Quilting and the Tariffs

If you are a long-time reader of my blogs, you may realize two things about them.  First, they’re not monetized in any way.  It’s not that there haven’t been offers of sponsorship, there have been several.   However, it’s a conscious action of my own not to accept these offers.  Being free from any financial strings allows me to honestly review notions, fabrics, authors, and books without fear of any repercussions and allows me to be perfectly honest without any fear of retribution.

The second thing you may or may not have noticed about my blogs is that they’re apolitical.  I don’t issue anything which may be politically inflammatory to one side or another.  My blog is about quilting – and that’s all.  Quilting notions, fabric, books, the sheer joy and creative activity that quilting brings.  So it’s with a bit of trepidation that this week’s blog is about tariffs and how they may affect our quilting world.  This blog is neither pro nor con tariffs, but I hope it may lay out a strategy for us to survive them, just like we planned and quilted our way through the Pandemic.

The subject of tariffs and quilting has been bandied about on Reddit boards, Instagram, and Twitter.  Most of what I’ve read – in fact a great deal of what I’ve read – is opinion.  With this blog, I really want to keep away from opinion and work with facts – what we do know, what we don’t know, and how we can logically deal with any repercussions. 

To begin with, let’s talk about quilting cottons.  I’m limiting this blog to cottons and batiks because nearly all quilters use cotton fabrics in some way, shape, or form.  Here’s the good news about the United States and cotton:

In the United States, textile mills manufacture a significant amount of cotton fabric annually. They produce approximately eight billion square yards of woven cotton and three billion square yards of knitted cotton. The US is also a major global cotton producer, contributing a significant portion of the world’s supply and exports. 

Domestic Cotton Production:

The U.S. is a leading producer of cotton, with Texas being the largest state producer. In the 2023/2024 marketing year, the U.S. produced 12.07 million bales of cotton. 

Cotton Mill Use:

U.S. textile mills process a substantial amount of raw cotton, with an estimated 1.9 million bales being used for the 2023/24 marketing year. 

Cotton in the Global Market:

The U.S. is a major exporter of cotton, supplying about 35% of global cotton exports. 

Fabric Production:

Textile mills in the U.S. manufacture vast quantities of cotton fabric annually, with approximately eight billion square yards of woven cotton and three billion square yards of knitted cotton produced. 

All of this sounds great.  We automatically assume that quilt stores and online sites should have no issue getting fabric and that the fabric should remain fairly steady in price.

Not exactly.

 American cotton fabric manufacturing actually hit its zenith in 1860, producing as much as 2 billion pounds of cotton fabric a year.  From that point, it steadily declined, with the exception of 1940, when it peaked again due to World War II.  Prior to NAFTA (which we will discuss in a hot second), through the 1980’s and 1990’s, cotton fabric production was on the decline, as knits and other synthetic fabrics overtook the garment and sewing industry.  It’s nearly impossible to get exact figures from this pre-NAFTA ten-year time period, but almost all the historical websites agree that cotton fabric production was then on the decline.  The consumer not only wanted ready-made fashion (which became less expensive than making garments) but also the sewists wanted the new knit and other synthetic fabric.  I noticed this from personal reference.  During the 1980-1990 time period, I made all my kids clothes.  Everything in Piece Goods or Hancock’s was knit – t-shirt knits, fleeces, blends – almost all of it was synthetic.  It was also at this time I taught French Heirloom Sewing and smocking, which must be done with cotton batiste/cotton fabrics.  Most of the time I had to order the material from a website specializing in these fabrics because they weren’t readily found in the stores (kudos to Hancock’s who finally did start carrying yellow, pink, blue, and white batiste as well as the broadcloth used for smocking). 

“But,” you may be asking yourself, “America is still producing cotton fabric.  And even with only 12.07 million cotton bales per year, surely we have enough quilting cottons to keep everybody happy and not break the bank.”  Sure.  If you only want to make quilts out of solid fabrics.  Most of the quilting cottons currently produced in the US are solids, with a few exceptions from various designers such as Ruby Star Society and Alexander Henry Fabrics. The vast majority of premium cotton fabric gets printed in Japan and Korea.  The new digital prints are almost all made in Pakistan.  Batiks come from Indonesia and sometimes other places.  What I was not able to discover was if the cotton used to produce these fabrics come from the US or China or some other country.

The United States has always been flexible.  In World War II, we converted factories which made machine parts into places which manufactured guns and other armaments the country needed.  It would be easy to think that all those cotton mills which churned out fabrics pre-NAFTA could be re-tooled to and refurbished to manufacture fabric again. 

That may be difficult, if not impossible, to do.  NAFTA (North American Trade Agreement) was passed into law on January 1, 1994.  That makes it 31 years old.  As our textile mills slowly ground to a halt, many were abandoned for years.  Again, I pull from personal experience.  I grew up in Alamance County, North Carolina.  There was literally either a mill or church on nearly every corner. At the turn of the 20^th century, there were 30 textile mills and 57 hosiery mills there. Alamance County is a small place.  Nearly everyone you knew was connected to one or more of these mills.  As of the time of this blog, I can only think of perhaps one mill still in operation.  The rest of the buildings have either crumbled into utter disrepair, have been made into condos, one houses a charter school, and the others have been either demolished or re-purposed into other businesses.  And this is only one example. 

These are the facts.  No matter if you find yourself under the banner of a donkey or an elephant or eschew both of them, the facts are:

• Most of the quilting cottons we use and love are not produced in the United States.
• Most, if not all, of these will be subject to some kind of tariff.
• Bringing textile production back to the United States on a fast-track is probably impossible. 
• It might be possible for the factories producing solid fabric to change up and produce prints.
• As of the date of this blog, we are still unsure of the tariff amounts and how much it will drive up the cost of fabric and for how long.

My immediate concern was not us quilters.  My first concerns were the local quilt shops, followed by the online sites.  The number of brick-and-mortar local quilt shops has steadily decreased in the last ten years.  High Point, the city closest to me, has only one small fabric shop (I’m not counting Hobby Lobby, Walmart, or shops that sell upholstery fabric.  And now Joann’s is completely out of the picture).  Keepsake Quilting/Pineapple Fabrics in nearby Archdale closed its retail shop in November 2024 and only has an online presence.  If the tariffs drive up the wholesale cost of fabric, this expense will have to be passed onto customers.  Currently, according to the website American Tariffs on Fabrics:  Textile Import Duty in the USA, cotton thread will have an average 4.4% tariff and unbleached cotton fabric will have an average 7.7% tariff.  Of course, these numbers can fluctuate according to country of origin.  It would be rare for any company (regardless of what import it’s getting) or retail establishment (regardless of the type) to absorb this type of increase without passing on the additional cost to the consumer.  The question is can they do this and maintain their customer base? 

I don’t know.  I honestly have no idea how many small mom-and-pop fabric stores can increase prices and stay in business.  I don’t know how many small, independent, online fabric sites can increase prices and stay in business, either.  I received a newsletter from one of my favorite small, woman-owned fabric sites and in the email, she confessed she was worried – not only about having to pass along the increased cost of patterns, notions, and fabric to her customers, but also the increase in postage (which again goes up in July and the USPS plans on five more hikes through 2027).  Currently she absorbs the cost of shipping.  She can no longer afford to extend this favor to her customers and remain solvent.

So what do we, as a community of quilters, do? 

First, don’t panic or panic-buy.  Sit tight and realize the news media is probably exploiting the very worst-case scenario. 

Second, I think (personally) we need to brace ourselves not only for higher prices in the short term, but also for the long term.  It’s rare once a price increases on a retail item that it decreases to the point it was before the increase (e.g. eggs).  Even if the tariffs disappear in six months, I don’t think the price of fabric will return completely to what it was before the tariffs.

Third, as much as we can, we should continue to support our local fabric stores.  I realize everyone has a limit as to how much we can spend on our passion, and this is not a call to overspend your budget.  However, if you need a couple of spools of thread, or there’s fabric you need on sale at a reasonable price, or there’s a notion you need to replace like pins, needles, or a seam ripper, go to your local store first (if you have one in your area), and then to your favorite online site.

Fourth, realize that aside from fabric, most of what we use in quilting is not consumable.  You don’t replace rulers or templates every week.  We don’t constantly need to replace cutting mats or rotary cutters.  So don’t panic.  You’ll still be able to quilt.

Fifth, look at the option of purchasing the consumables available in bulk.  Rotary blades, pins, needles, paper piecing paper, applique paper, thread, marking pens and pencils can be purchased in bulk (something I’ve encouraged you to do for several years now).  See if a few of your friends want to go in with you and then have the items shipped to one address and divvy them out.  You’ll save money both on the goods and on the shipping costs.  Even if the tariffs end in a few months, you’ll use these items.

Six, change the way you quilt.  Go through your stash and see what you have.  Compare that to the quilts you plan to make in the next couple of years.  Try to make your stash cover all of these as much as possible.  If you absolutely need neutrals or a background fabric or some focus fabrics, there are other “shopping” options.  Ask for a fabric trade with the guild or quilt group you’re a part of.  Be vocal.  Tell them what you want and how much yardage is needed.  Then offer up a fabric from your stash of equal value.  Peruse the free table at guild meetings.  These can often harbor hidden gems.  Many thrift stores have a textile section.  Look through those to see if any of the fabric there is usable.  Online de-stash groups and Facebook Marketplace are also great options.  Last resort is Etsy and Ebay – but in my opinion, both of those have gotten a little expensive lately. 

Seven, if you haven’t done it in a few years, NOW is a great time to go through and organize your stash.  See exactly what you have and plan your projects accordingly.  See what can be used for backs.  And if you like the extra-wide quilt backing but find it’s getting too rich for your wallet, try using an old sheet.  A sheet which has been washed several times becomes soft and is wonderful to work with.  If you don’t have a flat sheet to spare, thrift shops are a great source.

Finally, remember this:  Quilters have always found a way to “make do” and quilt.  This blog is not a cry for panic buying or any type of panic in general.  It is a warning that things could get to be expensive – both for the long and short term.  Quilters in the nineteenth century learned to cut apart chintz fabric and applique those figures onto a background fabric (broderie perse) to make the expensive chintz panels stretch through several quilts.  Quilters during the twentieth century learned to work with feedsacks to make clothing and quilts.  During the seventies, we even learned to deal with that awful polyester.  This time it is no different.  We can make do and our art can thrive.  Don’t panic, just learn to adapt.

Until Next Week,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix