WHY BUY QUILTER’S GRADE FABRIC—

There really is a difference between chain store fabrics and the quilt shop only (QSO) fabrics. The premium manufacturers start with a higher-quality greige (pronounced gray) goods--the unfinished fabric in its raw state. The premium greige goods have a minimum of 60 threads on the warp and 60 threads on the woof, with some thread counts even higher. The higher thread counts produce a silkier feel (hand), less bearding, and enhanced printing definition—leading to increased longevity of the fabric or the quilt.

In addition to thread counts, the diameter of the yarn, the size of the cotton filament used, and the length of the cotton staple are critical to the final outcome. The number of the colors used in the print and the more complex engravings dictate using a slower flat-bed press than the high-speed rotary presses used for the typical chain store products.

After the greige goods are printed, they go through a finishing process which consists of a chemical bath that sets the dye into the cotton fabric. Unfinished or poorly finished goods can bleed and will have a coarser feel.

Thus, the QSO brands are finished in a more time-consuming manner which adds greatly to the silken feel and the superior color fastness of the premium products.

So you do get what you pay for.

(Excerpted from “Spools and Tools,” Winter 2000 issue, article by Jim Salinas)

MARJ'S TIP: Speaking from a lesson hard-learned, all my early quilts were constructed from non-QSO fabrics. Those that have received almost constant wear are showing their age very badly and will have to be retired or repaired exensively; those which were constructed of QSO fabric are holding up much better, holding their shape and keeping their colors.