If you've ever ordered several metres of fabric, you've probably expected it to arrive as one lovely, long piece.
And most of the time, that's exactly what will happen!
But occasionally, fabric rolls have other ideas. You might receive your fabric in more than one piece, or we might discover a join hiding somewhere in the roll.
So, what does continuous length actually mean, what is a join, and why can't continuous lengths always be guaranteed?
How does fabric arrive with us?
Most of our fabric arrives on large rolls from the manufacturer or supplier.
When you order multiple metres of the same fabric, we'll always aim to cut the quantity you've ordered as one continuous piece wherever possible.
So, if you order 3 metres, we'll aim to send you one 3-metre length — not three individual 1-metre pieces!
However, the amount of fabric left on a roll and the way the fabric has been manufactured can sometimes affect this.
What if there isn't enough left on one roll?
Let's say you order 5 metres of a fabric.
We might have plenty of that fabric in stock overall, but perhaps there are only 3 metres left on the roll we're currently using, with the rest on a new roll.
In this situation, we may not be able to cut your full 5 metres as one continuous piece.
Where possible, we'll always try to give you the best continuous length available, but ordering a certain quantity doesn't necessarily mean we have that exact amount remaining on a single roll.
What is a join in fabric?
Here's another little quirk of buying fabric that you might not know about!
Sometimes a roll of fabric isn't actually one completely uninterrupted piece.
During manufacturing, two lengths of fabric may be joined together, usually with a line of stitching running across the width of the fabric. This allows the manufacturer to create a longer roll rather than ending it at that point.
So we can be happily unrolling a perfectly normal-looking roll of fabric and suddenly discover… a join!
The fabric on either side can be absolutely fine. It's simply the point where two pieces have been connected during manufacturing.
Do you sell fabric with a join as normal fabric?
Our aim is always to send you join-free pieces of fabric when you're ordering from our main fabric range.
Pieces containing a join can make their way into our remnants, where they'll be labelled to let you know there's a join or flaw and priced accordingly.
This is also why you might sometimes find surprisingly large pieces in our remnants! There may be metres of perfectly lovely, usable fabric, with just one join somewhere along the length preventing us from selling it as a standard, join-free piece.
The fabric either side of the join is usually absolutely fine, so if your project allows you to work around it, these remnants can be a great way to grab a bargain.
Why can't continuous lengths always be guaranteed?
Fabric isn't an endless supply coming straight from a machine behind the scenes (although that would make our lives much easier!).
We're working with individual rolls, and every roll eventually comes to an end.
Sometimes we have plenty of fabric in stock, just spread across different rolls. Sometimes a manufacturer has included a join. Sometimes you happen to order the last few metres of one roll just as we're about to start another.
That's why, although we'll always aim to send your fabric in one continuous length wherever possible, there may be occasions where this isn't possible.
Need one continuous piece for your project?
If you're ordering a larger amount of fabric and absolutely need it to be one continuous length, we'd recommend getting in touch with us before placing your order.
We can check what's currently on the roll and let you know what's available.
This is particularly worth doing if your pattern or project can't easily work around separate lengths.
Just another little fabric quirk!
Working with fabric means working with rolls, batches, joins, different widths and all sorts of little variations — and they're things you might never know about until you start buying fabric regularly.
We'll always do our best to give you the longest continuous piece possible and make sure you're getting the fabric you've paid for.