how much yardage for stash building?

[Kellie M.]

In the past I've never bought material "just because". I have always planned the quilt then went to the quilt shop and bought the required amount of fabric. Lately I've been finding myself falling in love with some fabrics I find on sale. When y'all are just stash building how much of any one fabric do you buy? 1/4 yd? 1 yd? 6yds?

[Margo C.]

Hi Fernando! I think it depends on the types of quilts you like to make. Personally, I like to make quilts with LOTS of different fabrics, and I tend to purchase fat quarters so I have a large selection. I also make a lot of applique quilts and sometimes I just need a tiny amount of some colors. If I see something that I really like, I may get a yard or two (for sashing or border strips or backgrounds) and ocassionally if I see something I really LOVE I'll get 6 yards to use for a backing and binding. (I quilt on a long-arm machine and need length of backing to mount it on the frame.) If I'm only attracted the colors, I'll just get a fat quarter to use it for a focus fabric and pull fabrics from my stash that will give me the flavor of that fabric for the overall look of my quilt.

Be aware too, that your tastes will probably change over time, so don't fill your cabinet with similiar fabrics!

I also suggest that you try to store your fabric so that you can tell at a glance when you are getting low on a color. Need more greens? Some orange?

Probably the most important thing to pay attention to is the value of the fabric. I don't mean money, but the lightness or darkness of the colors. You need a good mix of light, medium and dark fabrics available in your stash.

Have fun! And remember to save room for new stuff! The most gorgeous fabric you've ever seen may not even be printed yet!! :lol:

[Hannelore N.]

As much as I can afford!

Seriously: If I see a very versatile fabric, especially a small scale print or a tone-on-tone in a colour I really love (burnt orange, some greens, aquas, for example) I buy a couple of metres so that they can become the background of a bed quilt. I also love it when I can take home the left-overs of quilting friends. Mixed with my own fabrics, they make great scrap quilts.

And finally: I'm not 'stash building'. I'm preparing for retirement.

[Nancy R.]

For me, it also depends on the fabric. I'm another lover of scrap quilts, but I tend to buy 1/2 yds instead of fat quarters. A lot of shops charge more per yard for fat quarters than yardage so that they don't have to individually mark the fat quarters. The value-hunter in me can't do that! But my favorited LQS individually prices the fat quarters so I buy a bunch there. If the fabric has a large-scale print or really strikes my fancy and I think I might want to use it for borders or some larger piece like that, I'll get more like several yards (the actual amount depends on my mood and how much I like the fabric). I'm very much a fabric addict and am more than ready for retirement now, but will continue to buy just in case, once I get there, my retirement lasts forever! You don't want to run out!!

Nancy

[Diane F.]

In the past I've never bought material "just because". I have always planned the quilt then went to the quilt shop and bought the required amount of fabric. Lately I've been finding myself falling in love with some fabrics I find on sale. When y'all are just stash building how much of any one fabric do you buy? 1/4 yd? 1 yd? 6yds?

I rarely have a quilt in mind when I buy fabric. I consider the fabric to be like a box of crayons--what do I want to design today?

There is no "correct" answer for stash accumulation. If you only like to make one project at a time, and you know exactly what you need, keep doing that.

Otherwise, I once attended a lecture by a quilter who liked to use lots of different fabrics in her quilts. She recommended buying fabrics as new colors came out, because they might disappear from the quilt shops before you want to purchase/use them.
She also said that she typically purchased 1-1/4 yards of a stash fabric. She would sub-cut the fabric into two pieces: a yard piece and a 1/4-yard piece.

I hope that information helps.

[Jill B.]

I love buying fabric also and some times buy fat quarters but as I live in Australia and buy 99% of my fabric in the USA its better for me to buy by the yard, but as already been said you do what is best for you and how you feel.

[Eileen K.]

I went to an LQS over the weekend with a friend. I haven't bought fabric in a very long time so I was shocked when I saw prices over $12.00 per yard! I don't see costs going down any time soon, so I'd buy what I like and as much as I could really afford and have room to store. Some shops are selling for $14.00 per yard :evil: :!: At these prices, a lot of quilters are going to be hitting the thrift shops soon.

[Hannelore N.]

Nothing wrong with adding second-hand fabrics to your stash. I especially love men's shirts in XXL sizes. I unpick all the seams when watching television, press the pieces and put them away in their own box. I often incorporate pieces from these shirts, especially when working on 'arty' projects.

[Nancy M.]

One thought...I recently read (probably here on TQS, but I don't remember who mentioned it) that it is more economical and gives you more flexibility to buy a 1/3 yd rather than a fat quarter; that way, you can get at least one strip (2.5 inches or so) of the width of the fabric, as well as the yardage for the smaller pieces. It frequently costs about the same as a FQ, when they are priced a bit higher to account for cutting the special size. Hope this makes sense! Nancy

[Margo C.]

Makes perfect sense, Nancy! I remember hearing (seeing?) that also, but can't remember where.

[Jocelyn W.]

I think I recall Alex recommending 1/3 yard (thrifty gal!) however, also remember her recommending a new neutral fabric she found and returned a few times for more yardage - in the end at least 5 yards. Her excitement is contagious!

For my own stash I now buy 1/2 yard pieces of things I believe will be useful. For the pieces that show something special, a yard or 1.5 yards. When something makes me say, "oh, my!" then the length grows (and grows.) I settled on a 1/2 yard minimum as pieces that size hold up well in prewashing and also cover any errors in cutting (by me or the LQS.) I've also learned to take an extra hard look at sale fabric to avoid bringing home yards of 2nd rank pieces. Good 'lights' are particularly difficult to find so I try to take an extra cruise around a shop looking specifically for those. Enjoy! :P

[Jocelyn W.]

Fernando,
hi! I am the metric one and have always bought at least 1/2 meter pieces and when I see something very extra special, like some Alexander Henry fabric or a Kaffe Fassett bold print, then I buy one meter. I also take advantage of sales and stock up on neutral and backing fabrics buying 3 or 4 meters at a time.
hope this also helps
Jeanine in very snowy Nova Scotia

[Diane F.]

In the past I've never bought material "just because". I have always planned the quilt then went to the quilt shop and bought the required amount of fabric. Lately I've been finding myself falling in love with some fabrics I find on sale. When y'all are just stash building how much of any one fabric do you buy? 1/4 yd? 1 yd? 6yds?

I rarely have a quilt in mind when I buy fabric. I consider the fabric to be like a box of crayons--what do I want to design today?

There is no "correct" answer for stash accumulation. If you only like to make one project at a time, and you know exactly what you need, keep doing that.

Otherwise, I once attended a lecture by a quilter who liked to use lots of different fabrics in her quilts. She recommended buying fabrics as new colors came out, because they might disappear from the quilt shops before you want to purchase/use them.
She also said that she typically purchased 1-1/4 yards of a stash fabric. She would sub-cut the fabric into two pieces: a yard piece and a 1/4-yard piece.

I hope that information helps.

Enough Stash Accumulation!!! I have been moving my fabrics and now I have to face the growth of the stash...WOW! I did not realize that I had so MUCH FABRIC. ENOUGH!!!

[Diane F.]

I like to make scrap quilts because seeing how different colors and patterns look together is what excites me most about quiltmaking. So I buy small pieces; then I can have as many different colors and patterns as possible. I used to purchase quarter yards but several years ago began buying third yards. It does not cost that much more but yields quite a bit more usable fabric. A quarter yard is only 9 inches, and if it is cut unevenly there may not be a lot of it left by the time you prepare it for use. If, however, there are fat quarters available of the fabric I want at the same price per yard as fabric from the bolt, then that is what I get.

[Eileen K.]

Fernando,
I'd buy 1/2 yard if you like the fabric, 1 yard if you love it, and 3 yards if you can't live without it. :wink: