I've spend some time bulding stock so I can re-open my Etsy Store.(http://www.etsy.com/shop/FolmarDesigns) I was going to open it at the first of Feburary but I think I'm going to hold off till March 1st. I'll be making a trip to Portland on the 2nd of Feb.and plan to do some shopping. I'm going to the Knittn' Kitten and a few other places. http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheKnittnKitten They have a shop on etsy I was happy to discover considering I live over 160 miles from Portland! It's nice to be able to browse a little online or purchase from someone you trust.
I love to buy fabric in person but I do buy online, too. Fabric is such a tactile thing. Pictures don't always do it justice and sometimes pictures can make it look better than it is. You never know when you open a box if you'll be pleasantly surprised or disappointed. Nothing is worse than a "vintage cotton print" to arrive and it is a poly-cotton blend with the makers website listed on the selvedge. I've seen "vintage" fabric for sell that I purchased last year at a fabric store. I saw another I owned from 2002 being sold as vintage too.
I don't understand it. Even if you are not knowledgable about fabrics, a clearly printed date or a website should be a huge red flag to the seller! Just because something was purchased at an estate sale... that doesn't make it old! People who are 70 years old didn't stop buying stuff when they were 20 years old. They continued to shop till the day they died (or at least for as long as they were able). The assumption that everything at an estate sale is old is just silly. Older ladies if they love to quilt, they are not going to stop buying fabric. They are not making all thier quilts from fabric they purchased 40 years ago! Sorry, I just don't understand the mentality that a seller can just call something an antique or vintage because they purchased it at an estate sale. The seller is responsible for doing a minimal amount of homework to know what they are selling.
A person selling fabric should know how to burn test. They should be able to tell the difference between cotton and polyester based on that burn test. A person selling fabric should know how to measure.
How to measure fabric:
Get a tape measure, yard stick, something that marks off inches
Find the cut side.
Find the 2 sides that are not "cut". They might have a makers name. They might be white. They might be slightly thicker. Those are called selvages. (think edges)
Now you measure the selvage edge.
Then you measure the cut edge from selvage to selvage.
So your rough measurement should be 18" x 42" or 3 yards x 52"
Now you want to line up the print and fold the fabric in half. (selvage to selvage). If one side has over hang when the print is lined up.... the fabric is not square. You only measure the portion where the 2 selvage edges overlap. This is your REAL measurement.
If your fabric doesn't have 2 selvages... you need to note that in your listing. If it has no selvages it should be listed as "scrap". Measure the largest square. You can mention there is over hang. Don't list your fabric as 3 yards when it has huge cut outs and there are no pieces that are actually 3 yards long. If it has a seam (older fabrics have seams to put to pieces together) You should measure both sides and list it as 2 pieces. 6 yards is not 6 yards if there is a huge seam in the middle!
There are exceptions to the above. One notable exception is vintage "tube" knits. These are knits that instead of having selvages, the edges were sewn together and the knit fabric forms a tube (The seam is a loose stitch just to keep the fabric from unraveling. It is not meant to be used as a tube.) . This is how it was sold at the store. Just because it doesn't have a true selvage it is not a scrap piece and is in the original condition.
*note: This is not meant to be condescending. I really just have had a ton of issues with people who sell fabric and can't/don't measure it correctly. When you are buying 1/2 a yard and 10 inches is unsable because it is unsquare 5 inches on both sides. That leaves the buyer with 8 inches of useable fabric and 2 odd shaped triangles.
No comments:
Post a Comment