Why is it that fabric costs more at quilt shops than in the chains? First, the chains buy in larger quantities – the fabric quilt shops buy may not ever exist in such large quantities, so you don’t see the same fabrics coming and going. Mostly though, it’s because the goods are significantly different.

Fabric manufacturing begins with gray (greige) goods, the blank material that designs are printed onto. The better the gray goods – threads per inch, quality of threads, etc. – the better the finished product and the higher the cost. As for the design, the more intricate the design, the more colors (screens) they are printed with, the more exacting the work, the higher the price. Companies can buy prints off the ‘print market’ and print them on any gray goods, using any methods they like.

Cheaper fabrics are stiff or ‘board-y’ to the touch, because they haven’t had the benefits of the finishing processes that make good fabric feel so silky. The major manufacturers sell their first run first quality fabrics only to quilt shops. If too much of a particular fabric is printed, occasionally some ‘good’ fabric might end up in the chains.

Your time and your money are hard to come by. Make sure your quilts will withstand use and laundering. Don’t risk your time on fabric that won’t hold up, or whose dyes bleed or fade too fast. Here’s a case where quality really counts — your time and talents deserve the best!

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