About pre-cuts

Hi Trish, I agree with you. I actually bought 20cm of each of the spotted material I wanted and did my own for a quilt.

Some quilt shops have a minimum cut - 20cm I think and I know Spotlight does so it's worth asking.

On Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:55:34 -0600, Trish Brown wrote (in article ):

I've never done the math, but I'd guess it is heaps cheaper. But I'll admit, I sometimes can't resist the charm packs. And this fall I fell in love with a line and bought a jelly roll. As soon as I'm finished with this Xmas quilt, I'm working on the quilt from my jelly roll.

Maureen

With only one exception, I never buy fabric that is pre-cut, and that is because I always wash fabrics before using them. I was all the sizing OUT before I work with fabric, and want to be sure about any bleeding dye issues. The only exception I make, and that is extremely rare, is that I might buy a jelly roll on close-out price and use it for a machine-pieced log cabin.

Yardage is always cheaper, unless they're having a clearance sale on the packs. Sometimes the more straightforward merchants even label charm packs and such with the equivalent total yardage. I am seldom tempted to buy these things, but I will buy FQ packs.

A shop might not be willing to cut only 5", but they should be happy to give you anything over 9" (a quarter yard).

Anyhow, if it's permissi>Does anybody buy them?

I do buy plenty of pre-cuts. It's an easy way to get one of every print/color from a collection. Most times the shops near me get some of a line of fabric but rarely all of it so I couldn't even easily buy a piece of each if I wanted.

Here, most shops require a purchase of at least 1/4 yard (9 inches) and then in set fractions of a yard not by the inch. If all I wanted was one 5" square of each then I would have a whole lot of leftover fabric. If I wanted to cut my own layer cake (10" square) I'd have to buy 1/3 yard (12" inches) so again, lots of extra fabric purchased.

Some people would love that extra fabric. I am not one of those people :-) We're all different in what we like to have hanging around.

Also, while the cost of a pre-cut is greater than the per yard cost of fabric, you are also paying for the labor of having it all cut for you as well as the convenience of getting the whole collection easily rather than having to run to multiple stores or wait for mail order. That's a cost too.

marcella

As to charms and jellyrolls - they are a wonderful opportunity to see the entire line. Yes, indeed. And if you're creating something important you will want to put them in little lingerie bags and launder them. Some times I don't bother, rarely, they bleed but it's just a crib quilt and usually no real harm is done. You sure wouldn't want to risk that if you had a serious production going. Polly

Yes - I've used these a lot lately, primarily when I've specifically needed strips or squares. It does save me from doing all that cutting, and that's worth something.

I won't wash them, though ... I do like to have the fabric flat when sewing, so imagine the ironing time - it ain't happening :)

So, I will launder after the quilt is finished and toss in a few Color Catchers depending on the size of the quilt. Those things are worth their weight in gold!

-Irene (who had carpel tunnel surgery last Thursday and am way behind on reading ths posts)

...

Hope you are recovering from your surgery! Barbara in FL

Howdy!

Absolutely: What Marcella said!

Variety: that's the #1 reason I buy pre-cut packs. I want some of all of the line, but not a whole lot of some pieces, & this always turns out to be a good investment for me. In that pack there might be a piece I hadn't seen in the shop or online, maybe a piece that I fall in love with, and, usually, I can then hunt it down. Or give away any bits I really-really don't like (that seldom happens; I like fabric). The variety can open up a whole new world of color & design, and just might add that perk my project needs.

Sure, there's more cost in cutting the fabric; I'm okay with that (I used to be one of those doing the cutting & packaging). I think of all the money I save by buying a $9 charm pack, or a set of

Cheers!

R/Sandy - love-love-love fabric; am getting a bit weary of seeing the same Moda bakery bits in most quilt shops, tho'...

Am doing very well, Barbara...saw improvement right away - no more tingly painful hands in the morning....what a relief. Thanks for asking :)

-Irene

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