I don’t turn my nose up at JoAnns, they sometimes have just the right thing for a particular project. Have you noticed any differences among quilting cottons? For example, there is the Washi line from Timeless Treasures. Super cute print, but a little stiff, a little cardboardy. Great to sew as it holds a crease nicely but if you are, for example, using bias binding or flat piping made from it, it can get kind of bulky quickly. I feel like the colors fade a bit more quickly on some of these, as well.
Then there are some of the nicer quilting cottons from, for example, Moda. I always use City Weekend as an example. It’s a lot softer, smoother, more slinky. This can be a plus or a minus. I’d prefer Washi over CW for a tote bag, for example, and CW over Washi for an unlined blouse. If you’re familiar with Cloud 9, they have different base cloths, a price sensitive one which is coarser, and the other one which is smoother and less stiff.
Then there are lawns, generally. Lighter, finer, smoother than quilting cottons, generally. Robert Kaufman has a London Calling line of lawns that are about $10/yard, not on sale. There are a bunch of fabrics generically called ‘Japanese lawn’ that range in quality, but as a whole, they are lighter and more airy. Hold a very crisp crease, easy to work with. I do find that these are a little more prone to fading, the patterns less sophisticated, and the hand not as silky and fine. There are the Yoshiko Jizenji ones from … I want to say Yuwa? Those are pretty close to Liberty and at least $10/yard cheaper.
The top of the line, for me, is Liberty. So light that you can have many layers without it getting bulky (like a sleeve placket) — working with small pieces in a tight space is a lot more pleasant. You can get super crisp details — collar points, for example. Super tiny pintucks. And it feels extremely nice against the skin. Very silky.
However, these are all subjective. The price difference is substantial and I would say that if you don’t think you are seeing and feeling a very distinct $17 per yard difference between Tana lawn and other lawns or quilting cottons, don’t waste your money. I don’t get out my laser level for hanging pictures — if I can’t see that it’s not level, I don’t care. I only need it to be good enough for my eye. If I’m making cabinets, I get out the level, because there’s going to be a practical, mechanical difference even if I can’t visually tell. Maybe try out a Kaufman lawn when it’s on sale at Fabric.com (it’ll come down to $6 or $7/yard) and see if it feels very different to you.
