Unique Fabric Sources

[Former_Member]

I posted a thread about this a while back but for the life of me cannot find it!! Makes me sad, because people gave me some great links!

Does anyone know of unique fabric sources??

I'm not talking about Hobby Lobby, Joann's, or even designers like Anna Maria Horner or Michael Miller. Just something different.

[Former_Member]

Fabric on Demand will print your own design on a variety of fabrics. Or maybe look for vintage fabrics.

Another option might be a store that specializes in home decor, curtains, upholstery fabric, etc. We've got one and there's lots of different designs that I don't see at Joann's or Hancocks.

[Former_Member]

Thanks. I know about Spoonflower. I would love to design fabric, but right now with working I don't have time to design and sew. One day-- maybe :)

[katya323]

I'm not a sewer, but I have always been enamored with the fabrics at Purl, a yarn and fabric boutique in nyc. not sure how unique they are, but they seem to have a beautiful collection.

http://www.purlsoho.com

I've also seen some pretty cute japanese fabrics from sellers on etsy!

[Former_Member]

Katya, thanks!! I have not seen these at my local store.

[katya323]

that shop makes me want to learn how to use a sewing machine :)

[Former_Member]

It is so inspiring. That's how I feel about my local fabric store. I get all giddy when I go there.

[ForgedMettleJewelry]

Wait, there are places other than Jo-Ann's that sell fabric?!? ;) Good to know, because the only place with a hundred miles of me is Jo-Ann's and the sad reason I know this is because last week I went to ALL of them looking for a fabric that I found in the Jo-Ann's closest to me but they didn't have enough. Sadly none of the other ones had it. Though I took in some "different" scenery...

[Former_Member]

What is so ironic about around here is that Wal-Mart drove out all the small fabric stores....when I was a kid our town had about 4. Now, Wal-Mart has stopped selling fabric. Go figure!

[BigMamaNebraska]

There are great unique quilt shops located around the country. For online purchases, I use Fabric.com. Just do a search for quilt shops and no matter where you live, you will get hits.

[Former_Member]

You could always consider using reclaimed fabrics from thrift store finds - good for the environment and very popular right now. And usually cheap too!

[Former_Member]

We do have a small quilt store here and they sell great fabrics. For half of the people I know they are unique because they shop at Hobby Lobby, for the other half they know all about "designer" fabric.

I was thinking more a long the lines of...well...there are shops here that don't want to reveal their fabric sources. Not that I want to steal their fabric or ideas....I just want to know where all this unique fabric comes from. I figured maybe they work directly with small designers.

I really wish I could find my old thread....it seems like it fell off the face of Etsy.

[Former_Member]

pine, if the shops you like here happen to mention the fabric designer name in the listing, do a search using that designer name, FYI many folks don't have a license to sell products made w/ those designer fabrics. check when you buy fabric if you have the 'right' to sell products made with it or does your purchase just entitle you to make items for self use... ditto w/ patterns...
i 2nd the thrift shop 'fabric' store..
if you are going to sell fabric items and want to be in compliance w/ FTC regulations for labels, make sure you keep a record of the fabric composition and where it was made...
sadly this year i've seen several local fabric stores close after being open for many decades...
another bead store closed on Mon, sigh.
altho we love our internet sales, the fact many of us order our supplies online is causing doors to close on brick/mortar shops.

[Former_Member]

Golden, typically designer fabrics such as Anna Maria Horner and Amy Butler are fine for small producers to use in their items. I've checked, but the problem comes when you are using a trademark....Hello Kitty, Disney, university fabric, sports teams, etc.

I do use some thrift store re-claimed/vintage fabrics. But, it's generally not enough fabric.

[Former_Member]

I wanted to give this a bump in hopes of getting more sources. My original thread was in the Unofficial Forums, which sadly is no more. No wonder I couldn't find it. And, I lost all those great links. Little tear in my eye.

[Former_Member]

Here is a giant list (170+) of online fabric suppliers I found a few months ago.

http://www.sewingsupport.com/buying-sources/fabric.html

Hope I helped!

[Former_Member]

What a great resource...thanks!