Online shopping is one of my strongest skills. I’m not even going to pretend I haven’t honed this skill with much practice. Amazon, Walmart Grocery, Whole Foods Delivery, Target…you name a store…odds are good I’ve shopped there online. Much to my husband’s chagrin. That being said, shopping for fabric online is a different beast. Particularly if you’re a new sewist and aren’t certain what type of fabric you need for a project in the first place.
I cannot tell you how many times I have purchased fabric online thinking it was one thing and ending up with another. I have purchased 8-wale corduroy thinking it was feather wale (see image below), I have purchased 45 inch fabric thinking it was 60 inch fabric, I have purchased orange-red fabric thinking it was blue-red, the list goes on and on. Fortunately I love fabric so rarely was I terribly frustrated but it can be extremely challenging to shop for fabric online.
Here I will aggregate some of the tips and tricks I have learned for shopping fabric online. As there are fewer and fewer brick and mortar fabric stores it becomes more necessary to learn how to buy fabric (successfully) online.
- When in doubt, email or call. I have called and emailed MANY fabric stores to ask questions about a particular fabric. Every single person I have talked to has been incredibly helpful. Let them know your sewing level. If you tell them your a beginner they can ask you questions to lead you in the right direction. If you tell them you’ve been sewing for years they’ll refrain from asking you those questions.
- Can’t find a fabric you want? Call/email the manufacturer. I have needed a particular Fabric Finders fabric before, called them and they’ve given me the phone number of a store with that fabric. I’m not sure if this is their regular practice but It has worked for me.
- Use the comment boxes! Often I will include a note in the comment box during my purchase that describes the outfit I intend to make and which fabrics need to coordinate. I ask the store to ensure that they do and to call me if they don’t. I’ve even put multiple trims in my cart at Farmhouse Fabrics and asked them to choose the one that looks the best.
- Check Model Garments. Not sure if a fabric will suit your need? Think it may be too sheer, too heavy, etc? See if the store has images of a garment made in that fabric. The images can help you gauge the thickness, color, drape, and much more. No images on the store’s site? Google the fabric and look for images there. You can also find model garments on the fabric vendors websites. See below.
- Have your tape measure handy. I cannot visualize 1/8 inch vs 1/16 inch. Often the images on websites fail to provide clear scale. Use the tape measure to help you order what you really want. This is particularly helpful with ginghams, seersuckers and shirtings.
- When trying to match colors, stick with one manufacturer/vendor. Often the website will have some kind of code under the fabric, in it you can usually glean some clues as to who manufactures the fabric. Some websites even list their fabrics by vendor…this is incredibly helpful. See below for images. SV= Spechler Vogel, RK= Robert Kaufman, FF=Fabric Finders, BB=Brooks Brothers MM=Michael Miller.
- This is one of my lazier tips-Check the pattern online for fabric requirements. Often when I’m shopping online the last thing I want to do is get off my couch and go downstairs to my sewing room to check a pattern for fabric requirements. For awhile I would just guess. That was a great way to end up with way too much fabric and to spend more than I needed to. Then I realized I could just google the pattern, select the image, and click to the picture of the back of the pattern. You’re welcome…stay on the couch.
Alright ya’ll that’s it for today. As I think of more tips I’ll add them to a new post! Hope this makes your online shopping easier.
