On my trip into Dallas last week to see the sewing machine doctor I had a chance to again peruse the fabric shops in the import district. There are about 6 of them that are in loading dock warehouses and one that is a store front. This time I asked a few questions to find out exactly what these shops were. The bolt ends had some good names on them, but... I know they sell cheap knock off hand bags in the area and I did not want to be taken in by forgery Dewberry. What I found is that these are distributors and in one case they had racks of fabric still in plastic that had just come back for the Houston show. I didn't see any cotton fabric over $5 yard. The ones I got were all $3-5. I cant wait for next week when my sewing machines are fixed and I have an excuse to go back!
So, when you find a deal and are augmenting your stash, what quantities do you buy in? I got a couple 1/2 yards, but mostly full yards, and 2 yards of the grey and the off white (a Joel Dewberry print) because they were only $3. I got a yard of the green damask the first trip and bought the remaining 1 3/4 they had when I went back again :) I see it as borders on a bright quilt and maybe backing for a baby quilt. I need a strategy for my trip next week.... lots of little 1/2 yards, or bigger cuts of those that I love?
Beautiful fabrics, sounds like you found a great deal.
ReplyDeleteYOW! Where is this magical area? I live in Bedford and I gotta go check this place out!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHow much fabric to buy? I used to only buy 1/2 yard but have gotten caught so many times not quite being able to squeeze all I wanted out of that 1/2 yard that now I never buy less than 1 yard, and that seems to be working out much better. I know that hits my budget kinda hard (I can buy twice as much if I only buy 1/2 yard of each, right?) but in the end, I really think it works out better.
ReplyDeleteI make a lot of baby quilts so when I pick out a backing, I buy three yards so I have some to incorporate in the front, too.
A quilter's fantasy come true? To never have to PAY for fabric. Just pick out what you want and walk out of the store!
Gosh, if I'm paying only $3/yard of a designer fabric, if I love it I'd get 3 yards, the normal price of 1! But I'm a little over the top that way. I buy like I'm making clothing since that's the way I started sewing. Now that I'm getting into quilting though, I'm finding 1-2 yards is PLENTY and a little overkill. But that's a hard habit to break!
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