I've been thinking about how I can make small shifts in my business to be more sustainable and effective. Although I do run a business based on consumption, I can make changes to reduce waste and better meet your needs.
Here's the problem: I have many fat quarter bundles and quilt kits unsold and unused. I run this little shop out of my home and do not have warehouse space to store fat quarter bundles. It's nearly impossible for me to predict what will sell and what will not. I often get tons of positive feedback on Instagram about a fabric pull or quilt kit, but then the kit or bundle just doesn't sell.
I want to inspire you with beautiful fabric combinations that make choosing fabrics for your quilting projects easy. I want to curate quilt kits. I want to give YOU what YOU need to make a beautiful quilt. I don't want to cut and allocate fabric for bundles that just don't meet your needs or wants.
So, instead of just curating and cutting fat quarter bundles, here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to use this blog to share with you a fabric pull of a certain number of fabrics and provide you with direct links to purchase those fabrics. I want to give you inspiration, take the guess work out of your fabric pulls, but also meet your fabric requirement needs.
For example, if your quilt pattern calls for ½ yard of five colors, or various measurements of eight colors, a fat quarter bundle is not going to meet your needs! I want this to be a space where you can browse fabric combinations and purchase the exact fabric you need for your project!
While a lot of quilt patterns are fat quarter friendly, many are not. And while I have tried to provide a variety of quilt kits, there are so many quilt patterns and quilt pattern designers that there is no way I could ever keep up with offering kits for all of them. This new method will allow you to get the exact fabric you need, while still allowing me to inspire your choices and simplify your fabric pulls.
Since I won't be cutting and allocating fabric for these bundles up front, it will allow me to do a few things:
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Offer the true amount of yardage I have for sale of each fabric in the shop. You may not know this, but I often have more yardage on hand than what is listed in the yardage listing. I do this for two reasons: to provide a buffer for cutting errors/damaged fabric (you wouldn't believe how often I find rogue dye spots or pulls in the middle of a piece of yardage I cut for a customer); and to account for fabric that I have allocated for kits/bundles.
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Provide more frequent inspiration. Pulling and photographing bolts takes me less time than pulling, cutting fat quarters, photographing, storing, and allocating inventory that is not yet cut. Once bundles are cut, I can't put them back on the bolt, so I spend a lot of time (and mental energy!) making sure the bundle is exactly what I envisioned.
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Reduce cutting fabrics and bundles that I cannot sell in the increments cut. This is a huge factor for me. I do not want to waste fabric! And if there is a bundle that you fall in love with, I want you to be able to easily purchase the fabrics from that bundle in the sizes you need.
While changes inevitably come with growing pains and adjustments, I hope you will stick with me! Together we can create beautiful things!
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Thank you so much, Nancy! I understand the need to work through your stash! Stop back any time for inspiration!
This is a brilliant idea!! Unfortunately I am 20 years into collecting quilting fabrics (including way too many random fat quarters!) and really must focus on whittling down my stash, but I will definitely keep your site in mind the next time I am looking for a beautifully curated collection for a specific project! Best wishes!