If you sew...

joyfullyfound · December 2013

Where do you buy fabric? Are there any secret tricks or places for getting it for a good price?

There are two stores in my area that are specifically fabric stores, but they're expensive... I mean, it would cost me more to sew a duvet cover than to just buy one from Walmart. I'd love to be sewing more, but I can't often bring myself to justify making something that I could just buy for less.

So, where do you get your fabric? Any tips?

nosoup4u · December 2013

I've found some good vintage fabric at estate or garage sales. And there's a thrift store in the town my parents live in that usually has fabric remnants. I would think eBay probably has some deals, too. You could also make a duvet cover from two different sheets that coordinate with each other.

But honestly, I've found the same problem with sewing - considering how cheap clothing and fabric goods are in the US, making your own can be more expensive than buying.

spring_time · December 2013

I am not fancy, I usually buy my fabric at Joann Fabric with a coupon. There is also a store here called Calico Corner that has nice fabric.

I have also found that it is cheaper to buy than to make myself. However, I have been searching for pillows for my living room for 6 months, and haven't found anything that works. I am going to end up making them. It would be cheaper to buy, but this way I can choose my material. The same goes for DS's valance. Most the valances I find are unlined, which I think is a cheap way of making them. This way I get the quality I want.

I found it really hard to find cute boy clothes for DS. When he was smaller I liked dressing him in john johns. For his baptism, I wanted a smocked christening gown. You just can't find them here, so I had my mom sew them.

I guess the beauty of sewing now is not necessarily the cost savings, but the customization.

jillyjill1026sr · December 2013

Our Walmarts have a sewing section with tons of fabric. Have you checked yours?

shortstuff15 · December 2013

There are a lot of places online that are cheaper than actual stores. If you have a fabricland, it can be expensive but with a membership and the sales they have on all the time, you can usually find a pretty good deal.

arekeweg · December 2013

I almost always go to JoAnn Fabrics. Since I'm on their mailing list, I get good coupons and use them wisely. For example, from January 5-7 I have a coupon for an additional 25% off of my purchase which includes sale items. I have NEVER bought fabric that was not on sale. Many times the fabric is 50% off already. You'll just have to watch the sales.

The other place I go is Hancock Fabric. I just prefer JoAnn's.

nosoup4u · December 2013

Joann Fabric also has text coupons you can get on your phone, which works well for me - I never remember to bring coupons with, and this way they're on my phone.

Super Buzzy has cute Japanese fabric, but it isn't cheap.

thechickencoop · December 2013

Ditto Joann's with a coupon. They have a pretty large selection and you can double up coupons, or, if I'm not in a rush, I'll go a couple days in a row and use the mobile coupons each time. I do agree that a lot of times it's cheaper to just buy the items, but it really depends on what it is. Clothes, yes. Household things, eh. Like, I made our cloth napkins because sure, the plain ones are cheap, but I could never find a pattern I liked. So instead I just bought fabric I loved and sewed them myself.

RedInLove · December 2013

I don't sew, but MIL quilts. She looks at JoAnn Fabric but usually gets her fabrics for quilting from quilt stores. Some are very expensive, $10+ a yard! JoAnn seems to have better prices but not the type of prints she goes for.

superToots · December 2013

I'm spoiled and like to buy mine from small local quilt stores. I make it a point to look them up wherever we go oot.

For online Bloomeriefabric.com is one of my favorites. They have quality stuff and great sales

joyfullyfound · December 2013

Thanks you guys! Great ideas

We don't have a JoAnne's here... bummer. But I'll look into some of the other suggestions.

pitterpatter129 · December 2013

Joanns and Hancocks have sales a lot. Sometimes you can find fun patterns on their discount tables/bins too. I don't generally need to purchase yards of fabric though, since I make a lot of diapers and suck pads and bibs, etc., I just need like a 1/4 to 1/2 a yard, so the remnant bins are perfect. I found this cute little Etsy shop I love too called Stitch Stash Diva. They have awesome patterns and you can customize your order (like 3 1/2 yards of different patterns, etc.) They have a little rewards program as well. I found bolts of PUL at Tuesday Morning yesterday too! An entire bolt for the same price as one yard at JoAnns. I was giddy.

I bought 3 bolts with my Christmas money people gave me!

-T- · December 2013

I bought fabric for curtains from fabric.com. It ended up being about $6.50 per yard which was really good I thought. It's really tedious looking online and you obviously can't feel the fabric, but since I was just making curtains, the texture didn't matter to me. I ditto JoAnn's and Hancock.

bumpuser924057 · January 2014

I am lucky enough to live near a metro area with a huge wholesale fabric district, and pre-twins I always went there for what I needed. It was harder with DS but not impossible, and now with the babies it's just not worth the savings. I stick with Joann's and a local store called Momen+, and occasionally I'll buy online. I got the polar bear fabric for the nursery on Etsy from like four different sellers because it was out of print.

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