The Brooke Van Gory Guide to Sourcing Fabric and Notions

This is Brooke, with round two of "Sewing tips" here on Modern Rosies. Round one covered different places around the internet that have the best sewing tutorials. This week, I will cover all the places that I go to find the best sewing supplies. Next week, I will cover all the brands that I swear buy, and what is good versus what is bad. Then the final week, I will cover amazing crafting sites full of other crafters, and support for inspiration and help!

This internet, it is a vast space, full of so many items for sale, it really can be a bit daunting no matter what you are looking for. This is especially true when it comes to searching for crafting supplies. So I am going to narrow it down for you a little bit. Right now I am going to focus on sewing supplies, but in a few weeks, I hope to cover other crafting supplies as well.

First, you are going to need some fabric. The first one that everyone usually lands on is Fabric.com. While Fabric.com can be a useful site, it is pretty expensive, and sometimes, does not carry a wide variety of prints. I also find that sometimes, they only have a yard or two of the fabric that I need, and it is not re-orderable. If you do choose to purchase off this site, I suggest making sure you are going to order more then 35$ worth of merchandise. They always have coupon codes available for 10-15% off any order over that amount, and the shipping on that amount is always free. You can find current coupon codes here !

Another site that I shop at frequently is equilter.com. They have amazing customer service, and twice i have had strange issues with my orders, and gotten amazing customer service. Even recently, I had their customer service team contact me asking what I felt they could do to make their site better. They really are a company that cares about their customers. Their selection is HUGE there, however, and it can be very easy to get lost.

One place I get fabric from more then any other site, however, is Etsy. I know, I know, I SELL over on Artfire, and I tell everyone to shop over there. But in all honesty, the amount of fabric shops on Etsy far surpasses those on Artfire. The best way to search over on Etsy is to search under the "supplies" tab on the top search. This is the best way to find that hard-to-find Kawaii cotton fabric from Japan.

Sellers that specialize in minky blankets (there are a ton of sellers on Etsy and Artfire that make these) often state that their minky is "better quality then the crap they sell at Joann Fabrics". Which to a point, is very true. The quality of the minky for some reason at retail shops like fabric.com and Joann Fabrics is not as high at the brands that shops that specialize in minky carry. The premiere shop for high quality minky is Chenille Magic. They even have clearance and one-off pieces that are a GREAT deal for someone that is just starting out sewing.

As far as notions, I shop a few different places. For interfacing, I grab that at my local Hancock Fabrics. They usually send me a 40% off coupon, so I can usually get it for about 3$ a yard. For zippers, my FAVORITE shop is Zipit, who is not only on Etsy, but is also over on Artfire! She has amazing customer service, and her rainbow packs of zippers is a GREAT deal when you want to change up the colors on different projects!

I hope this helped you all muddle through and find some amazing deals so you can get started on your sewing projects! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment here, or e-mail us at modernrosies@gmail.com.


Brooke is the owner and seamstress at Brooke Van Gory Designs. She lives in The Chicago suburbs with her two kiddos, and her rock star husband! You can shop BVG here, and follow her on Google+ here.