finding different, quality fabric
user-7669417
| Posted in Fabric Guidance on
it is so frustrating to shop for fabric . my only local source is joann fabrics and although some of their fabric is ‘okay’ i am not impressed with the quality. i do shop at fabric.com and have had some good buys but…..if i don’t buy a swatch i don’t know what i am getting. any suggestions for a midwest fabric store? Ha! would you believe that i have bought fabric from shopgoodwill.com and i was impressed?
Replies
That's a really good tip about shopgoodwill.com! Are you looking for in-person or online?
i shop on line. got a great deal on some discontinued hotel sheets. cannot believe the quality! i use them mainly for making a toile but the shirt i am working on right now is just so great and looks so clean and crisp it probably will be hanging in my closet.
i go to shopgoodwill.com.......amazing the stuff you can find!
Vogue Fabric Store (Chicago area https://www.voguefabricsstore.com/Fabric-Swatch-Catalogs/) sells a swatch magazine that arrives 6 times a year. It comes with little squares of fabric swatches and pattern ideas on how to use them.
Not in the midwest, I have been happy with what I have purchased from Fabric Mart from Pennsylvania. https://www.fabricmartfabrics.com
There is Elfreide's Fine Fabrics out of Boulder, Colorado https://www.elfriedesfinefabrics.com Her fabrics are upscale so expect them to cost more. Also in Denver you have Fancy Tiger Crafts which has a little of everything (quilt, garment sewing, knitting).
If you want to be adventurous. There is also Fabscrap in New York https://fabscrap.org/online-store which sells the extra fabric left over from the fashion houses. You never know what they will have and they cannot tell you the exact fabric content. So you will need to be adventurous. There are fabrics for sale the can be purchased by continuous yardage but most are remnants. Looks like standard shipping is $15 which is a bit (whether shipping to Maryland or Kansas).
The advertisements in Threads Magazine are also a good source of stores.
THANK YOU FOR THE STORES!I would love designer leftovers! Adventure is ok!Thrift stores good too.
I recently bought new cheap sheets?Tiny box print?IT IS FABULOUS FEEL AND DRAPE! Anyone know good "draping instructions"?I want to make the sheet into one piece draped dress, simple, ANY RECOMMENDATIONS?OH BOY, a simple dress would feel great. Wow.Imagine loving sheet fabric!I recommend,if a sheet fabric makes you fall in love, use it.thanks for any tips. :)
https://www.dharmatrading.com/
t4lor - what a great list of resources! I am greatful for you to find out about Fabscrap - I looked into it and I am going to take advantage of their Volunteer Program. One goes to the warehouse and sorts fabrics for 3 hours and takes home 5 lbs of fabric that you enjoy. Even though I'm trying to purge (oh you can also donate), I'm going to see what level of designer goodies goes through there!
When in a pinch, I look in thrift shop for extra large garments or men's shirts. The tags show the fabric content and you can tell how the fabric has survived washing.
With this in mind, you will be surprised what you find.
i agree. found some beautiful older sheets at local goodwill and was able to cut them down to size for a twin bed. a great deal!
I love Fabric-Store.com. They only sell linen. They have great colors and several different weights. I’ve sewn with the fabric at those up beautifully.
Fabrics-store.com is Wonderful! Yes, they sell only linen but it’s great quality and the price is reasonable. You’ll find that you’ll start using linen all year!
Like you, quality fabric is difficult to find in the Boston area so I’ve had to teach myself when shopping online. Buy swatches until you understand about different weaves, weights and textiles. Nothing will ever replace wandering through a fabric store but soon you’ll enjoy learning and increase your stash along the way.
AppleAnnieFabrics in Swansea MA is a good source for fabrics and they also do mail order as well as have a brick and mortar store. She is reasonably priced and also has great sales. You can get on her mailing list also.
I also use Emmaonesock and Mood. I've been buying online for years but love taking a ride to Swansea and just feeling the fabric!
There's a shop in Nashville: https://www.textilefabricstore.com/.
I drive 112 miles to Nashville, rather than 14 miles to Joan.
I really like Vougefabrics.com that was mentioned before.
A real dream is Britex in San Francisco https://www.britexfabrics.com/ You can spend a whole day in this store...if they don't have it, it isn't made. Here is a Youtube video to help explain the store and the merchandise https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1LdAB4ctq4. They are also listed in Threads. Another place where you will find quality fabrics is Stone Mountain and Daughter located in Berkeley, CA https://stonemountainfabric.com/
I too am disappointed in Joann's as it seems they just have Polyblends and tons of that fleece. I've never found a nice wool and NEVER any silk.
THANK YOU! :😋😍
I have purchased from girlcharlee fabrics in California. Beautiful fabric, about $6 a yard. Mostly stretch cottons and knits.
I do love Vogue in Chicago and receive their swatch books - have complimentary fabrics to form beautiful outfits. Their fabrics are lovely and I have purchased many times from them. Shipping is flat rate $7. Customer service is great.
Emmaonesock.com. Try it. Alot of designer fabrics. Also on Instagram. Swatches are free if you do not abuse the free. The website is loaded with alot of sewing info.
Marcy Tilton (marcytilton.com) sells fabrics online. And they are expensive! But she gives a description of the weight and hand, recommendations for the best type of garment for the fabric and several photos, including draping the fabric on a judy so you can judge the size of a pattern. Sometimes she also shows something made from a particular fabric. I haven't bought anything from her because I don't need any more fabric (!) so I can't comment on her service. And she lives in southern Oregon so, at the moment, shipping is slow.
I also champion Emma One Sock, Elfriede’s, Mood, Michael’s Fabrics, oh so many more. For really high end fabrics you can’t beat Mendel Goldberg and Promenade. Good luck. Others recommended getting swatches — best advice. It’s how you learn.
I got a TON of JoAnn fabric when I first "learned" how to sew and had a career. Now I can't work and had to downsize 5-fold, my JoAnn fabric stash went to goodwill. I still haven't learned to sew. Self-taught after an introduction, I have cognitive challenges now and still rip out half the seams I sew lol! And still learning what all these fabric names mean - as read on patterns, they don't translate to words stores use. I did VogueFabrics Pattern club and fabric-mart's pattern club for a couple years, but those didn't make the downsize so I'm starting over with just VogueFabrics. (Pretty sure NOT related to Vogue of the 'big 5 pattern company' as I read recently in a blog mis-post) now and notice how the info on stretch is critical (even woven has stretch I learned). Even with one company - so consistent use of terms - fabrics of the same 'word' will be stiff as a board for one swatch ('suiting' - yikes, who on earth wears something so stiff?!), then another swatch of the same word will be cuddly-soft. So that's my personal re-learning curve.
Once I can assemble a T-shirt that I'd wear in public is when I'll start shopping at nicer fabric stores! Mood Fabrics always has had consistently good product, and GeorgeousFabrics.com - not yet mentioned on this thread.
My current 'thing' is underwear and sports bras! "Double knit" one website will say to use, websites say "ITY" - which is sometimes 100% poly only - but sometimes a blend of material in others. I accidentally got something with too much nylon and instead of a nice fitted gray, it showed up as silver swimwear LOL! I guess that's my practice material! :-D
I saw a list and I thought this might help: https://improb.com/best-online-fabric-stores/
OK, I FORGOT THIS "Dharma Trading.com "fabric cotton,silk,satin, now COLORED FABRIC. I made a lovely scarf out of "golden silk." Also, most is not dyed, SOME is black,(cheap samples). HEMP AND HEMP BLENDS.PAINT,DYE,YARN, EVERYTHING TO WORK ON FABRIC. QUITE A FEW types of undyed fabric.i get my paint, brushes, fixative, fabric,.You can decorate leather shoes with fabric paint and fixative, and cover with clear plastic.i'll try to get a pix of my shoes. DHARMA TRADING has been around for ages. THEY TRY to be less costly for artists.YEAH, they even have pix of ART WORK AND CLOTHING people do. :)
I shop marcytilton.com for wonderful, unusual, high quality garment fabrics, both woven and knit, solids and prints in many different fibers.
Metrotextilesnyc.com
Amazing very high quality products at vey low prices. European wools, silks, cotton and leather. Since COVID they have an online shop and offer a 50% discount on your order.
Cannot find these quality fabrics locally.
sounds interesting!
MarcyTilton.com is my favorite online source for wonderful fabrics. Silk, cotton, wool, blends, and synthetics.
Emma One Sock has amazingly beautiful fabric. Gorgeous fabrics.com is another good one. The owner Anne Steeves is around the Boston area. Anne will even track down a special fabric for you! She is that dedicated and a charming, lovely lady.
Stylemakerfabrics.com is another good one. Bolt Fabric Boutique has a store near Portland and also has an online store. B & J Fabrics in New York has beautiful fabric with both a store and an online shop. Hope this helps!
+1 for Gorgeous Fabrics! I am fortunate enough to live a couple miles from Anne's office and have browsed her inventory in person a few times. She doesn't have the world's biggest selection but if you see something you like you can be confident the quality is good.
what a great response to my query! i love that there are place i have never heard of and now want to spend my afternoon googling them.
And Blackbird Fabrics.com based out of Canada!! Exceptional quality fabrics especially good for basics in your wardrobe. Beautiful twills, silk noil blends, linen blends , tencel, cupro and rayon, cottons and corton blends. Also a good array of organic fabric, both woven and knits. Harts Fabric.con also good for fashion trend fabrics as well as quilting fabrics. You will be on the internet for hours!
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Across the pond there is Fabricgodmother.com, theDrapersdaughter.com, I could go on forever!
while perusing my current threads magazine i had a brain fart....lol. while reviewing the new pattern section i saw where the different fabrics were bought. some i had never heard of before. will be checking this section more carefully in the future.
Have one shop from Brazil what I think ship to other parts of the world, the name is Casas Pinto, the fabric is very good, I really like, and you can see the name and the texture of the fabric, I hope do you can have good shops of fabric! ^-^
Have one shop at Yorkshire https://www.yorkshirefabricshop.com/. Thought this might help.
I love Fabric Mart. I use their online service quite frequently, Fabricmartfabrics.com. It is in the USA. I am not sure if they ship internationally. I have never been disappointed. And, they have rotating sales by alphabetical grouping (A-D, etc.). The customer service is phenomenal. Yesterday, the website was 50% off. Sometimes their sales are 65% off. The quality is excellent, selling regular and designer fabrics. I live in the South, and their brick and mortar store is in Pennsylvania. I have not been to their brick and mortar store, but I can attest to their online service. And, they are a small business with great values!
I saw the Vogue Fabrics Catalog on the Inside the Hem gift guide and got a trial issue for $7. Totally worth it. Fabric swatches included. Color coordinated "outfits". Sewing patterns. And they gave me 20% off the schmetz needles for being a member (they have a bunch of notions 20% off to members only). I had a question about a reversible printed ponte knit and called the 800 number, the lady was really helpful. I am getting a full subscription now. The issue I got (winter) had fabrics that were casual, washable, and some fancy fabrics - I am using one of the brocades as a table runner since we aren't going to any parties this year....dressing put the house. Here's the link to the catalogs: https://www.voguefabricsstore.com/Fabric-Swatch-Catalogs/Vogue-Fabrics-By-Mail-Coordinated-Fashion-Fabrics-Swatch-Club/ and here is the link to Inside the Hem's gift guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4IfpfijtAQ