Have you ever wandered into a quilt store and wished you could have just a little bit of a lot of fabrics. Kind of a smorgasbord of fabric so to speak…Well, the least amount of fabric that most stores let you buy is a ¼ of a yard…until now.
Many fabric companies are now offering quilt shops a chance to buy “Charm Packs” for their customers. A “charm pack” is a collection of 5-inch squares of an entire collection of fabric. Usually, these packs have 25 to 50 different pieces in the bundle. These bundles cost between $5 and $10 and it is a great way for a customer to get a chance to “fondle” a fabulous fabric collection without making a huge investment of money...yet.
Yeah! you say, but what can you do with a bunch of little pieces of fabric. Well, at our shop, Cozy Cottage Fabrics in Brea, Ca., we recently received 25 flannel charm packs from the children’s line, “Baby Talk” by Cheri Strole from Moda Fabrics. We also ordered yards and yards of the coordinating bolts of the fabric line. We sold 10 charm packs before we could even get them out of the box to price them! The next 15 charm packs went out the door in a matter of hours…they sold for $5.99 and everyone was thrilled to get them.
We ordered 50 more.
Then, we decided to make up a kids quilt with them. We sewed the charm squares together, added a couple of borders and we had an “Instant Gratification Three–Hour Baby Quilt” made. Our customers loved our sample. We made kits of the quilt including the charm packs and again sold every charm pack and all the yardage of the coordinates a matter of days. (Selling the entire line of coordinating bolts of fabrics is the goal of every quilt shop! ‘Cause then the shop gets to buy more fabric!) Selling the charm packs got our customers thinking and wanting more fabric to complete their projects. Sometimes it is the little things…! I love these charming little packs…Plus they make great gifts for your favorite “fabric-holic” quilter. Like me.
comments
Using the charm packs for a simple baby quilt is a great idea. I wonder if there are other patterns out there that call for charm packs or 5" squares. If not, that wouldn't be a bad idea. Especially for the lines that aren't baby lines. Maybe a combination of 9-patches and coordinating fabric. Hmmm... that should get your creative juices going. Instead of FQ friendly quilts, you could have Charm Pack friendly quilts.
Posted by: stephanie g | November 4, 2005 9:53 PM
I like what you are saying...my mind will be racing tonight.
Posted by: Skewywampus Sistah | November 4, 2005 9:58 PM
There are two books that monopolize on this idea - Nickel Quilts and More Nickel Quilts by Pat Speth....
I am a dyed in the wool Nickel Quilter & would love it if my local shops carried charm packs..... (I'd buy them sight unseen on a subscription basis if I could!)
Amy
Posted by: Amy | November 22, 2005 4:45 AM
To: Amy--who made a comment about charm packs,
Our shop just got in two new lines of charm packs from Moda.. They are awesome...we bought the entire line from both collections...we got the charm packs yesterday but the fabric is not even coming until Mar. 2006. Call the shop 714-529-2999 and i will give you the details. We can send them to you if you want! Gina
Posted by: Gina | November 22, 2005 7:23 AM
Is there any fabric company that sells two inch squares?
Posted by: Anonymous | February 10, 2006 6:08 PM
These packs are really great for new baby gifts...
Thanks a bunch
Toni
http://quiltingsecret.blogspot.com
Posted by: Anonymous | May 1, 2006 3:38 PM
How can one purchase one of the charm packs on your web site?
Posted by: Anonymous | July 2, 2007 12:24 PM
There are many patterns available for charm packs. Some quilt shops even have kits. I have made 3 quilt tops, a wall hanging, and I'm working on another top that I designed all using charm packs.
I have gotten several quilters addicted to them, including my Mom. They are the greatest thing since the rotary cutter! lol
Posted by: Renee | August 23, 2007 7:35 PM
I just made an adorable purse out of the Moda Sunshine charm pack. I used 20 of the 5 inch squares and still have enough left to make another purse. It's a duffle bag style purse using strips that are 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches. I absolutely love these charm packs.
Posted by: Diane | January 21, 2008 5:53 PM
I love charm packs too, but I was always frustrated because I couldn't pick the exact fabrics that I wanted and also I like to prewash my fabric, which doesn't work out so well with charm packs. This problem inspired me to start my own company called Stitch Simple, where customers get to choose what fabrics they want in prewashed, precut pieces. Right now, I offer two sizes of squares (3" and 5.5") and two sizes of rectangles (2.17x5.5 and 3x 5.5)- so all of the smaller pieces can be sewn together to make a 5.5" square. You can buy as little as 1 piece of each fabric- so you can make your own charm pack or you can buy what you need to make a specific pattern of squares and rectangles.
We'll be expanding into new sizes as we grow, and we change our fabric selections all the time. Stop by our site at www.stitchsimple.com and you can sign up to be notified when we post new items.
Posted by: Jen | June 23, 2008 7:24 AM