Fabric prices

round here it's more like $20 a 39 inch "yard" (a meter) anything less is a great deal in my book hehehe - however prices in general depend not only whole sale price of the fabric but also on overhead costs of the shop itself - a shop in a "cheap"area will usually have lower prices than a shop in the pricey area. when online shopping I tend to go to places that either have good deals or good prices in general or have something I can't get otherwise. the only thing I buy at full price is quilt books when I buy directly from the author (my favourite way of buying books as more often than not you can get them signed *and* the author not only gets the royalty but also the proceeds from selling the book - which they deserve!

Prices vary a lot in Northern Illinois also. Two of the local shops charge at least $1.00 over the manufacturer's suggested price. They say it is because their rent is so much higher than other parts of the country. Rent is high but they also are in an area where the salaries are very high and people in general have more money to spent on extras like more quilt fabric than they will ever be able to sew. Both the stores I am thinking of have an attitude that they are the best store in the world. I shop there when I need small pieces but buy my large pieces elsewhere.

Susan Price

Prices are normally anbout $8.00 - 8.95/yd for the better quilting material. You can buy cheaper fabric at craft stores, Wal-mart etc, but the qualitya suffers.

Ok, I'm intrigued, HOW do you go about buying book directly from an author?? I too would much rather do that then other sources. :)

Thanks, Debi

Here where I am if one goes to a real quilt shop (there is one about an hour and a half away) they charge anywhere from $8 - $20 for quality fabric. You take your chances on what you get there because they have unadvertised rotating sales. Usually I just have the option of Wal-Mart fabric which runs $6 - 10 a meter here.

I haven't had the experience of online purchasing of fabric yet since I don't have a CC and am scared of it anyway. I have been asking a couple of the shops online however about sending them a MO or something instead. I realize that slows down the time for the fabric to get to me but if it saves me some money I am all for it!

Because of limited income I usually just use scraps and to be honest I LOVE THEM. I am (as I had posted earlier) a very free spirited thinker and following directions and patterns is just not for me. When I take and use scraps of all sizes I can let my creative thoughts flow out into the fabric and 90% of the time I am more than delighted with my creations. Scraps are cheap to free usually and that is what enables me to keep on sewing and creating and that is more important to me than a whole piece of fabric most of the time.

That could be why I have a hard time with my garment sewing as well, always tweaking and changing the patterns.

~KK in BC~

well.. lets see... for Carol Doak's books I go to her own site and order there. For most other writers you can do the same. the thing most people don't know is that if the book gets sold too cheaply the writer might not even get royalty for the book with *some* publishers (not all) as after the book seller the publisher gets first cut to cover the cost of the book and only after that does the writer get royalty. As a result I prefer to buy from the writer as I then *know* he/she will get a decent return for his/her work.

Who would EVER think of this?? I am so impressed with your knowledge, thoughtfulness, kindness. Thanks!! I'm so gonna try that when I buy books!! :)

Debi

YW Debi :-)

The cost of shipping is also considered when pricing. Freight charges have gone up considerably over the past year. Elaine in GA