Frugal quilting /sewing fabric?

[jilly]

So, I just started quilting, and I love it, but I find that fabric is SO expensive. I live in a fairly small town with only one fabric store, and they totally price gouge because they are the only ones within an hour's drive. I have found a couple of good websites, but becuase I'm in Canada shipping and exchange rate almost make up for the savings. I thought quilting would be a frugal hobby! Any suggestions?

[Shiloh]

ask anyone who sews for any extra scraps, sometimes fabric stores (walmart, fabricland) have sales on their fat quarters, ebay is also a great source. I also save my kids' favourite clothing and just cut out a square. You can also use sheets for the backs of larger quilts that can be inexpensive.

or what about a fatquarter swap on trading post?

PS
Hey I am in Canada I can send you some PM me! I always have leftovers, and regularly post on FFS I am sure an envelope domestically would cost so little that I wouldn't charge ya.

[4evermom]

yard sales? Old clothes?

[fek&fuzz]

I was going to suggest www.hancocks-paducah.com until I saw you were in Canada. But I'll still suggest it because they have cheap fabric, and Amy Butler fabric for $5.00/yard, normally 9 or 10/yard.

Maybe post in the sewing forum, some Canada sewers might know some on line places up there so you won't pay too much in shipping.

[bu's mama]

I would definitely say thrift stores & garage sales...lots of people come across tons of fabric, yarn, etc when cleaning out a parent's house. Also clothes that you can cut up are great too.

Is there a local quilting guild or group that you can join? I joined one just after Hannah was born & they had great fabric 'swaps' I put that in quotes because it wasn't even a swap, more that everyone brought in whatever they haven't used & it was up for grabs.

It will be a frugal hobby once you start looking at fabric in a different way!

[SleeplessMommy]

a) Ask on freecycle

b) Most thrift shops have clothing that they throw away because it is damaged or dirty. Ask about this. For quilting you need 100% cotton or 100% linen (or silk ties for a fragile quilt!). Save the buttons and labels for other projects.

c) Try the "6 fat quarter challenge". Pick out exactly 6 fat quarters. Make a crib-sized quilt using all of the fabirc, no extras. You get all the fun of quilting, but on a smaller scale. And it is not as easy as it sounds!

d) Some walmart fabric is of very marginal, even abyssmal quality. Low thread count or stiff from over-printing. I try very hard to avoid it, usually by staying out of the store entirely.

[mamarhu]

After years of quilting with very expensive fabrics (the shopping and planning was 1/2 the fun!) I started a "Grandmother's Flower Garden" quilt - 1" hexagons, all hand sewn. I use no more than an 8" square of any one fabric, so I used scraps from a million projects, and the cutting and piecing process is so slow that I will be working on this for years to come. This project has changed my attitude from production to process - I am really enjoying watching the quilt gradually grow. And it has saved me a fortune, as even if I find a fabric I love, I don't need more than a tiny scrap.

[srain]

What about focusing exclusively on reusing old fabrics from clothes? Working with different weights and types of fabric usually means you end up with a very different type of end result, but if you want the ecological and thrifty solution, that's the way to go. (And think about the origins of the quilting tradition- the purpose was to use fabric scraps to create something useful- not to cut up enormous lengths of fabric just to sew them back together again-)

[rebeccalizzie]

I agree with Sleepless Mommy--buying fabric from Wal Mart is likely to end up with all your hard work ruined in a very short time. Their fabric is *really* poor quality for the most part.

The other pp's have great tips though!