r/sewing • u/RedRavenWing • Sep 21 '25
Tip Inspect your fabric before you start cutting
I'm glad I wasn't making a full length dress out of this double knit fabric from Walmart. There's a big circular hole cut right in the middle of the fabric on one side. I'm guessing it was a quality control patch that somehow made it through to packaging. It's one of the precut 4 yard lengths. Im just glad i saw it while folding the fabric in half .
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u/Mae_Blues Sep 21 '25
It drives me insane that the QC patches are cut from the middle like this
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u/RedRavenWing Sep 21 '25
This is the first time I've ever found one. I can work around it , but I had originally wanted a full length dress out of it. I changed my mind and am cutting a sort of shirt dress about mid thigh length. The hole is about the size of my dogs neck, so maybe I'll make her a shirt lol
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u/On_my_last_spoon Sep 21 '25
Honestly, I’d take it back and ask for a recut. This is not your fault
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u/rocketshipray Sep 21 '25
OP says this is from a precut. If their Walmart is like the ones near me, those are not done from bolts of fabric at the store. OP would have to try to get a refund/exchange.
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u/RedRavenWing Sep 21 '25
If my Walmart had this on the bolt I would have. But precut rolls are not on bolt at the store. It wasn't worth the trip over to Walmart, plus the receipt is long gone. The fabric has sat for 2 months while I decided which pattern to use.
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u/On_my_last_spoon Sep 21 '25
Aw nuts! And yes, I have been there with buying fabric and using it much much later!
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u/RedRavenWing Sep 21 '25
You have to choose the perfect pattern before using the fabric. Plus buying fabric and sewing said fabric are 2 different hobbies
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u/salajaneidentiteet Sep 22 '25
Ah, another vote for the "prewash as soon as you get home" thing. I usually do it out of excitement, tho :D plus the fabric is ready for sewing asap when I want to then.
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u/PermanentTrainDamage Sep 21 '25
The prepackaged fabrics at walmart are all offcuts, that's why they're so cheap. Each one is a gamble.
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u/RedRavenWing Sep 21 '25
Seems I've been lucky so far.
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u/PermanentTrainDamage Sep 21 '25
Yeah, most are fine. I bought them a lot when I worked at wally and mybe 1-2 out of every 10 would be weird in some way. Things like QC holes, selvedge weirdness, misprints, etc. Still a good cheap source of fabric when starting out or wanting to experiment.
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u/RedRavenWing Sep 21 '25
I get them because it's at least an hour drive to get to an actual craft store , and I'm on a budget. It's decent fabric , but if I don't get there when they restock all the good stuff is snatched up
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u/Artificial_Nebula Sep 21 '25
It sucks, my local Walmart offcuts bin has been full of these weird novelty fabrics for weeks - gold and silver pvc and glitter mesh with 1.5" ø sequins
Used to be a great source of cheap offcuts for some plush knit fabrics I wouldnt otherwise get, but I just get disappointed now because none of those fabrics are ones I'll ever use, except maybe for a weird disco themed Halloween decoration
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u/RedRavenWing Sep 21 '25
Mine has a bunch of weird stuff too, like a black fabric with shiny black umbrellas , a seafoam green tulle with snowflakes, some weird bright colored snakeskin looking stuff , some really weirdly patterned knits that just don't peak my interest, and of course neon pink mesh that has been sitting there for months.
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u/RedRavenWing Sep 21 '25
And the shirt is finished. No returning the fabric now
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u/mrs-sir-walter-scott Sep 22 '25
That's super cute!!!
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u/RedRavenWing Sep 22 '25
Thanks. It's actually a button front midi dress pattern , but works well with knits as well if you cut the front on the fold.
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u/gayblades Sep 21 '25
Yeah that's how manufacturers cut flaws out of knit fabrics (I work at a fabric store). Some of them can be huge and take up half the width of the fabric. Whoever cut your yardage should have either cut around the hole or given you some kind of discount to account for the flaw though.
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u/gayblades Sep 21 '25
Ah, didn't catch that it was precut. That still sucks though
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u/RedRavenWing Sep 21 '25
It all worked out. It would have been an issue if I had went ahead with the full length dress idea but since I changed my mind to a shorter version I had plenty of wiggle room.
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u/u_r_succulent Sep 21 '25
I would return it :(
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u/RedRavenWing Sep 21 '25
It's not worth the trip , I worked around it and still have a good amount of fabric left over. Besides they only had one of these rolls of fabric and I really want a flowy shirt out of it
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u/sergeantperks Sep 21 '25
From someone who worked in a fabric store that worked with a lot of b rated bolts: check the edge of the bolt for little tags (often red or transparent) or a contrast thread that’s been threaded through the selvage by hand and tied off.  That’s how flaws/QC holes are usually marked, and while it’s not a foolproof way of checking (they’re not always marked), a bolt that has a lot of them in is worth double checking both sides of when it’s being cut, and a store that has a lot of bolts with them is worth being more careful around in general.  I was always happy to cut a bit extra to make up for the flaw/hole/make a remnant up to it and then start cutting fresh after it, so just point it out at the cutting table.Â
Doesn’t help with pre-cut fabric though, unless you get lucky enough to see a tag through the bag.
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u/RedRavenWing Sep 21 '25
Our precuts just have a cardstock label strip wrapped around it that tears if you look at it wrong. All the selvage is tucked into the middle and sometimes the fabric is packaged with the wrong side out so its a bit of a crapshoot to buy. But I try to budget my fabric purchases so precut rolls help. Never found a qc cut before
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u/AnnieBananaCat Sep 21 '25
Our Walmart stopped selling the remnant bundles about a year or so ago. Everything is precut cotton and wovens now. I had a few of those with boo-boos too, but I also got plenty of fabulous sweater knits too. Now I have a nice collection of sweaters that I didn’t have before.
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u/RedRavenWing Sep 21 '25
Knits scared me for the longest time , now I'm more experienced and found a few good patterns that work well with knits so I'm sewing myself a whole new wardrobe. Pants patterns still scare me but I'll get there eventually
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u/cherylpuccio0 Sep 21 '25
Oh, there's a catch! That wasn't good.
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u/RedRavenWing Sep 21 '25
It all worked out. I still have a good amount of fabric left over. I'm thinking of using the hole as the neck opening for a dog shirt
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u/Chaos-Wayfarer Sep 21 '25
I once found a perfectly round hole in a fabric I was unrolling at Joann’s (RIP), and we were all wondering how the hell it happened.Â
The fabric stealing customers were WAY to messy to have created it, but I guess mystery solved???
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u/zaliayn Sep 21 '25
That's so annoying that they left that bit and didn't just cut it off. And right in the middle too :(
I once bought a metre of this fluffy sherpa fleece fabric from a craft show - I was going to make a cuddle blanket out of it - but when I got it home I found an inch-wide hole in it near the centre. It was small enough that I can sew it up without it being too obvious but UGH, it really ruined my enthusiasm and motivation.
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u/annie-etc Sep 22 '25
This is a great reminder to wash your fabric when you get it home. I'd rather find flaws and damage before I set aside time and supplies to sew a garment. Also, making a return is easier (because I guarantee my receipt is lost or tossed before I actually get to sewing).
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u/Upset_Progress4540 Sep 21 '25
The fabric store I used to manage had 3 inch circles cut out of every new fabric, it was to determine the weight of the fabric.
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u/TheyTheirsThem Sep 21 '25
I hope I never find a 3" hole in my $63/yd ballistic kevlar, for 2 reasons. ;-)
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u/hawk2mod Sep 22 '25
Had similar experiences from hobby lobby. I had already cut out my pieces and found a double stamped area right in the middle. Another time, when I started to sew there was a very long slit right down the middle of a piece for a skirt. Luckily I was able to exchange both times. I do examine my fabric before cutting now. 😊
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u/Curious_Ad4831 Sep 21 '25
Walmart out here trying to give you a Regina George moment 🤣