cut down on the strings. He really grumps when it is cut crooked and chopped. He used to cut fabric at WalMart when the fabric area was not covered because he worked nearby in sporting goods. He has no patience with poor quality workmanship. He always gave a bit extra, too, to cover shrinkage. :)

stitchinbee

i am 100% a benartex fan, and the quality is 1st rate. i especially go after anything by nance halvorsen or eleanor burns. but like any yardage, you can get some that just don't fit the bill. hope this helps. :)

Honchey

Hi, All charms and any woven fabric for that matter has a stretch side and a side that doesnt' give. Width/selvedge to selvedge stretches. Straight grain/verticle length doesn't... so if you're sewing a seam that is made up of 2 sides from the wof you will have more stretch than if you sew a seam that is made up of 2 sides from the straight grain of fabric. keep the wof side on the bottom when sewing the seam. Pinning the seam at the middle and the very end will help keep the seams even. I am a firm believer of starching and pressing all my fabric before cutting. I even starch and press jellyroll strips. It really makes a difference when handling and sewing them. Hope this helps.