If there is one subject quilters can agree on it is this: Quilting is an expensive hobby. Fabric seems to cost more and more every year, and if I add longarming to my tally, the total project price takes a big leap upward.
In general, though I’m fiscally conservative—it’s just my personality. Since I started publishing patterns, my hobby has become self-sufficient. That doesn’t mean, however, that I buy quilting supplies with abandon. Too much of a good thing can be overwhelming and undermine my creativity.
If you want to get smarter about your quilty purchases, consider these points ...
Fabric
1. Start with your stash.
When there’s a new project on the horizon, I shop my stash first. Too often I am tempted to order a new blender or buy a new background fabric only to discover that I already own a perfectly lovely substitute.
It helps if I know what I have. Organizing my fabric in one consolidated place in my house—a project I tackled a few years ago—makes this easier.
2. Buy what you need for the project at hand.
Buying fabrics because you like them or because you’re afraid you won’t be able to find them in the future is a sure-fire way to amass fabric quickly. I try to buy just the material needed for the next project or two. There will always be another beautiful, new fabric collection, and I can often find out-of-production lines on the secondary market after they disappear from quilt shops (and sometimes at better prices than they originally sold for).
Pro tip: Unsubscribing to quilt shop newsletters reduces the temptation to buy fabric just because I like it or because it’s on sale.
3. Sew with solids.
Do you know what’s less expensive than the latest and greatest fabric collection? Solids. I find I can save up to $4 or $5 per yard when I sew with solids instead of printed quilting cottons.
4. Buy smaller cuts.
Don’t buy a half-yard when a fat quarter will do the job. Say you want to sew a project with a scrappy low-volume background. Quarter yards (fat or skinny) will help you achieve that scrappy look without breaking the bank and without creating the scraps that half-yards would.
The challenge here is often finding a good source of quarter yards. I always start with my local quilt shop, because online fabric retailers usually have a minimum cutting size, but there are some online options for fat quarters. French Fry Quilt Company, for example, is a modern fabric retailer that offers its entire stock in fat quarters.
5. Buy local.
The benefit of buying in person is that I make smarter purchases, buying fabrics that are more likely to coordinate with the yardage I already have. Too often I find myself making an online purchase only to realize the fabrics aren’t quite right once I have them in hand. (And so the stash grows!)
6. Buy secondhand or trade with friends.
I’ve found great deals on older fabric lines on Instagram or FeelGood Fibers. I’ve also arranged a trade with friends. One quilty friend gave me unbridled access to her bin of 2.5-inch scraps, and I left her with a cut of fabric from my stash that I knew she would use faster than I could. It was a win-win!
7. Sell what you don’t use.
I’ve had good success selling fabric—including bundles, yardage, and scraps—on both Instagram and FeelGood Fibers.
Quilting
8. Quilt some of your own projects.
I had made a few dozen quilts before I started sending projects out for longarming services, so I’m adept at quilting my own projects with a walking foot. I’ve even ventured into free-motion quilting with good success. If quilting is new to you, start with small projects and grow from there.
I quilt all of the baby quilts I make and anything that would benefit from my expertise in straight-line quilting. Projects bigger than a 72-inch square by default go to a longarmer, as do more angular patterns that would benefit from swirly quilting designs.
9. Buy batting in bulk and use up the scraps.
I buy batting by the bolt. My top choice is the Warm Company’s Warm & White. I think it’s good value for my money, and the white (as opposed to, say, Warm & Natural) works well with my usual white or cream background fabrics.
I also save my scraps and cobble them together with a zigzag stitch to make bigger, more usable pieces.
Notions
10. Avoid buying unnecessary notions.
I don’t invest in trendy notions or gadgets. Anything that I’d use on a single project is rarely worth the cost.
Instead of buying specialty rulers, I make sure my tried-and-true square and rectangular ones are in good working order and replace them as needed. Instead of buying expensive paper for foundation paper piecing, I buy a ream of 8.5-inch by 11-inch newsprint. I buy inexpensive irons at Target and store WIPs on coat hangers, in plastic Ziploc bags (which I use over and over again), or in plastic bins.
I’m sure you have your own tricks to make smart purchases. Share your tips in the comments below!
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