This week I did not have a planned topic, so we discussed a variety of things.

Thank you to everyone who left comments this week.  Be sure to read the comments from last week’s episode on fabric stashes.  Very interesting to see how everyone else is handling thier stash.

Special thanks to everyone who left reviews on iTunes – we are up to 7 reviews.

Tami sent us a great email with PICTURES!!!  Tami used Moda’s American Jane fabric to make “paperdolls” with fabric.  She suggests quiltshoppe.net or keepsakequilting.com to purchase paperdoll fabric.  (#9304 & #9306 from keepsakequilting is the doll and clothes fabrics).

Tami fused the dolls to Timtex using heavy duty fusable.  She used a lightweight fusable on the clothes and toys- they stick right to the doll.

She also made a matching quilt with pockets in the back to hold the cutout dolls and clothes.  Great Idea.  Leave a comment and let Tami know what you think.

What did I do this week?

Finished two sets of booties – they were a hit at the baby shower.

Started another applique block for my Frolic quilt.  Found a paper piecing pattern from Carol Doak for my Florida Gator quilt.

Purchased a couple “magic wallets” from the daughter of a co-worker.  Easy to make and she sold them for $5 each.  Great way to make extra money with your craft.

Question of the week?

• What color thread do you piece with
• 25 votes
• 36% Grey
• 32% Tan
• 20% matches the blocks

Topic this week – Fabric Cuts and Book Review

• We discussed what the different cuts were; Fat Quarters, Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes, and Charm Squares.
• Book Review of “Quilts for Men: From Crib to Dorm to Den”

Links from last post are now fixed and working – thank you to everyone who sent me a message.

Today we talking about keeping and organizing a Fabric Stash.

Thank you to everyone who left reviews on iTunes and comments this week.  Kelley from Pioneer Quilter, Corrine, Claire, and Shelly Beth from Fibermoon.com

What did I do this week:

Completed my first paperpieced block.

Picked up stuff to make baby booties for an upcoming baby shower.

Completed one bootie

Joined a quilt block swap on Facebook

Joined Ravelry, but I am still waiting on my invitation – Come on, Ravelry, it has been three days!

Care package from Kelley at the Pioneer Quilter.

Question of the Week Results

• When buying for your stash, how much do you buy
• 25 votes
• 48% buy one yard
• 28% buy 1/2 yard
• 12% buy 2-5 yards
• Corrine says “if you like it, buy a yard; if you REALLY like it buy 2 yards; if you can’t live without it, buy as much as your budget will allow”

Topic this week:  Fabric Stash

• Benefits of a stash
• Tips for taking care of your stash
• Ways to organize your stash
• Folding the fabric in your stash
• How to know what you have
• Is it possible to have too much stash? 

Check out these links for more tips:

• The Domestic Diva
• Feathered Fibers
• The Happy Zombie
• Cut Out and Keep

Buy Comic Book Boards here.

Call to Action

• Answer this week’s poll
• Leave a comment and share how you manage your stash

I will post an article this week on all my research – no lunch breaks this week to get to it.

Is there really a difference in the fabric found in the local quilt shop?  That is an excellent question.  One thing is for certain, the fabric in a quilt shop is generally more expensive.  Before we can get into the details, let’s review how fabric is actually made.

Cotton fabric is weaved from cotton yard at a textile weaving mill.  This is the actual manufacturer of fabric; how it is weaved and the quality of the yarn used determines the quality of the fabric.  Fabric from the weaving mill is called Greige (“Gray”) goods; this means that nothing has been done to the fabric yet, no dying or patterns, just straight off the loom.

Fabric Converters purchase these greige goods.  A converter is a company that designs the patterns for the fabric.  They also make the decisions on what to sell and how much to the store.  Some converters do their own printing, other send the greige goods off to a textile printing factory.  In the end the converter sells the finished product to the quilt shops or chain stores.

Many things can make the difference in the fabrics offered from store to store. 

 The local quilt shops usually only sell the higher quality items and they have the experience to spot a problem fabric.  This is not to say that discount fabric stores and big chain stores don’t have a place in our craft.  It is not in everyone’s budget to spend $10-$20 a yard for fabric.  But like the old adage goes, “you get what you pay for”.  Consider the project you are working on; how many times will it be washed, is it going to hang on the wall or is a toddler going to drag it around, is it a practice or heirloom piece?

A good rule to keep in mind when deciding where to buy your fabric is that a discount fabric may only last a few years with regular use and a quality fabric may out live you.

When putting together this article, the idea was to gather the brands of fabric that are trusted to be “high quality”. The goal was to have a list to share and a little bit about each company, so that when you are out shopping, you could look for specific brands for your more treasured projects. However, there are too many to list in one article!

I decided to break them up into multiple posts. This may take me 10 or more posts to complete and even then, the list may not be all inclusive because we can’t forget about the designers. But, this blog is supposed to be about fabric, fiber and quilting – Not just Fabric!! So I can’t post them one right after the other; my readers will quickly get bored. So expect them to be added sporadically.

Here are the first three:

Moda is definitely a well known name in the quilting community. They have been around since 1975 and are located in Dallas, TX. In addition to their in-house designers, they are open to using impendent artists. Their diversity in designers, gives them a wide variety to present to their customers; always offering the hottest items on market. They were one of the first companies to put fabric designs into “collections”, making it easier for the beginner quilter to shop for fabrics that will make a beautiful quilt. They come out with a new collection about every six weeks. If you visit their website, there is a great behind-the-scenes video.

Hoffman Fabrics was started as a family business in 1924. They were primarily an apparel fabric convertor until the 1970’s, when they turned their sights to creating quilting fabric. To this day, three generations of Hoffman’s still work in the business. They offer a wide variety of original screen prints and hand-dyed batiks and handpaints; over 800 new designs each year. We can’t talk about Hoffman Fabrics, without mentioning the Hoffman Challenge. For over two decades Hoffman Fabrics has sponsored this contest where quilters/crafters are “challenged” to create something with a specific fabric design. The top entries are included in a traveling collection that is shown at quilt shows, shops, and guilds throughout the US and Canada.

Robert Kaufman Fabrics is located Los Angeles, CA. They are a converter of quality quilting fabrics. They use a multitude of designers to give their customers a variety to choose from. Robert Kaufman does offer a great selection of basic cotton quilting fabrics and novelty prints, but they also have a wonderful batik collection and they have Japanese fabrics. Darlene Zimmerman’s Clothesline Club is through Robert Kaufman as well. If you are a fan of the 1930’s fabrics, then this is a club you will want to check out.

With so many different fabrics available and the variety of shops to purchase from, how is a consumer to know what exactly to buy. Every shop owner or business manager will boast about the quality of the fabric they are selling, but how can the layman know if what they are hearing is the same as they are seeing.

According to an article at Fabrics.net, the number of yarns per inch of fabric is one way to tell the quality of the piece. Yarns per inch, or thread count, is determined by the number of horizontal and vertical threads in one square inch of fabric. The linen industry has taken this measurement and marketed it. When shopping for new sheets the labels and advertisements all brag about their thread count; the higher the thread count the more expensive the product. Unfortunately, that doesn’t tell the whole story of quality. When you compare linens purchased at the local discount store to ones from a high end shop; most of the time you can feel and see the difference, even if the thread count is the same.

Another point to consider is the thread itself. Some manufactures take 2 or more stands of thread and twist them together before they weave the fabric. This practice makes the threads stronger and increases the quality of the material. If two strands are twisted together, this is referred to as “2-ply”. Each stand is added to the thread count; therefore if you are looking at a 300 thread count piece that is 2-ply, you will only see 150 threads.
So what is the best thread count to use? Ideally, the higher the count the better. According to an article at Quiltbug.com most quality fabric is 68×68 thread count and Batik fabrics can be up to 200 thread count.

Most people cannot look at a fabric and count the threads and, unfortunately, the thread count is usually not advertised on the bolt. So what is the meticulous quilter to do? How are we supposed to pick out the best fabric to put our hard work into? Well there are a few tricks that even the occasionally sewer can use.

• Check the weave – use your nail and see if you can move the threads. If the weave is loose, you probably have a low thread count and the fabric will likely deteriorate with use.
• Can you see through it – if you put your hand behind it, can you see the outline of your hand? If so, this is a good example of lower quality threads; they are probably thinner. This fabric may be good for some uses, but not for a project you want to last a lifetime.
• Find a bolt of expensive, obvious high quality fabric and use that a baseline to compare other fabric too – carry it around the store with you and hold it up to the fabric you are considering buying.
• Magnifying glass – count the threads.

Roxanne International out of Lathrop, Ca. has created a perfect tool for hunting down thread counts. The R.O.S.E Thread Counter will tell you the thread count of your fabric and help you match grain lines in piecing, choose a fabric that won’t fray during appliqué, or manipulate the drape in wearable arts. The product sells on their website for $12.99.
Quality fabric is the foundation of any good piece of fabric art. It is well worth the time and effort to examine your choice before you make the purchase or sew the first stitch.