I used to sew a lot (quilting, curtains, etc) but have not done any sewing in several years. I want to get back into it but fabric stores have become very few and far between! Has anyone had luck with or can recommend an online source? Fabric stores used to be my guilty pleasure.
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Have heard several people say they like selections of fabrics at Walmart!
Etsy has some amazing linens and decorative fabrics at excellent prices. I am actually a professional curtain maker and I can’t afford to shop to the trade designer fabrics at even wholesale prices anymore. They range $75-$200 per yard retail these days. Yikes.
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I am getting back into sewing also, and I don’t know if this suggestion would apply for you? There is a “re-sourced” art supply store near me that accepts pre-owned pretty much everything (fabric, paper, yarn, just about anything you can think of) and I’ve gotten short yardage scraps (pre-owned but in brand new condition) from there for very cheap. I have to physically touch a fabric for me to know its characteristics. When I’ve browsed online, I really can’t tell other than the pattern and color, how that fabric feels/looks vis a vis weight, draping, softness, transparency, etc. Luckily I also have a Jo-Ann’s still around (and Walmart in a pinch) if I need yardage. I also do upcycling from thrift stores.
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I don’t sew, but I love looking at the fabric here,
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I found beautiful fabric on Etsy for my kitchen curtains.
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Oh wow just peeked and they have beautiful fabrics!
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I have a Joann’s not far, but I have noticed over the last 5 years or so they have devoted more and more space to crafts and less to fabrics, so have been disappointed in their selection compared to what it used to have.
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A friend who quilts like Missouri Star Quilt Company.
I’ve order items from Keepsake Quilting in the past, but do not have recent experience with the company.
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Hobby Lobby has a big fabric department. We have purchased gorgeous tea towels from Spoonflower - they have a great variety of patterns.
What kind of sewing are you planning? I have ordered quilting fabrics from numerous shops online and would be happy to give some recommendations if that’s what you’re looking for.
I shop online: JoAnn’s, Walmart, Etsy, FabricGuru, HouseFabric, FabricWarehouse, and HartsFabric are some of the stores I’ve ordered from.
Agree that they have great quality fabrics. They know their stuff and have a good selection. Amazon also has fabric that they source out to private small businesses.
Also, I like
Château Sew n Sew in New Orleans.
I also have used Harts Fabrics in the Bay Area of California.
Hancocks of Paducah also has some nice fabrics.
I don’t get fabric at our local Walmart because it is usually cheaper, poorly made fabric, but maybe that’s because the local Walmart, has limited aisles of sewing and crafts items.
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I admit we have gone to local fabric stores (we still have a shrinking number of them). The women working there are very helpful and their fabrics are lovely. It is a splurge as most of their inventory is expensive (but worth it for quality).
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Hancock Fabrics in Paducah, KY has a great selection of cottons and they ship! Also like Connecting Threads (online) for quilting fabrics. I have to pet the fabric before I buy it, so I try to buy local or when I’m traveling to help support local quilt shops. If you are in the DC area, I can tell you about a great hole-in-the-wall shop with terrific prices for clothing fabrics, bridal and suiting. If you’re in Philadelphia, Jack B’s is the place to go. Been buying fabric (drapery, bridal, suiting, clothing) there since 1983 and I still drive up there for bridal stuff that I can’t get near me.
Fabric prices have shot up the past few years. Glad I have a big stash!
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My daughter sews and she’s a broke teenager. She shops thrift stores and recycles that fabric. She made a homecoming dress from old curtains, for example. She also shops super clearance clothes and 2XL skirts have a lot of material that she can use to make other items. It’s not for everyone for sure, but depending on what you’re sewing it might work.
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I love this!
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I mostly quilt, but I also make kids clothing for the grands. I buy quilting fabric mostly from online sources all mentioned above plus Fat Quarter Shop and a couple of others that have specialty fabrics like Australian aboriginal prints or tons of flannels. There are two terrific quilts shops in ABQ, but sadly I no longer there and the only quilt shop near my new location closed weeks after I moved here.
(And I’ll be moving agin in just over a month so I will go on a hunt once I get there.)
Fabric .com used to be a great source of all kinds of fabric-- quilting cottons, flannel, cotton lawn, linens silks, lycra knits, drapery and upholstery fabrics, but sadly Amazon bought it up and it now exists as only as webpage within the larger Amazon site.
https://www.amazon.com/fabric/b/?ie=UTF8&node=12899121
Mood Fabrics has an online shop, but it can be very hit or miss. It depends on what you’re looking for
If you’re looking for quilting fabrics–you might try contacting your local quilter’s guild/club. The one in ABQ used to hold an annual sale of excess fabrics that had been donated to them. They had some really nice stuff too, including intact, unopened quilt kits with patterns and yardage.
Walmart and Hobby Lobby both carry a variety of fabrics, but do go do a “touch test” first because they often carry a lower quality version of the same fabric brands you’ll find at quilt stores.
For tailoring and sewing supplies, I like Wawak Sewing, Not the least expensive, but they will have what you’re looking for: zippers, buttons, thimbles, boning & stays, snaps, shoulder pads, all kinds of elastics.
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And if you are into silk crazy quilts–I buy ties at thrifts shops and deconstruct them to use in quilts or other small projects/garments/linings. Sometime you can get a whole filled shopping bag for $5.
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Joann and Walmart have basic fabrics and notions for relatively simple projects (drawstring pants, shift dresses, circle skirts, aprons). For more unique and high end fabrics online, Mood has a great selection. I am a tactile person. I need(!) to touch the fabric before I can commit to it, so I can’t fabric shop online. We have a couple of decent fabric stores within 15 miles but then the mecca in downtown Los Angeles, about 40 miles away. Personally I’ve almost always found something good enough at Joann. In Hawaii, Walmart carries an incredible selection of Hawaiian fabric at good prices.
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Hancock’s of Paducah is a family business owned by long-time friends. I have shopped with them for 50+ years going to back in the day when they carried a variety of fabrics for making clothing, including Pendleton and the every popular UltraSuede of the '80s, as well as fabrics for decorating. Because Paducah, KY is a quilt show capital, they have evolved to largely carrying quilting fabrics and upholstery/drapery.
My son worked there during quilt show week from 2000-02 and has lots of funny stories to tell about women who come from places like Japan & Australia with empty suitcases to fill with fabrics from Hancock’s and other vendors who descend on Paducah during the quilt show. So many that he wrote his college admissions essay about the experience.
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