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I have a confession. I am obsessed with stripes. It may seem excessive, but three quarters of anything new to my wardrobe in the past year has been striped, mostly in shades of grey. I can’t seem to help it—I go to the fabric store for anything from solid colors to bright prints and I walk out with stripes. It’s becoming somewhat of a uniform for me. But I refuse to quit—I just love them! They are fun, surprisingly flattering, and super fashionable. Walk into any clothing or fabric store and you’ll see stripes everywhere.

Below are a few striped fabrics that I love (some are actually new members to my fabric stash).

What fabric calls out to you? Whether it’s a particular color, print, fiber content, weave, or a great hand, I bet we all have a certain fabric that we're obsessed with. What’s yours?

MoodFabrics.com

Pink striped jersey--$14.00 per yard 

Olive and beige jersey stripes--$10.00 per yard

Grey jersey stripes--$8.00 per yard

HartsFabric.com

Beige and off white stripes--$12.99

Black and grey bamboo stripes--$16.00

SewingWorkshop.com

Nautical blue rayon stripes--$14.00

 Check out Threads' extensive list of online fabrics stores to discover more great fabrics.

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Annie O'Connor, assistant editor
Posted on Jun 10th, 2011 in sewing, fabric

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Comments (13)

Vikichek writes: Me, I'm into shirt fabrics, preferably poly-cotton. Anybody know some good sources?
Posted: 1:47 am on October 12th

lucyinthesky4321 writes: Anything lace. I could wear only lace for the rest of my life.
Posted: 4:21 pm on August 1st

Rabia writes: I have a confession: I'm obsessed with crushed velvet and satin. I don't wear a lot of it, funnily enough, but it dominates my stash! I want the fact that i don't wear a lot of it to CHANGE so I am getting ready to do something about it!
My CURRENT fabric obsession, however, is that iridescent organza that they make kids' fairy costumes out of. It's so BEAUTIFUL. Practical it ain't, but I am working on ways to incorporate it into everyday clothes AS WELL.
Posted: 7:38 pm on June 20th

JDNow writes: I have had a thing for gingham fabric forever!
It actually began my first business 20 years ago because I made my daughters dresses out of mixed sizes of ginghams and a woman from Denmark said gingham was VERY popular there and would I make her a matching mother daughter dress out of gingham. Well next her sister ordered some, then her sister's friend, etc. until I began home parties where woman picked out the fabric for their orders. Mind you this was before Baby Gap, Walmart, etc.
But I still love the gingham and just finished gingham drapes with beautiful 5" squares.

Check out my blog WeSew.blogspot.com
Posted: 12:29 am on June 18th

schmatta writes: Carolsewmuch, what sort of things do you make with the dupioni? I have several lengths of same and am worried about raveling seams so have been admiring the silk only, haven't cut into it. Any ideas (other than a one-shouldered gown) will be soooo appreciated.
Posted: 8:40 am on June 17th

SpellsNinjaMonkey writes: I'm obsessed with plaid and square-patterened material that is lightweight and stretchy :D I fell in love with one of the fabrics I bought for a skirt I'm going to make, it's a darker shade of pink with white and yellow plaid complete with thin lines of sparkled thread :)
Posted: 3:09 pm on June 16th

Msansen writes: I'm currently obsessed with jersey. Mainly because it is so difficult to find! I live in Italy which has some of the most spectacular fabrics around, but for some reason jerseys are just not popular. I look for it in every shop I can find but with limited luck. So, I am contenting myself with beautiful linen, which isn't a bad tradeoff.
Posted: 1:01 pm on June 16th

Elaray writes: If it's summer, it must be linen! I love sewing linen because it presses so well. The freshly pressed look disappears as soon as it leaves the ironing board, but during construction, it's great.
Posted: 5:17 am on June 16th

tissy writes: I am currently a sucker for lightweight poly knits - especially if they have turquoise printed or striped on them! Red and white cotton knit stripes, navy/white cotton knit stripes - already bought and picked the style they are going to be. I'm a sucker for turquoise in any fabric. But I even dreamed the way I want the red and white stripe top to look! Now that may be a little obsessive, do you think?
Posted: 5:23 pm on June 15th

LaurieDiane writes: I have a love for stripes too. Wonder what that means about a person...hmmm. I don't care if it is a cute stripe on a boys T-shirt (like from the 50's) stripes in decorator fabric or a beautiful stripe on silk or a knit. Zoom I'm taking a closer look. The only stripe I avoide are the ones that hurt my eyes with an optical illusion! :)
Posted: 2:57 pm on June 15th

copperwoman writes: I love stripes, too - the ones I love most are of the handwoven or hand printed ethnic variety. I was delighted to see that one of your fabrics came from Hart's in Santa Cruz, CA. I worked there decades ago! Every time I visit SC, I make sure I go to Hart's. Last November I bought a selection of oddball upholstery remnants there - one is a stripe! Another great source if you're visiting SC is an ethnic arts and textiles gallery called Rivendell. Santa Cruzans tend to travel, and many, including me, have been bringing back textiles to owner Patricia Moore for decades. I bought a Kimono in a gorgeous woven red and green stripe, a piece of shibori, and an all-black silk sari with a gold stripe running along one edge.(I used to work there, too.)
Carol Plaia (Copperwoman)
Posted: 11:44 am on June 15th

jansid writes: My favourite fabric has to be jersey probably because with the right pattern it is so easy to wear and very comfortable, can be dressed up for a special occasion or dressed down for casual wear. When ever I go fabric shopping I look at all fabrics but if I spy some jersey I'm drawn to it like a magnet!!
Posted: 4:12 am on June 15th

Carolsewmuch writes: The fabric that I love to sew and wear is Silk Dupioni, especially that from www.silkbaron.com. This site has over 200 colors in 54" wide silk. (Better than being in a candy store!!!) The colors are unbelievable.
As I anticipate going to the ASG National Convention in LA, this will give me the opportunity to look at these fabrics in person, since the company will be one of the vendors at the show. Anyone who's in the greater LA area should definitely come to the vendor show (open to the public) for the cost of $5 or $2 (65+ and students 10 - 20). Times and additional information about the ASG conference can be found at www.asg.org. On Friday evening, August 19, there's a Hooray for Hollywood: Glamour & Glitz Fashion Show and hopefully my entry of a one shoulder gown in "Anemone" silk dupioni will be one of many outfits modeled.
Posted: 10:42 pm on June 14th

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