Find the perfect piece of fabric used to be quite a challenge, requiring going from store to store (in-person mind you), and picking through hundreds (if not thousands) of samples before finding the style you were looking for.
Fast forward to modern times, and finding the perfect piece of fabric (no matter what type of project you’re working on) is as easy as going online and typing a few words into Google (or so you would think).
While the internet has certainly made fabric hunting much, much easier compared to how it used to be done, you still need to know where to shop online (and also know which suppliers are quality and which ones aren’t). That’s why we’ve made this post all about finding discount fabrics in bulk quantities.
By using the tips posted below, you’ll not only be able to cut costs, but you’ll also be able to find gorgeous pieces of material (at a fraction of what you used to pay).
Shop Around (Both Online and In-Store)
It should come as no surprise that most of the fabric deals you can find nowadays are online. There are countless sites dedicated to sourcing (and selling) discounted fabrics. However, you shouldn’t count physical stores out just yet.
Oftentimes you can find great deals in physical stores that you wouldn’t be able to find online. Obviously, this depends entirely on the season, where you live, etc. (for example, it’s much easier to find discount fabrics in New York City than rural Montana). Fabric stores are the obvious choice, but you should also consider alternative types of stores as well. You never know where you’ll find your next deal! This brings us to our next tip.
One of the best tips we can give you regarding fabric hunting is to search around your local area. Most smaller fabric stores don’t advertise their services (with some of them not even appearing in online searches). These are considered the hidden gems of the fabric world.
Look Beyond Fabric Stores
While there are countless types of stores that sell fabric, they just might not sell them in traditional fabric form. Think about discount clothing stores, home supply stores, etc. They all carry products made of fabric (they just don’t sell it by the yard).
Using the fabric from skirts, dresses, sheets, curtains, shower curtains, tablecloths, etc. is a great way to find great pieces of cloth for cheap. That’s the great thing about needing only fabric, you can source it from anywhere. As long as the price is right, that’s all that matters!
Think About DIY
If you’re looking for fabric, you obviously enjoy doing things yourself. So, why not make your own fabric then? There are countless techniques for turning bare pieces of standard fabric into something special and unique. Use the DIY fabric tips below to make the most out of your fabric (and to turn something plain and drab into something vibrant and eye-catching).
Use fabric dye to change the entire color scheme of a piece of fabric. However, it’s important to note that natural fabrics (such as cotton fabric and/or silk) typically respond to dye much better than synthetic materials. This is mainly due to the chemical processes used during the creation of synthetic fabrics (which makes them essentially impervious to standard fabric dyes). So, if you want to use dye, only use it on fabric made from natural materials.
Also, consider painting your fabric. Yes, you heard that right. If you use a certain type of paint (known as fabric paint), you can achieve amazing results (without the typical thickness that you think of when you think of paint). Fabric paint is lighter than normal types of paint. You can also utilize stenciling techniques to great effect (which is very inexpensive, by the way).
Shop Online
The internet has truly revolutionized the fabric industry. Designers and crafters used to be at the mercy of where they lived/were located. If their town or city didn’t have a quality fabric store (or multiple stores), then they had to resort to ordering through a catalog (which was usually very expensive, making it not even worth it in the end).
But all of that is in the past now, because there are multiple websites that have great deals on bulk fabrics. Websites like pinecrestfabrics.com, fabric.com, and similar sites all carry a huge selection of some of the highest quality fabrics available on the web (at great prices too).
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