Kestrel Makes: I Took the Plunge!

.....and bought fabric from the Internet for the first time. Following a tip from Debi, I used Croft Mill to order some beige/light brown needle cord.

And some polka dot cotton in green and white.

I thought that I couldn't go too far wrong with needle cord and cotton, which will be used for another Beignet skirt.

I am making the skirt as part of the Spring Palette Challenge, so was quite specific about the colours that I wanted. The polka dot cotton is for lining, pockets and covered buttons. Unfortunately my trip to Mandors did not result in the purchasing of any fabric - I tried hard, honestly! However they didn't have anything which was quite right, although I am tempted to go back for some lovely vintage-look striped cotton that I saw...

I've also been looking at the Fancy Moon website, as they have a great range of patterned fabrics, although the prices are quite steep. I fell in love with this 1930s inspired Joel Dewberry design,

I have seen other designs of his on sale at John Lewis too, and they are also gorgeous, but I'll have to wait until I'm feeling flush or have the right project - perhaps a blouse.

Have you got any other online shops, or ebay sellers you can recommend for fabrics? Or any advice for fabric shopping online?

K x

11 comments:

Anonymous8 February 2011 at 00:46
it's based in the US, but I can't live without fabric.com!

I try to do research on the fabrics if I can before I buy them - basically search all the online fabrics stores and the designer/manufacturer's sites and see how they are described, what others have used them for and washing instructions!!
Anonymous8 February 2011 at 08:53
Thanks for sharing the websites - I've done Mandors and John Lewis but I prefer to have more options... I just ordered the Beignet yesterday! ...what fabric to use though, hmmm.
Lucy in the Clouds8 February 2011 at 10:09
That skirt's gonna be lovely, those buttons are very pretty too.

I've bought fabric online a few times and not been disappointed. I like Patch Fabrics for bright quirky prints, and they're really quick to deliver. Fabric Rehab have some lovely prints too.

The thing that annoys me about online fabric shopping is that so many places sell them in fat quarters, so it seems cheap but then you have to quadruple the price to see how much it is per metre. Grr.
Jane8 February 2011 at 11:18
I love that Joel Dewberry print too. My favourites for a mix of quilting cottons and dressmaking fabrics are misformake.bigcartel.com, dittofabrics.co.uk and raystitch.co.uk. The cord Beignet will be lovely, the colours are a great combination. x
Roobeedoo8 February 2011 at 22:01
Croft Mill is my favourite! I also bought from Ditto for the first time recently and was very impressed. At ebay: Favourite Fabrics are good, Little Shop of Treasures for Liberty prints and British Fabrics for wool.
Kestrel8 February 2011 at 22:39
All noted and bookmarked - it's great to get some recommendations. I particularly like the look of Ditto - they set out the types of fabric really clearly which is good for nervous fabric shoppers like myself.

Lucy, I was caught out the same way with fat quarters - I thought I'd found a total bargain until I read the information properly!
Sandy9 February 2011 at 14:03
Hi! (I'm new! LOL!)

I use Fabricland http://www.fabricland.co.uk/ and they've always been really good. They don't have a shopping basket and you have to ring them up but you can see everything online first.

Then I've also used efabrics (Chawla's) http://www.efabrics.co.uk/ which do have an online facility and they're equally good.

Hope these help!
Kestrel9 February 2011 at 18:22
Thanks Sandy - both of those look really promising. I think I'll have to spend some time at the weekend going through all these sites thoroughly.
shivani10 February 2011 at 16:30
hi there! It's always useful to learn of new online fabric shops!
I use ebay quite a lot for online fabric shopping in the UK. For Liberty prints, Katsfabrics,Fellabird and washablefabrics are all good. Also on ebay, I've bought from Textile Express and teresa101250 and can recommend both.
Kestrel10 February 2011 at 19:18
Thanks Shivani :)
Debi16 February 2011 at 21:14
Oh no! Sorry to hear about the shipping issues! I love croft mill--so hopefully they will get it all sorted out! The needlecord will be fantastic! I bought the dark brown needlecord and it's got really nice drape (not too thick). All these other resources are great too!