Dear Friends, Quilters and Aspiring Quilters,

This is the second installment of my blog on the topic of choosing fabric.

My mantra is quality, quality, quality.  How do you know when you walk into a store that you’re getting the best, the fabric that’s going to hold up?  My grandfather would say you have to find the piece of goods “that’s not going to shred, wiggle wrong, or shrivel on its first washing”.

Fist of all, I suggest that you start with some of my favorites name brands: 

1.  Moda Fabrics
2. Robert Kaufman
3. Alexander Henry
4. Benartex
5.  Hoffman
6. Kaffe Fassett

Sometimes I find it overwhelming to walk into a fabric store to do my shopping. Today it’s so easy to go on line and shop from the comfort of your own kitchen, cup of tea by your side and gentle music in the background. 

When I do go shopping in person, two of my favorite local place are:

Quilters Way in Concord, MA http://www.quiltersway.biz/ and Fabric Corner in Arlington, MA http://www.fabriccornerinc.com/

When starting a project, I usually begin with one piece of fabric and work around that.  It may be a favorite scarf, a necktie, or a scrap of fabric that delights me at the moment.  While I do consider the recipient of the finished product, that is not necessarily my primary concern. My major concern is finding fabric that I will love to work with for the duration of the project. For me that means living with the color, the shapes and the textures for a day, a week, a month, or maybe a year depending upon the size and scope of my project.

Usually I work in cottons, but I do also add velvet and silk to some pieces. Some considerations in choosing fabric are intended use.  For example, if a piece is going to be a wall hanging then washing is not a concern. On the other hand, for a baby quilt or a piece used by a child, fabric needs to be colorfast and stand up to many washes.

For my pieces I frequently use a wide range of colors and enjoy the interplay of a variety of shapes and textures. This however is a matter of style and you need to be comfortable with the fabric that you choose.

If you choose to do your fabric shopping online, some of my favorite places are:

Hancocks of Paducah – http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/
Spool– www.spoolsewing.com
Glorious Color – http://www.gloriouscolor.com/

Happy Quilting!
Marjie