Quality fabrics...anyone?

[DorothyL]

I remember when they always cut fabric at least 1/4 yard longer than what they charged for and if you bought like four or five yards even more. But then I'm really old.

Dorothy

[Mom of Six]

I remember when they always cut fabric at least 1/4 yard longer than what they charged for and if you bought like four or five yards even more. But then I'm really old.

Dorothy

I had 2 pieces yesterday that I bought 1/4 yd & when I straightened it after washing I just barely had 7" for my square. I remember when I worked @ JoAnns & SoFro they would remind us to pay attention to our thumbs because if you cut on the wrong side of your thumb you were giving away 1". I used to have people ask me to tear their fabric, the company wouldn't let us because if it wasn't on the bolt straight the customer might not get all their yardage or they might get too much. As a person who sewed it always drove me crazy & I would be writing off 1" or 2" all the time to straighten fabric. That was over 30 years ago so I probably would get fired for it now!

[bridesmom]

I've found Joann's terrible for cutting crooked thereby you are shorted fabric every time. So I always buy extra. Fabricland,they always give you a generous extra portion which is wonderful. And the LQS is excellent too for giving you a few inches extra for shrinkage. There is another fabric shop that sells mostly fancies, and they also are very generous with their cuts, so I think it's a Joann's thing. It's really frustrating when that happens too. But I'm sure she'll still love them cause they are from home.

[HeyJudee]

And the LQS is excellent too for giving you a few inches extra for shrinkage.

Not around here they don't. If you ask for a meter, they cut at exactly the 1 meter mark...and not a smidgen more.

[Mom of Six]

And the LQS is excellent too for giving you a few inches extra for shrinkage.

Not around here they don't. If you ask for a meter, they cut at exactly the 1 meter mark...and not a smidgen more.

My 1/4 yds from the LQS were cut exactly 9" & they were not on the straight of grain either. @ $11 a yd I wasn't buying anymore than I needed. @ $2 or $3 I will buy a little extra (or sometimes a lot). I don't think they should give extra for shrinkage because that is beyond their control but they should make sure the first cut on the bolt is straight & then keep it that way. I was know for rerolling bolts when I was working to make sure it was straight.

[momquilts]

This is just a question for my own curiosity - Do you shop at the same place exclusively? Do the clerks get to know you?

I shop at the same Joann's all the time and they have fabulous employees. I usually go to the store around the same time each visit so most of the same employees are there each time. They know me, DD & all 3 of DGSs by sight but not by name. I don't seem to have the problems with fabric that some of you are having. The girls will slide the fabric down the table a smidge if it is not cut evenly. The last time I was in, there was a new employee cutting but she was very good with the even cuts, too. One thing that does bug me though, the newer girls and most of the employees at WalMart will place the selvage edge against the measuring guide of the table. That drives me crazy and I told the WalMart people about it more than once. When I shop at Walmart, I always get extra fabric to allow for their horrible cutting skills.

[DorothyL]

I used to have people ask me to tear their fabric, the company wouldn't let us because if it wasn't on the bolt straight the customer might not get all their yardage or they might get too much.

I think that might be an OSHA thing -- breathing in all those fibers really isn't good for you. Tearing your own so it is straight probably isn't a problem but doing it all day is different.

Dorothy

[Mom of Six]

I think that might be an OSHA thing

It was a profit thing, Sometimes the fabric would be off 2" or more. we could cut woven plaids/ginghams/stipes on the line but people would get upset that we wouldn't cut printed fabric on the line. They didn't understand that it wasn't printed on grain.

[kjh9835]

Before we moved in 2008, I knew the clerks at the JoAnn's back home, they even tried to get me to apply for part-time. Now I shop at a super JoAnn's and the employees change all the time. I only go once or twice a month but rarely see the same person. I have mentioned to them the issues I've had with some of the fabrics, they don't seem to care. One of these days I'm going to go back and return fabric I've bought for whatever project that it didn't work for due to flaws or whatever, just to see if they will let me.

WalMart will usually give me an extra inch or two if they can see it's been cut crooked. The fabrics I've bought there tend to fade quite a bit so I don't shop there much. I've also noted that the clerks usually have to call for help to figure out the machine esp if it's late evening or a time that there's no one in the dept. working. Right around Halloween, two guys from electronics came over to cut fabric and said to another customer that she had to buy in whole yard increments. The lady before me bought a yard but when it was my turn, I told them to get a manager as I wanted less than a yard and I could tell them how to enter it/scan it if they didn't want to call anyone.

Hobby Lobby is the only other place I've bought fabric and I've never had any issues but they don't have much selection and they aren't open on Sunday so I have to plan my trip on Saturday if I want to go there (besides, I buy other stuff not in the budget).

When buying online, how do you figure out if the colors will match/coordinate? One site has a color picker then you can find other fabrics with that color in them so I will try them and see if it really does work. If I'm making a quilt and want them to match, I'm concerned they will be "off" a bit and I will have to buy more.

Kathy

[HeyJudee]

Unfortunately, I'm well known at a bunch of LQS in the area...and at ones outside the area due to the frequent shop hops that I attend...LOL And there are a couple of fabric shops in the area that know my face as well (but not my name as I still have to give it when I'm checking out). One shop that has ooodles of cottons and flannels (best variety in the area) always tears the fabrics when cutting.