What’s the difference between regular sewing fabric and quilting fabric?

What’s the difference between regular sewing fabric and quilting fabric, if there is a difference? I don’t want to end up purchasing the wrong fabric to create my quilt.

I also prefer cotton, but we have a saying at our guild…”If you want to make a quilt your children will enjoy, buy your fabric from WalMart, JoAnn Fabrics or the Rag Shop. If you want a quilt your great-grandchildren will enjoy, buy your fabric from a quilt shop”.
The reason for this is that the quilt shops receive the highest quality fabric runs, in general, know as the A quality fabrics and usually run about $8 to $9 per yard. Those of a slightly lesser quality, or B fabrics, end up at the chain fabric stores, usually at about $4 to $6 a yard. And of course, we’ve all seen the WalMart specials, typically the cheapest all the way around, for $1 and $2 per yard.
On a side note: I’ve been able to find PLENTY of perfectly wonderful fabric at WalMart for the quilts I make – many charity quilts that will be rough-and-tumble quilts for children – and never pass a WalMart without seeing what they have to offer! You just want to make sure the fabric is 100% cotton, smooth and not stiff, and densely woven so you can’t see through it.
Finally, when you do get your quilt top done and are ready to layer and finish it off, you may want to use one of those wonderful 40% off coupons for JoAnn Fabrics and invest in cotton batting. The polyester batting is a lot cheaper and you may think you’re getting a better deal, but it’s a little more difficult and frustrating to work with. If you are a beginner as I suspect, you’ll be able to work with the cotton batting a lot more easily since it “grips” the other layers and doesn’t shift as much when you’re quilting.
Good luck – and fair warning: this is an addictive pasttime!!!

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