My Favorite Online Fabric Shops

With Joann closing, I’ve been shocked at how many people have said they may never buy fabric again because a) Joann is the only place that offers affordable fabric and/or b) because buying fabric online-without getting to FEEL the fabric-is a sham. I am here to tell you that there is hope! You can absolutely buy affordable fabric online and even have a pretty good idea of what you’re going to get when you click to order.

Here’s a list of my favorite online places to shop for fabric, or other sewing related items. These are shops I’ve purchased from several times and that I trust to give me good, quality fabric for a reasonable price:

Blackbird Fabrics: Blackbird offers a wide variety of fabrics, all of excellent quality. My favorite thing about them is that they rotate their inventory per the season and they are always up to date on what’s trending. When check print started getting popular, they were the first fabric shop I saw to carry checked fabric, same for wide wale cord, same for waxed canvas, etc.

DuckaDilly Fabric: DuckaDilly’s niche is Liberty London fabric, both for quilting and apparel. They have gorgeous English Paper Piecing Block of the Month clubs that I’m always sorely tempted by (but the price is very much out of my range). What I stick around for is their End of Bolt sale, where you can get yardages of Liberty London Tana Cotton Lawn for half price.

The Fabric Fairy: I’ve only bought a few lengths of fabric from here but all were fabrics that were more difficult to find and I was impressed with what I received. The Fabric Fairy specializes in athletic/performance fabric, so they carry everything from boardshorts fabric to polartec.

Harmony: I was on the fence as to whether or not I should include Harmony here because I’ve only ever shopped in person, but I decided to include it because, while they don’t have the biggest selection, I’ve always been impressed by the quality of the fabrics they stock. They also include quilting cottons as well as yarn in their inventory so it’s a great one stop shop for various projects.

ISee Fabrics: ISee is one of my absolute favorite places to buy knits. They specialize in comfortable, cozy, mostly natural fabrics dyed in earth tone colors. They change out colors and fabrics with the seasons but some of my favorites are their slub cotton jersey and their cotton spandex French terry, along with their matching rib knits (always).

LA Finch Fabrics: The fabric is here is mostly deadstock, so the inventory is interesting and ever-shifting. The owner has an excellent eye for quality fabric and does a great job describing fabrics. My favorite is the End of Bolt section and I sign up for their newsletter because they have great sales.

Raspberry Creek Fabrics: Raspberry Creek offers a little bit of everything including in-house printing (so you can upload and print your own designs!). And they have plenty of designs (called their club fabric) already paired with fabric so all you have to do is select how many yards you want (they do print it specifically for you, with your name printed on the selvedge). They carry a good selection of solid (no-print) apparel fabrics as well, including linen, chambray, rayon, etc. Love these guys for their prices and I especially love their printed rayon challis which is a very easy fabric to work with and wears really well.

Sarah Hearts: I know labels are not at all a necessary sewing tool, but I do think they are so fun to stick on a project that I’m going to keep buying them, frivolous as they may be! Sarah Hearts has been one of my favorite sewing label brands because they have some of the best value and I love the bright, bold designs they offer. And because the designs are so colorful and fun, they work just as well for stuff I make my kiddos as they do for me. You can also buy from her Etsy shop (which sometimes has sales).

Style Maker Fabrics: They have a wide array of fabrics, all of which are great quality. They often stock great basics with more than a dozen colorways so they are a great shop for those who like to make multiples of the same pattern.

Surge Fabric Shop: I’ve been loving Surge for the impressive variety of fabric they carry. The seem to have found a great balance carrying both basics for cheap as well as fabrics that might cost a bit more but are great quality and very unique (like their cotton/hemp/yak jersey, or their Spanx fabric knockoff–both of which I’ve tried and loved). And my experience with their customer service has always been exceptional.

WAWAK: A list of online sewing shops doesn’t seem like it would be complete without WAWAK being listed. This is THE place for basic, cheap sewing notions. They don’t carry fabric or, say, the rainbow colored jeans hardware you can buy on Etsy, but they carry absolutely everything else you could imagine needing for sewing including thread, hardware, bra cups, elastic, needles…the list goes on and on. And I’ve never not been impressed by their packaging and shipping speed. My purchases here are not glam or exciting, per se, but they contribute to keeping me running smoothly since, when I buy here, I stock up.

Shopping online and understanding fabric terminology comes with a bit of a learning curve, but I’d argue that buying fabric in person can be the same. We never know how a fabric will wash or wear or translate to the garment we’re making. There’s more potential for being surprised when shopping online, for sure, but once you find some stores you trust, buying fabric online feels very low-risk. I’ve found that online fabric shops WANT to be helpful and will list all sorts of helpful details. I’ve also found that most shops are pretty self-aware and will describe themselves accurately. Words like, “affordable” or “sustainable” or “quality” give huge clues as to what kinds of fabrics the shop tries to stock. Thankfully we live in an information rich era where we can find more reviews than we care to read. Anyway, hopefully, with all these tools under your belt, plus a smidge of flexibility, you can be well on your way to making some great online fabric purchases with confidence. And shops will often offer discounts if you sign up for their newsletter 🙂