I’m not a big sewer but I do like to buy fabric occasionally for certain crafting projects and for miscellaneous mending needs. The trouble is that most of the time the fabric you can get at regular fabric stores is way too expensive to make it worth buying. Now I’m sure that many of you that are bigger sewers than I am having more tips than this so make sure to share them with the rest of us! Here is a list of places that I've gotten cheaper fabric.
- Garage Sales. This doesn't happen all the time but occasionally I will be able to find fabric (mostly scrap) at garage sales. I’ve noticed that if a sale is going to have fabric is generally advertised in their newspaper ad. (I don’t want to stereotype here but they do tend to be in what I call a “nick-nack sale” that is, a sale that is generally put on by an older person and contains mostly home décor items instead of clothes, toys, ect.)
- Senior Center Sales. This one is similar to garage sales above but one put on in a senior center. We have one of these sales yearly in my area at a large senior center and it usually has a huge table full of fabric!
- Thrift Stores. This is usually a fairly reliable source of inexpensive fabric. All of the local thrift stores I can think of have a nice “crafting” section that usually has dozen of bundles of fabric. These bundles are a little more expensive than the previous 2 options but as I said, you have a pretty good chance at getting fabric at a thrift store whereas rummage sales and senior center sales can be hit and miss. I’ve even found some fairly large amounts of fabric at thrift stores not just scrap.
- The Fabric Store. Wait…didn’t I just say that fabric stores were expensive? Well they can be, but like in all stores, there are always ways to find a deal! Look for clearance racks of discontinued patterns. Some fabric stores also hold sales were you can find half price deals on the “regular” fabrics, however the best luck I’ve had at finding deals is shopping the clearance.
- Big Box Stores. Yes, even stores like Walmart and Hobby Lobby have good deals on fabric! Search around until you find the remnant bin and you can get deals on scrap fabrics. I’ve even found some remnants that are several yards long, enough to make a large project with!
Those are the places that I’ve been able to find cheap fabric. Occasionally I use fabric for projects such as re-purposing clothing but mostly I buy a lot of fabric for use in photography, so those of you that buy for bigger projects might know of better places! Shout them out in the comments!
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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
I like to look at the plus sized dresses at thrift stores too. Jumpers especially are a great source of fabric for smaller projects. Just be sure the dress doesn’t have too many seams, which make the overall pieces of fabric smaller.
Great tip!
I can add to your list! I sew for a living and am a bargain hunter, so I’ve been learning the ins and outs of this.
Estate sales can be a great place to find fabric and notions, especially vintage stuff. Not many people are in the market for that kind of stuff and they usually price the stuff very cheaply to get rid of it.
I’ve had some luck at church rummage sales as well. I get the sense that a lot of it is leftovers from estate sales, hence – vintage fabric and notions, and even some great books and pamphlets for projects.
Also, if you don’t need a lot of fabric, check out the remnant bins at fabric stores. These are the ends of bolts that have less than a yard left on them, and they are usually marked down by at least 50%. They’re especially great for pieces of polar fleece and quilting cottons, and even piece of interfacing.
More great tips, thanks for sharing!
I’m a homeschooling momma blogger working her way through life on one blog and Little House on the Prairie school curriculum on another. Was fun to be guided to your blog today!
I rarely buy fabric at a fabric store. It was originally because I couldn’t afford to, now I realize I rarely have to, unless I need a very specific piece for a project.
Last weekend I was digging through a huge pile of fabric and the woman was so desperate to get rid of stuff, she gave me the WHOLE pile for $3. The pieces were 3-6 yards each, cotton, flannel, lace, it was amazing. I am teaching my last child, a ten year old girl, to sew, so it’s wonderful having a lot of material to enjoy without worrying about making a mistake and “wasting it.”
I use thrift stores for buttons, as well. When they clearance clothes out for really cheap, I look for clothes that have buttons I like. Cheaper to spend $.99 for a shirt full than $4 for a card with 4.
This was a fun blog to find this morning!
What a great find! And a big warm welcome!
Try substituting sheets, either bought on clearence or at a thrift store. You get a ton of fabric (Especially if you are looking for Jersey Knit) for a much lower price!
Oh I’ve done this before and forgot to include it in the list, great thinking!
This is great! I have been using sheets for a long time and irks very well. Curtains and shower curtains and so much more. Also I have used table clothes for a lot of things.
Does anyone remember sending away for a “scrap assortment” from Coats & Clarks?, I think? I can still remember that they would send you zippers, lace, buttons..anything that they make..it was quite an assortment & it was FREE!..you just had to send a stamp..it was enough to fit inside a large envelope. I was only 10, but I can still remember opening it & examining everything..it was WONDERFUL to a little girl just wanting to learn to sew!
I live near Los Angeles. Downtown, there is a ‘fabric district’.
otherwise, I’ll go a little crazy! (I’m a fabric junkie!)
I’ve gotten really great bargains there. I go early so I can find parking, and only take as much cash as I plan to spend, plus a couple $ for a hot dog from the street vendor
If you live near, or are visiting a large city, ask around to find out where the fabric district is.
I sew all my kids’ clothes and am always on the look out for great fabric. One place I have found that you can find some really cute fabric is online at Connecting Threads – their clearance section often has fabric for as little as $1.95/yd. It is geared towards quilters, but I have found some very lovely fabric that was neither cheap looking nor cheaply made. Be cautious of some of the big bulk stores because they have a tendency to sell cheaply made fabric – which if you have to replace often or redo, can be more costly. I also shop around at Fabric.com where they will occasionally have nice clearance and then I stock up to take advantage of their free shipping. Ebay is another good place to hunt for speciality fabric that can be costly elsewhere, just watch out for high shipping prices! Sometimes when you live so far from town, it’s more economical to do your shopping online, like us; that being said, nothing beats spending some quiet time strolling through a large fabric store!
Thank you for letting us know about Connecting Threads. Just checked it out and there is FREE shipping on orders of $50 or more. And their clearance section is full of stuff. Bookmarked this page because I’m sure I’ll be going there often.
I love to sew. I love to get wool men’s suits at the thrift store. I have taken those apart and made beautiful pillows, quilts, and even other clothes from the suits.
I brought a set of new curtains in a thrift store….It has about 20 yards of fabric.(these are commercial drapes from an office building) I will use the backing of the curtains for a quilt backing. For the sum of $8.00 I got almost 40 yards of fabric.
Oh, and don’t forget some online places. Sometimes folks get rid of fabric lots on Ebay, you’ll have to take what comes with it.
I like Gehmans Country Fabrics, online store, very good prices and the Tropical Breeze fabric is literally a breeze to sew!
Find the wholesale distributers in your town, they usually have “open to the Public” times and you get to buy at the wholesale price.
Bag Sales at Church Rummage Sales…. in my town consistently the best place for extremely inexpensive fabric.
Awesome frugality 
For $1 or $2 for the paper Grocery sack, I can neatly roll up 12-15 warm bathrobes. Lots of fabric in a bathrobe! For $1 bag, a laundry washing, and used elastic for waistlines, I made NINE pairs of warm fluffy pajamas for my grandkids one Christmas…. plus, with old pillow stuffing, matching little teddy bears to go with
love these tips… more more please !!!
Awesome tips, thank you! I’m just learning how to sew, and hate to waste money on expensive fabric.