Monday, March 23, 2015

My Favorite Fabric Sites

Recently my favorite fabric site closed up shop. It was extremely sad and I felt like I was losing a friend. What does that say about my fabric addiction, lol. I was worried I wouldn't find another site I like as much but honestly it has been helpful in teaching me that there are other great online fabric sources. This is a list of some of my favorites so far and the reasons why I love them and their drawbacks.

Fabric.com - This is an obvious one. I think everyone probably already knows about. It's great because they have a very large selection and they offer a 30 day 100% money back return policy. They even pay return shipping. They cut their yards 1" larger to account for fabric shift and if your order is the end of a bolt then you can also end up getting an extra few inches of fabric.
One of my fabric.com hauls
Free shipping for orders $35 and over.

Drawbacks - They are a huge site and sometimes that means they sell out of popular items quickly. Usually they can reorder them but if you see something that is labeled "last chance" then it is not coming back. Shipping time can also vary widely. 

Hancocks-paducah.com - Lots of great quilting cottons and batiks. Their selection is smaller but they have amazing deals and some very beautiful fabrics you can't find elsewhere. They seem to always cut their yards 2" larger and they also appear to give you end of bolt remnants free.
These all came from Hancocks of Paducah
Shipping is $5.95 for orders under $100.

Drawbacks - They aren't super fast at processing an order. Once it ships it ships super fast but it might be 1 or 2 weeks before it gets shipped. If you're like me and you are ordering while in the middle of something else then this probably isn't an issue. However if you are working on a deadline then check elsewhere.

Girlcharlee.com - I thought I checked them in the past and they were pricey but I must have been confused or their prices have come down. They have a big selection of affordable knit fabric. The quality is hit or miss though. I like that in the description of each fabric they tell you the amount of stretch is has.
Some of the lovely soft knits I found on Girl Charlee
 Free shipping on orders $99 and over.

Drawbacks -You have to inspect and measure your fabric immediately because they short often and many of my fabrics have arrived with defects. Also they're customer service is very poor. If you have an issue expect that you will have to jump through hoops before they will even consider doing anything. Also I've heard there are some compliance issues if you are trying to sell children's clothes made with their fabrics.

Bandg_corp - This is actually an ebay shop. However they offer such a good selection for a small shop and such great discounts they I feel they deserve to be mentioned. They sell a lot of quilting cotton and fleece. They normally have between 200 and 300 fabrics for sale at any given time and they sell them in 2yd increments (although you can buy more then one lot for a longer cut). If you happen to find the print you are looking for with them then it will more then likely be much less then anywhere else you can find it.
These Michael Miller fabrics came from Bandg_corp's ebay store

Drawbacks - They work through ebay and they do not offer free shipping at any purchase price but they will combine shipping for you. They also auction off most of their end of bolt remnants instead of including them as a free surprise bonus.

Hawthornethreads.com - I haven't ordered from hear yet but they do have some good prices. I'll update this when I make a purchase from them. I like that they prominently feature pictures of projects that a fabric has been used for. It helps sometimes to see it from different angles and in different lighting.

It appears that they don't have free shipping but that they do have a $5.50 flat rate when you buy 2+ yards.

Drawbacks - You have to click on each fabric in order to see the price. This is very tiring, time consuming, and annoying.

I can't wait to find some other great sites. Have you used any of these? Do you have any other great fabric sources? I still need a good site for cotton webbing and all those little findings like fabric buttons, thread, and d rings. Any good suggestions?