Finding Fabric
Finding fabric, do you have any favorite ways to shop? Do you have favorite shops, online or otherwise? That’s the topic of my post today, so I thought I’d share a few of my favorite places I hunt for fabric.
The following is just a list of shops I enjoy. I am not affiliated with them in any way, I just like their service and their products.
Local Quilt Shops
Whenever I can, I like to spend money at my local quilt shops and support their businesses. Most of the shops in my area carry fabrics that work well with traditional designs. When I am looking for fabric for a modern quilt, I have a few choices locally but often have to go online.
Etsy
Etsy is a great place to support small businesses. Two of my favorite shops for fabric on Etsy are Needle & Foot and Organic Fabric Company.
I enjoy supporting Bernie at Needle & Foot. We met through our blogs, share a love of books and chatting about our families. Last year, she offered Blogger Bundles, fat quarter bundles curated by bloggers that Bernie interviewed on her blog. It was fun to see the fabric chosen by each individual. Bernie has a nice selection in her shop, continues to expand her business, her service is great, and her packages come neatly packaged and in such good condition.
Organic Fabric Company is a favorite for finding fabrics for a baby items like bibs, quilts and clothing. It is not a shop just for children’s fabric; she has a nice selection of other fabrics as well. Her site is easy to navigate, the service is good, and packages arrive in good shape.
Some of My Favorite Online Shops
I’m going to assume most of us know about the larger online shops, so I thought I’d share a few other shops I’ve found through Instagram or from other blogs. I try to avoid buying full price fabric, so I like these shops for finding sale or clearance fabric. They each have an active Instagram feed, and that’s where I usually hear about sales they have coming up.
Stash Fabrics – One of my favorite online shops. Their site is easy to navigate, the fabric swatches are large, easy to see, and true to color. There is a wide range of fabric available (and a full selection of Kona fabrics). Although all types of fabrics might be listed together, the differences are clearly stated in the description. The amount of yardage left in stock is listed; this is particularly helpful if you are looking for larger cuts. I have found some nice remnants of Grunge on their End of Bolt sales, and it arrives labeled with the color names, which is really helpful for future reference.
Hawthorne Supply Co. – I began following this company when they were called Hawthorne Threads. They have a beautiful new site and a new name. My main reason for shopping this site? They have a beautiful asthetic. It’s fun just to spend time looking around their site. When I am looking for a particular fabric, I like that I can search for it by supplier, designer, or collection. I made this wedding quilt a few years ago from one of their kits.
Pineapple Fabrics – This is a new shop to me, and I just received an order of a few 1 yd cuts that I got on clearance for less than $5. Their site is easy to navigate, the order went through quickly and arrived in good condition. I’ll definitely be watching their site.
For all of the shops listed above, I subscribe to their newsletters as well as follow them on Instagram so I hear about the sales they offer.
While I don’t shop for fabric this way often, it’s worth watching destash sales on Instagram. A destash sale is usually someone who is purging their fabric stash, so they offer it up for sale on Instagram. You need a Paypal account to participate.
Destash items can go in a flash, so if you want it, you say so — no pondering allowed. It’s a fun way to find some of those treasured lines that you wish you still had, or one that you’ve been looking for. The items are usually very reasonably priced. My recent Marcia Derse fabric was an Instagram destash purchase.
So how about you? What or where do you shop for your best deals on fabric? Would you be willing to share your tips in the comments? I’d love to hear.
Happy Friday, my friends! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Wendy
19 Comments
Cindy Pieters
I shop at my LQS’s as much as possible. I like petting fabric before buying it.
Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting
Thanks for sharing your acquisition program, Wendy! I’m with you in that I prefer to buy at a discount. Since I work at the LQS I get 20% off there. But once a year I get 50% off, so I’m almost entirely holding out until that day all year long.
My Sewful Retirement
I shop at my LQS when I can, I live in a small town and our selection is limited. I have a shop on Etsy so I tend to buy most of my fabric from other Etsy sellers. I have several favorites! Have a great weekend Wendy!
rl2b2017
Hi Wendy! I’m not allowed to shop for any more fabric. HAHA! Surely, you know I’m lying. I am a wonderful online shopper – even for my LQS or one’s that we have visited in our travels. One time I had not purchased enough fabric and had to call and have them mail me another yard, which they happily did. So, LQS shops first and then most of those you list that send an email. I’ve never heard of Pineapple Fabrics – I’m going to check them out. ~smile~ Roseanne
piecefulwendy
Check our Pineapple Fabrics’ clearance right now, it’s a good one.
Karen Goad
I have no local quilts – I do not consider a shop that is 85 miles away local so I have no hesitation in ordering on line. I must admit I never think to look on Etsy but will check out the shops you mention – I normally check out Hancock’s of Paducah as I have been in the shop and have used it for many years and also another favorite is Fat Quarter Shop as they are so fast in sending out. I am a Bluprint affiliate so I always check them too but there selection has changed so much since they became Bluprint instead of the old Craftsy and no longer carry the designers I like and mainly just their brand that I don’t care for as much. There are other on line shops that I have tried and like but too many to mention – when we travel I like to go in and out of quilt stores to see what they have but normally only buy fabric if I can find it on sale.
Diann Bottrell
I ordered from Bernie last summer, and she was fast! Plus she sent a fun and pretty package – I’ll definitely order from her again. A couple of the other online shops you mentioned are new to me – I’ll have to check them out. I just went to my favorite sort-of-local quilt shop yesterday, but I only visit them when we are going to Boulder (about 30 miles from here!) so I always have a list of what I need there!
Needle and Foot
Thank you Diann! I appreciate your kind comment about Needle & Foot. 🙂
Needle and Foot
What a fun post, and not only because you gave such a lovely review of my shop! It is fun to hear of the others out there. We don’t have an LQS within 3o miles so I shop online a lot. Well, since I started the shop, it is much less but….. I have shopped Hawthorne in the past – you are right about their site. It is wonderful. I will take a look at Pineapple and Organic Fabric Company. I love looking at other shops for ideas and to see what they are doing. I have bought linens from Stash – I love that shop. I do try to buy from smaller shops rather than Fat Quarter or Missouri Star because I think the sales “mean more” to the small shop’s livelihood. Thank you for the write up though Wendy. I appreciate it.
Kathleen McCormick
Great list of places and ways to shop. Right now I am in a fill in mode – shopping when I needs something specific. I still have plenty from my days at the LQS and Island Batik – so as I whittle down my UFOs shopping may get back on my list in a more regular fashion. For now, I do what is most convenient – LQS first, but lots of times specific fill ins depend on who has what in stock.
Danice G
We do not have but one fabric store that specializes in quilting fabrics, and they have only a small selection and have odd open hours. So, online is my go-to usually. ‘Love Etsy and Fat Quarter Shop. I love Bernie’s fabrics also, and plan on purchasing from her soon.
Barbara
I prefer to shop at a quilt shop, but sometimes I’ll go online and shop at Fabric.com. Their website has gotten so slow that I’ve had a hard time using it lately. I like the Fabric Shack and Fat quarter shop too. My favorite online shop is Feline Drive. It’s a fabric shop for cat lovers and proceeds go to supporting their cat rescue. I’ve purchased a few specialty fabrics from Spoonflower, but the quality is kind of questionable. I don’t really base that on anything specific, but the fabric has a funny feel to my hands. I like Vicki Welch’s hand dyes too. Purchased from her quite a few times.
laughinggasquilts
Thanks for the shop review, Wendy. Like Roseanne, I’m trying not to shop, which is why I dropped $150 at my local quilt shop two days ago. I, too, like to buy local. I like instant gratification and fondling fabrics. I also shop when I travel; quiltcon was good to my stash. My daughters live away, one in Halifax,NS, very close to Patch, and the other in St. Catharines, ON, home of Kindred Spirits, and close to the Modern Bee. On line shopping is my last choice, although I do it if I’m looking for something in particular or the prices are terrific.
Kate
Not that I need more places to buy fabric, but thank you for the recommendations. I try to buy local when I can. I’m on a fabric diet this year, so trying hard not to buy much of anything.
Lisa J.
If I lived in the States I would order from Bernie for sure…but the shipping cost is crazy to Canada. So for online I tend to choose Mad About Patchwork and Clinton Modern although I was introduced to a few new ones through a Canadian virtual shop hop on Instagram. I can buy some solids and fabrics for backs at the local Len’s Mill which is a bit of a discount fabric shop in my town…to go to a real store I have to go out of town and I usually go west to Kitchener and Creative Sisters….love the owner. I would buy all my fabric in a store if I could but the variety is just not here and as you say most of the surviving bricks and mortars are traditional.
Jocelyn Thurston
This is an excellent post, Wendy and thanks for including the links. I will be checking them for shipping to Canada. I will link to this post on my blog for Thursday if ok with you.
piecefulwendy
Just fine with me. Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Wendy
Linda
An interesting post, thanx! I’m in NZ and I have two “local’ patchwork shops, but they each carry their own ‘special’ types of fabrics, one mainly Kaffe & the other Tilda. And their fabrics range from $NZ26 – $NZ32 per metre. I try to support them when I can.
However, I love making scrappy quilts and so I do shop online to get the variety, mainly Hawthorne Threads & Fat Quarter Shop. Sadly, the postage has slowly esculated, and, along with the poor $NZ exchange at present, buying online is proving expensive now. Back to rediscovering my stash these days!
Patricia Evans
I have the good fortune of being no more than a 35 minute drive from 6 different quilt shops all of which have periodic sales, so I tend to shop locally, not that I really need any more fabric. I find it time consuming and frustrating to look for fabric in online stores.