Cotton Gauze

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

Our Walmart in Galena never got rid of the fabrics.  And every time I am in the store, I pass by the $2 fabric table, which is always piled high with bolts of fabric.  Most of them not for faire use, but every once in a while, you can come across something that will work for a chemise or a skirt!

[PollyPoPo]

The new Super Wal-Mart (replaced a smaller Wal-Mart) in at least one small Texas town was in the process of closing the fabric department, but the ladies of the area actually protested in the parking lot, signs, TV reporters, etc.  Hey, antagonize those church ladies and you might as well not bother opening the store at all because you would have NO SHOPPERS.

The store opened with the fabric department and it's still there.  Just picked up, on clearance sale, some medium hue blue/white striped duck cloth that we're going to have made into piratey-type pants. 

[raevyncait]

The 3 WalMarts nearest me brought back their fabric departments, as did Waxahachie. It's not a huge selection, but it's reasonable.  I think that they figured out that those of us who don't live in a city with a nearby fabric store did spend enough to warrant the department.

[Lady L]

I have used both 100% cotton and linen. I prefer the cotton so much more. Historical is not a big issue for us, either. The cotton was more comfortable, even Sir R said he liked it more.

Our Wmart in MN had discontinued the fabric dept. several years ago. I complained, many people complained, but we weren't listened to at all. Just recently, they started to bring in some fabric. It isn't as big of a dept as it used to be... they don't have all the trims, bias tape in all the colors, they have limited buttons and elastic, but it's better than nothing. They only have Simp. pattern book and it's too high for me to look through it. I bought some black quilters cotton today, muslin and 6 yds of red with a gold stripe, which was $2.50 yd. R had to dig through other bolts to find the black, but they did have it. I thought about buying a cotton sheet, if they didn't have it. They also had a clearance shelf, but most of it was knits, fleece and kid's prints. I used to buy a LOT of $1.00 yd cotton gauze there, in many colors. I love it!

[Hoowil]

They are starting to bring the fabric departments back around here too. The one local store that didn't have it pulled is the only one with any real kind of selection though. I love the dollar bins, as I can get cotton of a workable weight, and use it for mock ups cheaper than muslin, and with closer characterstics to end projects. I'll get entire bolts just for that.

[Alexandra Johanna]

I dropped into our Joann's today again and really searched through the fabrics. I believe I found something very similar in weight and weave to the green gauze I love so much. It was labeled Batiste fabric. Very slightly sheer (much less so than the gauze from Vogue), very light and flowy, but sadly the bolt at Joann's was 65% cotton/35% polyester. So back on the shelf it went. But now I know what I'm looking for!  Thanks for all the help everyone, greatly appreciated!

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

Soulstice, I was just in our Walmart on Wednesday, and they had that color green and also beige on the closeout table.  It looked exactly the same, like gauze but not crinkly.  The reason I remember is I looked at the green and thought it would make a nice shirt for Steve.  I didn't buy it because he already has a green shirt.  I don't know what the fabric content is, but I can look the next time I go.

[Alexandra Johanna]

Thanks for looking Renee. I think we're going to go with the batiste from Vogue, just so I can order a whole bolt and dye as needed. The sample came yesterday and its very light and airy, should be wonderful in the heat!

[lys1022]

Just a note about linens:  they come in several weights, so if you had some linen clothing that seemed too heavy or hot, it may just be that you got clothing made with a heavier weight linen and just need a lighter one.  The lightest weight linen (sometimes called "handkerchief linen"), is so light and woven with such fine strands that it can be almost see-through.  That, of course, may be a little too light for some folks who may prefer a fabric that is a bit more opaque, but you can get a slightly heavier weight and still get the cooling effects of linen without the heavy feel.

Linen is pretty standard for participants here at Scarborough.  It is a comfortable, breathing fabric that wicks up sweat and helps keep you cool. 

I like to get mine from http://www.fabrics-store.com.  I've never gotten anything but top quality product from them, and if you're on their mailing list, they constantly send out notices of sales and so on.  One thing that I love is that they also have a sample card available with swatches of the various materials.  It's a great help for deciding on colors and weights.

Just some more information for anyone who is interested.

[Alexandra Johanna]

Thanks for the link. I just ordered a sample card of the light weight linen!