How much fabric do you buy to build a 'stash'?

[Mom2boys]

I'm curious what you gals think out there....if you walk into a LQS and see some fabric you like, but don't have a specific project in mind for, how do you determine how much you are going to buy? Do you get a fat quarter, charms, what? I would like to build my stash, but don't know how much I should get if I find fabric I like (not that that's very hard to do). Thanks for all your help in advance! Stacy

[TooMuchFabric]

I am interested in this as well. When I find fabric I like but don't have a plan for I have real difficulty trying to decide how much to buy. I usually buy 1.5 yards for no reason except I am always afraid I will need more than a yard. Jo Ann

[Evie]

It depends on how much I like it and the price. If it's a line that I particularly like and the price is right, I will buy the rest of the bolt. I did that the other day on some Thimbleberries fabric that I saw on sale for $4.99 a yard. It was over five yards, but would make great backing on a thimbleberries quilt.

Weekend before last, DH and I went on a road trip which also included several fabric stores. One lady was having an inventory sale and she had 30's and thimbleberries reduced to $3 a yard! I bought 2 yards of everything I liked. Poor DH's arms got tired from holding onto the bolts while I shopped! I think I walked out with 20 yards of fabric! but hey, the price was right!

If you are really into stash building, QIAD 10 yard fabric bundles are a great deal.

[knitnoid]

When I'm not pinching pennies, and I find a fabric I love that will be a great border, I buy 3 yards - provided I have a pretty good idea of what the rest of the quilt might look like. I like to cut my borders down the length of the fabric and tend to make bed size quilts. That gives me plenty for the border and plenty to use in the quilt, or in another.

On the other hand, I love scrappy quilts, so my fabic stash is primarily made up of FQs. This weekend I visited 4 quilt shops and the only 'yardage' I brought home was for a specifc project that I came home and immediately started working on. And in this instance I use the term 'yardage' loosely as the pieces were either a 1/4 yard or a 1/2 yard. The rest was FQs.

This time last year I bought yardage for a 4-patch stacked posies quilt. It was on sale, I was flush and I thought it would be great for the backing and pillow shams etc, so I bought the rest of the bolt. It's still sitting here. I love the coordinating pieces I bought, in fact wanted to cut into one the other day, but knew there wasn't enough of it if I ever get around to making the quilt with the first fabric. As it turns out it's not a fabric I LOVE, so I'm not sure what will happen to it.

Bottom line, trust your instincts and budget. Look at how you quilt. Do you like quilts made from a specific line of fabric, or do you like to mix it up. Are you do you make quilts using just 3 or 4 fabrics, or do your quilts have 20 - 30 different fabrics in them?

[grammiequilts]

I usually buy a yard or two of quilt shop fabric I like and on sale. If I have a project in mind I shop for the border and backing first since that will be the biggest expense. I buy FQs if Im shop hopping and don't see a great fabric. If its a really good sale I buy enough for a backing on a queen sized quilt and "stash it"

[1quiltinnana]

If I see FQ's I like the prints/colors of, I buy them for my "stash". I look at colors, designs, and how I might use that fabric in a quilt and decide if I want to buy it. I'll get anywhere from 3 to 5 yds. of fabric if on sale. Half the fun is the fabric shopping!! It is nice to have a stash so when you're ready to make a quilt or something else, you have it on hand at home. I look for "sales"online and the Quilt shops.

[Cathy32078]

If it is something I really do love and a good price, I like to get 3 yds. I used to collect FQ's. And still do some for scrap quilts. If you run into neutrals that you can use for backgrounds at a good price, I say get a lot. LOL But if I see a pc I like just for the heck of it and it is something I normally would not get or it isn't on sale, I would buy 1 1/2 yds to 2 yds. I have bouhgt 1 yd pcs before of something that I thought I just had to have that day.

Are ya sorry you asked this question? LOL Just kidding The answers vary and really depend on the individual.

Hugs & Love

[Joannequilts]

Boy, what a great question!!

"It depends" is the answer! And that helps you not at all!

Budget - a BIG question and probably drives every answer here! If you have unlimited money and storage space we would, every one of us, have tons of fabric!

Since I had a bad experience the first years I quilted, it has shaped my buying habits forever. I bought 2 yards of a fabric I liked, out of state, at a Quilt Shop. Six months later I used it in a quilt and ran out of the fabric at a critical point. Everyone on here knows what happened next - the fabric was no longer in print and unavailable anywhere. I ended up re-working the entire quilt.

Now, if I really love a fabric, I buy 3 to 5 yards minimum. But I make mostly full to king size bed quilts. Three yards will work for a border and some left to incorporate into the quilt. Like Knitnoid, I like to cut my borders lengthwise on the fabric. I have never been sorry for buying too much yardage!

Recently I realized that my stash has way too many "medium" value fabrics and not enough darks and lights that coordinate with the mediums. So now I try to find a light and a dark that coordinates with the fabric I buy--then buy at least a couple of yards of each.

One thing I did, that I've never regretted, was to buy background, white on white, and white on cream, etc. fabric by the bolt. Sounds like alot but to me, that is a staple -- like batting, which I also bought a whole bolt of right before I retired. After 9 years of quilting, I know what batting I like to use so I just bought it. Before that, I would buy it when it was on a big sale by the package.

Actually, if I REALLY LOVE IT - 5 yards, LOVE IT - 3 yards, and the rest is 1 1/2 to 2 yards. Fat quarters of other stuff and I always check the remnant bins!!!

Joanne

[Tiggersmom]

I saw this some time ago and depending on my money situation for that particular day............

1 yard if I really like it.

2 yards if I can't live without it.

3 yards if I won't live without it.

Also remember the more fabric/variety the better. Sometimes I've bought too much of a particular fabric and it goes in several quilts and I get tired of that fabric before it's all used up.

All in all I usually 1 yard unless it is specific for a border or backing....but I love to buy 1/2 yards of lots of fabrics for a more scrappy look which is my favorite.

[cindyg]

I would be afraid to buy less than 3 yds. if I didn't know what I was going to do with it. I usually make full size to king size quilts. I bought fabric the other day for a queen and I got 14-1/2 yds. JUST for the top. It also depends on if it's, for instance, a border striped fabric. Or if it has motifs that you will be cutting out. I'm real paranoid (anal) about not having enough fabric so I buy a little more yardage than the pattern calls for and whatever is left over goes into my meager stash. I have bought yardage and then decided I didn't like it for a particular project so it will go into my stash, also.