I do try to buy “Made in America” as much as possible. Don’t hassle me about the Honda and Toyota in our garage, ok? I get enough of that from my friend’s husband who works for Ford. I will not get into our reasons for buying Hondas and Toyotas. Yes, we do have a Chevy pickup and that’s probably one of the reasons we’ll continue to buy Hondas and Toyotas. But there are other reasons. Just like many of you have reasons for not buying this or that, and I respect you right to do what you wish with your income and purchases so please offer me that same respect. Besides that . . many of the “foreign” cars are assembled in the U. S.
About fabric . . I am real picky about my fabric. Yes, I order a lot of fabric without seeing it. I do have brands that I like more than others, though not because I’m a name dropper. The selvages are removed when the quilt is made (well, in most quilts!) and no one ever knows when they see a completed quilt if the fabric came from Wal-Mart (yes, our store still has fabric), JoAnn’s, the local quilt shop or wherever! I do not like slick or flimsy material. Some very expensive and name brand fabrics fall into that category. I love all the colors in the Moda Marbles, since I mostly use tone on tone fabrics, but I do not like the way they feel. I loved the Patrick Lose Marble Mania fabrics. Some probably feel they’re too thick and prefer the Moda Marbles. Everything else Moda makes is right up at the top of my list for “gotta have” fabric! Nice to have a choice, huh?
For those of us who have been quilting for many years, you may remember when fabric was all made in the U.S.A. Then we began seeing on the bolts that the fabric was made somewhere else . . China, Korea, I can’t remember all the names. At first we were told it was to keep the price down. I remember buying Hoffman, Moda, etc. “back in the day” for $4.99 to $5.99/yard and thinking it was expensive. Did shipping all the fabric manufacturing overseas keep the prices down? I have a hard time believing it would cost more if that business had stayed here. Later we were told it was because of environmental rules, or employment issues. If our environmental problems are “global”, then why is it ok to do one thing in China but not ok to do it here? I understand about the laws and regulations and OSHA and all that . . my husband is an environmental engineer. He’s taking an online course . . via the laptop . . in the living room . . with the volume turned up. Which OSHA reg would you like for me to quote? <G>
But, I don’t understand why it’s “right” to do something there, even if there are no rules in China against doing something that you cannot do here. But in the end, if it harms the environment and the problem is global as we’ve been told and I sometimes believe parts of what I’m told but rarely believe all of what I’m told, why is it ok to do it in China? Is China not part of the globe?
In any event, most of the fabric manufacturing business has been taken overseas.
It’s their business . . they can do what they please and I not knocking what they do . . just saying that it makes me pause and think.
Is the fabric manufacturing business coming back here? I have no idea because the newest fabric I bought on bolts doesn’t even say where the fabric was made. Of five bolts of fabric, only one says “Made in China”. The others say nothing!
A few weeks ago I received word that the fabric at ConnectingThreads.com was made from cotton grown in the U. S. and woven and printed in North America. You can read their blurb here. Their fabric is $5.96/yard and they advertise free shipping on web orders over $50. I had to check it out because I wasn’t going to recommend it if hadn’t seen it and felt it myself. I ordered a fat quarter collection and two coordinating pieces, along with a snowman and tree fabric.
The fabric arrived and has now been washed and I am very pleased with it. I can say that I recommend it and that I will be ordering more.
The one thing that did concern me was the width of the selvage. A while back . . maybe 6 or more years ago, much of the quilting fabric was coming in about 40″ or 41″ wide vs. 44″ wide. That makes it real hard to write a pattern with instructions when you’re planning on getting 40″ of fabric after washing and removing the selvage. I think quilters complained enough that it seems to me fabric is pretty much at least 42″ to 44″ wide now.
When I saw this 1″ selvage on the Connecting Threads fabric, I thought . . that’s a problem for me! So, I grabbed my yardstick and look at that! The fabric is a good 47″ wide, including the selvage.
Sorry, this picture is blurry but even after removing the 1″ selvage, and it isn’t but about 1/2″ on the other side of the fabric, you’re still left with at least 44″ of fabric to use. That’s fantastic!
I’m thrilled that Connecting Threads is:
- Offering fabric made from cotton grown in the U.S.
- Offering fabric printed in North America
- Offering fabric for $5.96/yard
- Offering free shipping on orders over $50.
They will definitely be getting more of my business.
At the quilt show yesterday, I was given a Connecting Thread brochure with a 5″ square of fabric stapled to it. The fabric has a wonderful feel to it. This is the first time I’ve seen it. Thanks for the recommendation.
I’ve got fabric from Connecting Threads a few times now and have been pleased with what I have gotten. I really never paid any attention as to how much fabric I got after I cut off my selvage. I’m glad to hear that you buy fabric from Wal- Mart, Jo-Anns, etc. I guess I pay too much attention to the quilt police sometimes, who say that you should only buy from quilt shops! I always wondered where other quilters buy their fabric! On that note, I do realized that the quality is better and so is the variety, colors and styles of fabrics at the LQS – however the price ( around here it ranges from $8.50- $10.50 a yard) puts quilting almost out of reach.
Nice of you to do the research for this. We need to pay more attention to this type stuff, I think.
I buy most of mine at Joanns, but have to admit I’ve never checked where it was made. Ill be watching more closely now.
I am so glad you posted about this! I buy from connecting Threads a lot and when I saw this about their fabrics I was thrilled and showed my husband who is BIG on trying to buy American and keep our country going by support our manufacturers. It is getting tougher and tougher to do so because our options are limeted at best. He thought it was great that they are not only growing the cotton here but also the manufacturing. How many jobs is that? I for one will definately be buying from them. Their fabrics are really pretty and cheaper too. Go figure!
have been buying from Connecting Threads for a while now. I love their fabric and buy from them quite a bit. Once I wanted to order a kit from them for a laundry bag, but wanted to make 2 of them-one from the fabric in the kit and the other one from some different fabric they had. I called to order and the lady helped me get the other fabric-just in the right yardage for the second one. Talk about service. Try them, you’ll like it. Hugs, Bobbie
This was a very interesting read…thanks for doing the research and passing along the results.
I like the Essential Cotton thread at Connecting Threads. Nice long staple cotton.
That is fantastic about 44″ os usable fabric. The only fabric I have used from them were FQs that were gifted to me.
I also think you could add to the list that I like that their free catalog is like a magazine with lots of great photos and quilts.
However I do have 5 of their large spools of thread and I do NOT like it. Feels way to thick and course. Have you tried their thread Judy?
For years I used JoAnn’s and Hancocks of Paducah. In the past couple of years the JoAnn’s fabric has gotten very cheezy. In fact sometimes it feels like cheescloth by the time you wash it. Very course and not nice to work with. Hancock’s & I had issues over delivery issues that were a bad joke. I’ll still use them but not unless I have to. I love the Fat Quarter shop and Moda fabric so they come highly recommended by me. Wonderful service and products-great sales as well.
I’m so happy you tried the Connecting Threads fabric. I get the catalog but I’ve been so wary of the quality at that price. Isn’t that sad that we become wary of things that are reasonabley priced. Good to read the comment about their thread too. I like a heavy thread for top stitching so it would be worthwhile for me for some things.
Once again, you are so helpful. Thanks a lot.
Just wanted to chime in an say — Another happy customer of Connecting Threads. Their prices are what got me to try them in the first place and I was very pleased. I’m glad you found them too.
I was happily surprised at the quality of their fabric. Not to mention the price. I bought some thread too, but haven’t tried it yet.
Good to know about Connecting Threads fabric. I don’t care for their thread-too linty to me but I am using what I bought.
Another question about quilt shop fabric which is running $8.00+ to almost 10.00-why can you go to Lancaster and get it so much cheaper -same fabric, good quality??? My sister was there this past week, fabric ran about $7.50/yd. Just food for thought. And yes we do try to buy American but it is getting harder. We also drive Nissan and Toyotas-more of the vechile is made in the States than probably your “American Made” cars. (DH is a Nissan mechanic).
I’m with you, Judy. I am now driving my second Kia.
the first one went for 9 years, and i am hoping to get the same longevity out of the second one. before that i drove a Toyota for 7 years, and passed that one on to my daughter who drove it for 2 more years.
YEA FOR LONG LIVED CARS!
I have been a Connecting Thread customer for many years. I have never had a problem with any product I have ordered from them. Each week there is a web special on their website and products listed there are excellent values. My budget likes the Essentials thread and my machine likes it too!
All Connecting Threads fabric lines are EQ downloadable too!
I’m with ya. Buy American if you can.
Don’t get me started on problems with my Fords. I’m seriously considering Honda and Toyota myself. I do understand that most of the “import” vehicles are being manufactured right here in good ol’ USA.
I just made my first online fabric purchase from Connecting Threads. Seems great, shipping and service were great, and the price is sure good. I hope more people weigh-in on their thread. Is it good or not? I’ve been using aurifil but would love a less expensive alternative.
I am so glad that you found Connecting Threads! I am a huge fan and have bought lots from them over the past year. I too was skeptical but once I did, I am hooked! Their service is wonderful and if you do have a problem, you can put it out their on their blog area and they fix it immediately. Haven’t tried the thread yet so jury is still out on that too. I also wondered about the selvage and noted that it was fine after measuring it.
Glad to see you supporting them, i have been buying from them for 3 years, and I am always pleased with the quality of the fabrics. I buy their yardage every chance I can
I love connecting threads…even coming to Canada it is well worth it. I love the feel of it and I have also ordered a couple of kits and they are MORE than generous!
I find their thread pretty linty (is that a word??) but I love the fabric.
Judy,
I am really happy with Connecting Threads products too- they offer really reasonable prices on thread and books as well. Even with the exchange it is a good deal on fabric- The fabric has a real nice hand and I have been happy with most everything that I have received from them. Some of the web sale prices make it even better. The shipping costs to Canada
are very reasonable
They also have a wonderful Quilt with Us forum that anyone can join without any cost. They have different groups- a Mid West group ( I believe) and a quilting Canadians group to which I belong, scrap bags… I highly recommend it to anyone- quilters are such a friendly lot. Just go to connecting Threads.com and look on the tool bar at the top for Quilt with Us. You will need to sign up and off you go.
Regards,
Anna
I haven’t tried their fabric yet but I do like their thread — I’ll have to order some! After all, I told Keith if I could buy the netbook today I wouldn’t go to the quilt shops here in GA tomorrow!
I have never ordered from Connecting Threads because I’ve been concerned over the quality just because it is less expensive. Good that they say the cotton is grown in the USA. Wonder why they don’t say the fabric is made in the US. Remember, Mexico is in North America.
I’ve been happy with the things I’ve gotten from Connecting Threads and I have a quilting friend who SWEARS by them and is probably one of their biggest fans.
I really like Connecting Threads. They used to have a shop over in Vancouver, WA, and I was sad when they left and decided to internet only. Their thread is, for the most part, nice quality. Once or twice I got a cut which I didn’t care for but that was a while back. I recently made a quilt of entirely M*** fabric and was VERY disappointed with how badly the threads unraveled. When I clipped the threads on the back of the top for my quilter I got way TOO close to my 1/4 in. seams some times. I do know $$ doesn’t always reflect quality.
Thanks for seconding my thoughts on Connecting Threads.
I like their fabric also – I just wish they would go one more step and find a place that is could be printed in the US – Printed in North America does not mean the US.
I can’t belive the prices of the other name brands – some places it is over $10 a yd now.
It’s fun to see all the different opinions – I’m a “fabric feel” person too. I don’t care who’s label it is, the feels got to be right. I’m with you Judy – I don’t like the feel of the Moda Marbles – the colors are gorgeous but the fabric feel isn’t right – but I love most other Moda fabrics and if I’m ording on line, won’t hesitate to get their other lines. I love Connecting Threads quilting threads – great colors and weights and you can’t beat the prices – but didn’t like their fabrics once I washed them — shrinkage and much raveling issues for me – but I have a friend who buys lots of fabrics from them. It’s nice to have so many places to choose from and not be dependent on just a local shop – tho I do tend to give the LQS a whole lot of business cause I want to keep them there (or at least that’s my excuse for leaving so much money in their till) .
Judy…
I had the nearly same exact post planned for my blog….lol..brillian minds think alike. I’m going to link to yours, though, since you posted first
Amy
About Ford – when I imported my Ford truck into Canada I had to fill out forms of origin, etc. My Ford truck was actually made in Canada. Goes to show – you got to read the fine print! Glad you like your new fabrics!
I don’t think there are any cloth manufacturing mills in the US any longer. Cranston was the last one and it shut down last year. The old unused mills would take a fortune to get up and running again. Sad.
I have purchased fabric from Connecting Threads and like it very much. The only problem for me is that most of there fabric has a sort of county and I’m a bit of rock n rolll. (G).
I love their thread as well as their fabrics! Glad you are happy with them as well!
Wow. I was just looking for some American-made cotton fabrics and bemoaning the fact that even R. Kaufman imports their fabrics…..I am slowly but surely using up my stash and have determined not to buy any fabrics from China except bamboo, which is made nowhere else. Thanks so much for this blog entry!!!! Off I go to spend money…..and then sew some stuff for my grandkids.