Favorite Online Fabric Shops
This spring I started shopping for fabric online. I usually shop for fabric in person in the Garment District, but with stay at home orders in place and lots of free time to sew, I went online to shop. Here are some tips for shopping for fabric, as well as some online stores that I recommend.
Other than the photos of the fabric you are thinking about purchasing online, you will also want to pay attention to the description of fabric content, the fabric weight, closeup photos showing the weave of the fabric, and overall photos that show the drape. This episode of Love to Sew has some great tips.
The color of the fabric you see on screen is probably not going to match its real life rendition. You might receive your fabric and end up saving it for another project because the color or opacity wasn’t what you expected it to be. You should also be prepared to test wash a piece of the fabric to determine what it looks and feels like after laundering.
One tip is to maintain a list of notions and supplies that you want for other projects in your sewing queue. If you are shopping online, you can toss these into the cart and consolidate your orders.
Online Fabric Stores
I’ve purchased cotton lawn, silk noil, and cupro from this shop based in Montana. The owner is good about answering questions and the store ships quickly. They also have thread and zipper matching service, so you can purchase your notions to match your fabric.
I’ve also had a good experience ordering from Blackbird Fabrics, though the store has a smaller, more seasonally curated collection. They have Pinterest boards that show example patterns that may suit each fabric, which is helpful if you want to make a purchase before deciding what you will make.
If you are interested in making bras, I recommend the bra kits and patterns from Emerald Erin. The kits contain everything (except thread) that you’ll need to make a bra, and come in a variety of pretty laces. She also sells lingerie elastics by the yard, if you have other fabrics in mind to make a bra but still need the notions.
Hawthorne Supply Co is where I’ve shopped for quilting cottons, though they also have a limited selection of garment fabrics. They have set up their inventory pages so it is easy to see what other fabrics are in the same color family.
Online Notions Stores
Wawak is where I have been shopping for notions. The Gutermann Mara 100 is similar to the Gutermann all purpose thread but smoother and much cheaper by the 1000 yard spool.
Matching the thread color to your fabric will be difficult unless you have a Gutermann color card. I don’t have one, so I try to match the thread color shown on the monitor to my fabric. The color match often comes out close enough for me to use on my projects, but I am not a perfectionist about thread color. In fact I’ve been known to use black or white thread to sew most of the seams, and use the closest color in the Gutermann 26 Spool Thread Box to sew any visible topstitching. If you are fastidious about color matching I would recommend ordering thread when you buy fabric.
I want a surprise!
If you search for “Vintage sewing notion lot” on Ebay, it will find many grab bags of sewing notions from estate sales. Be prepared to spend some time browsing and then $20-30 to get a deal on an assorted mix of vintage supplies. For cheaper lots, the shipping costs may not make it worthwhile. Ebay is a deal if you are looking for a bunch of notions and trim, or a surprise.
I scored a vintage apron pattern that wasn’t even shown in the photo of this lot.
I’ll see you on Ebay!