Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm a quilter or just a fabric hoarder. I love to quilt, but I also love to collect fabric. There's just so much beautiful fabric!
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But . . . fabric costs money . . . more and more money as time goes on which means my fabric collecting hobby is rapidly being limited by my wallet. Womp, womp.
Being my mother's daughter, I also love a good bargain. I don't like paying full price on anything if I can help it, so I've necessarily gotten pretty good at finding deals on fabric.
Here are my favorite places and tips to find great deals on fabric and other quilty supplies. I'm going to limit myself to only places that sell designer quilting cotton (so not big box stores) because (1) I've had issues with generic brand fabrics bleeding or fraying excessively and (2) because it's usually pretty easy to find deals at those sorts of places - just check their weekly flyer. This post is about how to find deals on the expensive stuff.
Some housekeeping: at the end of this post you'll find a list of my favorite ships. I am not affiliated with these shops in any way, nor am I being paid to promote them. I'm just sharing them with you because I love them.
Contents:
Tip 1: Know what a good price is
It's hard to know if you're getting a good deal if you don't know the average full price of the thing you're buying. For quilt shop-quality cotton fabric, full price these days is around $10-12/yard. That means a great sale price is around $5-8/yard. Even if the fabric is "on sale", it's not really a great deal unless it's around $5-8/yard so refrain from buying it until it's the right price. Almost everything goes on sale eventually.
Tip 2: Know what time of year to shop
There are lots of times during the year when shops have sales. However, some are better than others. Of course, any major holiday, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Black Friday, etc. will bring a decent sale, I have found that the best sales occur when shops are trying to change over inventory.
Most shops do this twice per year, but the time of year will vary depending on the specific shop so sign up for their email list to get notified of when they're having a semi-annual sale or inventory reduction sale.
The other time that shops are trying to move a lot of inventory is at the end of the year (usually right after the holidays). Less inventory on their shelves means less inventory to count and sort for tax reporting purposes so many shops will hold a large sale right before the new year. Almost their entire stock of fabric is on some sort of discount and you can snag some fantastic deals if you're willing to browse a bit.
Other times when there are decent deals on seasonal fabric are mid-January (for holiday fabric), late summer (for spring florals) and late November for Halloween fabrics. With a little bit of forethought, you can grab plenty of seasonal fabric for next year's projects at a great discount.
Tip 3: Know what you're looking for
If you don't know what kind of fabric you like and what you use the most, it's very easy to just buy everything. That's a great way to end up with a stash that grows at a much faster rate than you sew and is filled with fabrics you don't really like. So before you go shopping, it's best to take a little inventory of what you currently have in your stash and what you use most.
Take a look at your past projects, What colors and kinds of prints do you use the most? Large-scale prints? Blenders? Tone on tone prints? Solids? Whatever you use the most, you will likely always have a need for. Things you use only sparingly may be better to purchase specifically when you have already identified a project for them so they don't accumulate in overwhelming quantities.
In my case, the things I always need and can use are gray blenders - I can never get enough of these - and any tone-on-tone gold, orange, or pink geometric prints which show up in almost all of the quilts I make. I can confidently buy anything in those categories without a project in mind and never have to worry about if it will get used.
I have a bit of a type . . .
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Then, when a sale happens, you're ready to shop for specific things you need. Because after all, if you're spending money on things you otherwise wouldn't buy, it's not actually a deal no matter what the price. You'll still end up paying more.
Tip 4: Get used to shopping your stash
Good sales only come around so often so in order to actually save money, you have to purchase in bulk when it's on sale and not at all when it's full price. That means you don't have the luxury of going shopping specifically for each project.
By knowing the kinds of fabric you usually like to sew with, you'll be able to curate a stash that you actually want to use. So instead of going shopping when you start a new project and paying full price for that fabric, you're going to shop from your stash which has all been bought at a discount. If all else fails, supplement your project with smaller quantities of new fabric (for background, backing, and the like).
This also means that when you purchase fabric for your stash, you need to purchase quantities that are actually useful to you. If you're a pre-cut pattern person or scrappy fan, that might mean fat quarters or half yards. If you're a more limited color pallet person, a yard is usually sufficient. My rule of thumb is 1 yard if I like the fabric and 2 yards if I really love it, no more. That way I have a substantial quantity to work with for most of my projects but I don't get bored of it either.
My favorite places for deals
So without further ado, here are my favorite shops to find great deals on modern quilting fabric:
Piece Fabric Co - based in western Canada but they happily ship to the US. Killer end-of-year deals, fantastic service, and the exchange rate ain't bad either. This is my go to for Ruby Star Society fabric and Art Gallery prints.
Gossypium - this is my local quilt shop (LQS) based in Washington state but they ship anywhere. They have the best blenders and their semiannual sidewalk sales are a great value. You'll be able to find pretty much any Moda print or blender here as well as linens and basics.
Threaded lines - based in Texas but ship anywhere. They carry all the modern, designer fabrics (think Guicy Guice, Libs Elliott, Allison Glass, etc.) and you can catch a decent deal on them during the semi-annual sales. But . . . the good stuff goes quick so make sure you catch it at the beginning of the sale.
Brooklyn Fabric Company - based in Iowa but ship super fast and are online only at this point. This shop leans a little more traditional, but it's a great place to find blenders dirt cheap at various points throughout the year. They also carry Tula Pink and some other bigger designers that go on sale occasionally.
Handcock's of Paducah - Ok, so this isn't a small quilt shop, but they have a huge selection and offer bulk discounts. While they don't really have any big calendar sales, the clearance section always offers some phenomenal deals on occasionally some surprising designer fabrics so it's always worth a look. You can usually also snag a 20% off coupon around most holidays and then stack that with a bulk discount when buying 4-5 yards of a solid for background fabric. This is my go-to place for solids.
Backside Fabrics - this online shop sells almost exclusively widebacks. They offer decent sales around most holidays and at the end of the year. It's a great time to stock up on wideback fabric for the back of your quilt which makes my life so much easier as a longarmer.
These are the places I frequent, but likely, your LQS has similar sales and it's just a matter of getting looped into their newsletter so you know when the sale is happening.
Now, it's important to mention that I don't ALWAYS buy my fabric on discount. That's a great way to put your LQS out of business. Occasionally, I'll see a new fabric line coming out that I just have to have and I'll happily purchase some pieces at full price. Or, I'll need to supplement my stash with something specific for a certain project. But, by buying my most frequently used fabric types on sale, I can make sure that I have more money left in my budget for those must-have fabrics and that is a very good thing.
Discount Fabric – Tips and Tricks to Save Money on Fabric
Buying fabric is almost a hobby on its own. I buy WAY more fabric than I could ever use. It is just so pretty. With a fabric addiction you have to know the best ways to get discount fabric. Here are all my tips and tricks for getting cheap fabric!
Finding a great deal on fabric can take some work. But if you love fabric and are on a limited budget then learning all the tips for finding cheap fabric are a must. Looking for things to make with the fabric once you have it, here is a list of over 50 easy projects.
The remnant section at Joann is one of my favorite places to browse. These fabrics are almost always 50% off. You never know what you will find but they always have a LOT of remnants to pick through. This is a great way to find blenders and stash building fabrics.
My local quilt shop also has a remnant bin where all the fabric is 5$ per yard (that is more than 50% off the normal yardage price.) So always ask if they have a remnant or clearance section where they place end of bolts, returns, and outdated fabric. Most fabric isn’t out of style but they have to make room because there are always new lines waiting to take the shelf space.
I have a list of all of my favorite Etsy fabric shops, HERE. There are so many great shops on Etsy and most of them are small businesses who often need to clear out their inventory to free up capital to buy MORE fabric! So checking the clearance sections. They don’t always call them clearance though so be sure and read carefully, for example THIS shop has a flash sale, AND “skinny bolt bargains” both of which are discounted fabric.
The inventory in these shops is sure to change frequently so check back often.
Many fabric stores, both brick and mortar and online, have a newsletter. Handing over your email address and signing up for the newsletter will usually give you an initial discount code to use. Then reading those emails that they send will usually result in even more discounts. This is where you will find out about the sales and specials and they often throw more coupons into that newsletter. Signing up is free and easy and having a few extra emails never hurt anyone.
When they email you those coupons, use them! When you get a coupon on your receipt use it! Download the app for Joann and check the coupons! This is a sure way to get 40 – 60% off all your fabric. Wait for that Joann coupon that is 20% off including sale items and go stock up! Sign up for texts to get awesome coupons. They will usually text you with sales too!!
Wait for Sales –
If you wait long enough everything eventually goes on sale. If you don’t need something right this moment, wait until it is on sale. Each year there are several big sales so take advantage of those sales and stock up. The key to this is to get only what is on sale and don’t get drawn into buying anything else. When you go in for a sale just get those items that are on sale (or that you have a coupon for) then wait it out for the non sale items until they go on sale. Patience is key to getting the best deals!
Grab the end of the bolt discount –
When you are in the store look for those bolts that are close to the end. Choose those (when possible and appropriate) to get the extra discount on the end of the bolt yardage. This is a great technique for solids and blenders that will give you lots of use. This is also great if you don’t need a specific fabric but are making things in bulk like pillowcases for charity or Christmas gifts.
If you are wanting to build your discount fabric stash for a scrap quilt an Etsy grab bag is an awesome way to get a wide variety of fabric scraps at a great price. I frequently order grab bags because I love getting a ton of different prints that I probably never would have purchased myself. These are great for fun scrap projects or for adding variety to a rainbow project. These are typically sold by the pound. Be sure to read the description to be certain of what you are getting. I like to look for the bags that contain entire WOF scraps which tend to be larger and have more functionality. This is also a great way to try out lots of different fabric designers as they typically mix all the different designers in together.
This one is hit or miss. I know I have sold lots of fabric through the years at yard sales. And I am constantly seeing people post in sewing and quilting groups about the fabric they scored at a yard or estate sale. If you are willing to put in the work you can definitely find some great fabric for building up your stash. If this one isn’t for you that is ok too, you can still give all the other options a go.
Ok this one is a long shot. But head over to Instagram and follow all your favorite fabric companies and designers. There is literally a giveaway on the daily and entering to win doesn’t take much time. so why not give it a shot? When you are sitting watching TV before bed check your feed and get those entries!
Do you have any tips for getting discount fabric? Share with me in the comments below.
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