Quilting Kits

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I've been thinking about purchasing a quilting kit but have a couple questions.

1. Is the material already cut into correct pieces for the pattern or does it come in the form of yardage?

2. If it is in the form of yardage than is it less expensive to purchase as a kit or individual fabrics?

Thank you so much for your input.

[SisterDi]

Re: Quilting Kits

Unless the description specifies pre-cut pieces, you'll probably get yardage. I've seen kits for wedding ring quilts that were in those pieces. As to price, it really depends. I like to buy kits on sale or clearance, so I can't say otherwise.

e: One good thing about a kit is that you may have leftover fabric, sometimes enough for a second, small quilt w/ the addition of a background fabric. An example of that would be getting a fat quarter of several required colors in the kit, and only needing 10 squares cut @2in per color. That's a good amount of leftover!

[KarenC]

Re: Quilting Kits

I would agree that the cost variance could go either way. For example, I just finished a quilt that needed a variety of fabrics in certain color ranges. I could have easily gotten by with fat eights, but most shops near me have a half yard minimum. After 2 years of quilting, I'm getting caught up in the stash thing. May need to figure out a scrappy quilt soon.

[Bubby]

Re: Quilting Kits

Normally you just get yardage with a kit and do the cutting yourself. I bought a kit a while back and there wasn't enough fabric to complete the quilt. The instructions said to sew the scraps together to finish cutting the blocks, just what I don't want to do when I pay a huge amount for a kit. I find it's usually much more economical to buy yardage vs a kit.

[Pittsburgh Carol]

Re: Quilting Kits

I like to buy kits when the pattern calls for a lot of different fabrics. I've made a few of the Patch Pals quilts for babies and they call for so many different shades of a fabric, and so little of each, that it's just easier to get the kit. Of course, I've made them using scraps, too, when I want to change most of the colors. I do like to get kits when they're on sale for a good price, too.

[ldnanny3]

Re: Quilting Kits

I have only bought the ones that are yardage, also sometimes there is much more fabric that you will need so have some left over, I made 2 from 1 kit by just adding a background fabric out of my stash and border fabric so actually a 2 for 1.

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Re: Quilting Kits

Thank you everyone

[Carolyn]

Re: Quilting Kits

I purchase kits on sale and clearance telling myself they are for retirement! At first I just put them aside for later. Friends purchased some of the same kits for use now. Some stated they came up short on certain fabrics. After contacting the company we were all a little unhappy. Seems they would not sell additional fabric until all kit owners had requested their shortages. Lesson learned, check the amounts of fabric when received. It may be nearly impossible to match them later. For the most part kits are a good buy usually with extra fabric for your stash. For those living in rural areas finding a nice selection of fabrics can be a challenge and kits make up for it.

[Sylvia H]

Re: Quilting Kits

When I consider buying a kit, I figure out the amount of the yardage, and then multiply that by $11 or $12 dollars (maybe more for material I know is pricier). That allows me to compare the cost of the kit against the cost if I had to buy it myself. (Now, I almost never spend that much on yardage, but it is around what most yardage costs at local quilt stores.) I pretty much will pass on the kit if it isn't 1/2 price of what the yardage would cost.

I do make exceptions, of course. There may be a kit that I know someone would just adore, or maybe I just adore it! And, I agree that when a pattern uses small amounts of many different fabrics, it might be less expensive and easier to purchase the kit. Another thing to consider is a tip Preeti had on her blog - sometimes you can buy a kit just for the fabrics. If the kit is really discounted, you are getting a bargain on the fabric, even if you don't use it for its designated purpose. I did that recently to get a nice assortment of solids in 1/2 yard cuts. I bought the kit about 2 months ago, and just yesterday I came across a pattern that will be great for those solid colors.

As others have advised, if you do buy a kit, check it immediately to make sure you have all the fabric you were supposed to get. That happened to me a few years ago, and boy, am I glad I checked it. I bought it from a LQS, and they were going out of business. If I had waited even a month after purchasing, I would have been out of luck to get the missing fabric.