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too bad it doesn't exist! (Moderated by Deepika, Sharon1952)
Posted on: 6/12/14 6:16 AM ET
Michelle's recent post on fabric stores (one of my favorite sewing blogs right now) got me thinking ...
I wish I could go to an online fabric store and have the option to click on the fiber I want. Let's say I chose "cotton". Then it would give me the option of choosing 100% or a blend. Drilling down, it would ask me for woven or knit (of course "all" could be an option at every juncture too).
Finally I would be presented with fabric to browse having weeded out everything else.
And because I'm visual and ADD, I could start all over (because I just saw an incredible color reminding me I need an outfit for that special occassion next week) by choosing colors.
When I'm finally presented with fabric to view, every bolt would be photographed in the usual ways. But there would also be a shot of the fabric draped over a dressform. Marcy Tilton always does that (even for solids) and I think it's incredibly helpful.
It drives me crazy to go to a great online store and be shown nicely photographed swatches with made up names that tell me nothing about the fabric's fiber content or construction. Everything that catches my eye winds up being the exact opposite of what I need and it takes so long to click on each swatch to find out what it's made from!
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I wish I could go to an online fabric store and have the option to click on the fiber I want. Let's say I chose "cotton". Then it would give me the option of choosing 100% or a blend. Drilling down, it would ask me for woven or knit (of course "all" could be an option at every juncture too).
Finally I would be presented with fabric to browse having weeded out everything else.
And because I'm visual and ADD, I could start all over (because I just saw an incredible color reminding me I need an outfit for that special occassion next week) by choosing colors.
When I'm finally presented with fabric to view, every bolt would be photographed in the usual ways. But there would also be a shot of the fabric draped over a dressform. Marcy Tilton always does that (even for solids) and I think it's incredibly helpful.
It drives me crazy to go to a great online store and be shown nicely photographed swatches with made up names that tell me nothing about the fabric's fiber content or construction. Everything that catches my eye winds up being the exact opposite of what I need and it takes so long to click on each swatch to find out what it's made from!
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Mary
Posted on: 6/12/14 9:21 AM ET
I will tell you this - when you do a search at Fabric.com, the search results will let you drill down to fiber content. For example, for Rayon it would be like this:
- 100% Rayon
- Rayon Blends
- Rayon/Cotton
- Rayon/Linen
- Rayon/Polyester
- Rayon/Silk
- Rayon/Wool
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- 100% Rayon
- Rayon Blends
- Rayon/Cotton
- Rayon/Linen
- Rayon/Polyester
- Rayon/Silk
- Rayon/Wool
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- Libby with a "y" not an "ie"
(People who know Richmond will get this!)
Visit my blog - http://www.creativecurvychic.com
"Sewing is not a hobby, it's a journey."
(People who know Richmond will get this!)
Visit my blog - http://www.creativecurvychic.com
"Sewing is not a hobby, it's a journey."
Posted on: 6/12/14 10:05 AM ET
In reply to LizJ58
That's good to know!
I heard that Amazon fulfills their orders now (not sure if that's true) and that Amazon doesn't really understand fabric orders (especially that it needs to be "all or nothing" unless they call to check first).
I haven't shopped there because of that.
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I heard that Amazon fulfills their orders now (not sure if that's true) and that Amazon doesn't really understand fabric orders (especially that it needs to be "all or nothing" unless they call to check first).
I haven't shopped there because of that.
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Mary
Posted on: 6/12/14 12:02 PM ET
In re: Fabric.com: I've had an issue once, out of my many orders, with shorted fabric. Nearly all of my fabric stash has come from Fabric.com (with some immediate-need items coming from Joann's); let's say I've ordered from Fabric.com a total of ten times, with at least 3 fabrics on each order. One of those fabrics was a very pretty striped cotton shirting that I ordered 3 yards of, for a grand total of $7.50; less than one yard was delivered, with no notation about the discrepancy. I emailed Fabric.com about it and they refunded me the $7.50 without question.
It was annoying in that it happened, but they took care of the issue right away and without any kind of flak. Everything else I've ordered from them has been cut at 37"/yard, just as their website promises.
Tracy
It was annoying in that it happened, but they took care of the issue right away and without any kind of flak. Everything else I've ordered from them has been cut at 37"/yard, just as their website promises.
Tracy
Posted on: 6/12/14 12:18 PM ET
In reply to tbot
That's great to know Tracy. I may have to check them out. I love fine fabric but while I'm working on getting some TNTs together, I'm afraid to cut into the good stuff!
slightly off-topic but I see you are from Tennessee. Chattanooga is my stomping ground (we live right across the border).
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slightly off-topic but I see you are from Tennessee. Chattanooga is my stomping ground (we live right across the border).
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Mary
Posted on: 6/12/14 12:51 PM ET
In reply to marymary86
I think both FashionFabricsClub/Denver Fabrics and Mood Fabrics both let you search like this. Maybe not quite so specific, but..
The thing about some of these online fabric sites that we like so much is that they don't carry regular stock. Maybe some do, but I think mostly their stock changes so fast that if they took the time to do so much organizing on their website, they wouldn't have time to get half the fabric on the website.
I think most of them do a good job and I don't seem to have trouble finding something I want to purchase from most of them. Hmmmm
The thing about some of these online fabric sites that we like so much is that they don't carry regular stock. Maybe some do, but I think mostly their stock changes so fast that if they took the time to do so much organizing on their website, they wouldn't have time to get half the fabric on the website.
I think most of them do a good job and I don't seem to have trouble finding something I want to purchase from most of them. Hmmmm
Posted on: 6/12/14 1:17 PM ET
My OP wasn't meant to be a slam - it's just a blue sky wish list.
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Mary
Posted on: 6/12/14 1:23 PM ET
In reply to marymary86
Oh, I know. But you said in your subtitle "too bad it doesn't exist." I think it kind of does as well as it can. Obviously some of the smaller fabric vendors don't/can't work like that.
I think fabricmartfabrics is working toward making their search easier also. I like how they have added more specific categories to their drop-down boxes and how they overlap.
I want to go to Google and search "red cotton fabric with cherry blossoms with some pink and white, small branches" and have every online fabric store show up in the results.
Now that's some dreaming!
I think fabricmartfabrics is working toward making their search easier also. I like how they have added more specific categories to their drop-down boxes and how they overlap.
I want to go to Google and search "red cotton fabric with cherry blossoms with some pink and white, small branches" and have every online fabric store show up in the results.
Now that's some dreaming!
Posted on: 6/12/14 1:51 PM ET
Fabricmart also gets close- you can't choose knit or woven exactly, but the radio buttons for the specific types don't update until you hit "show", so you can choose all of the knit types, then have the page update to show them all, rather than jersey, wait for refresh, interlock, wait for refresh...
And if you're looking for cotton pants fabric, you don't want to see voile or quilting or shirting fabric, so I think it may work better than just knit or woven.
And if you're looking for cotton pants fabric, you don't want to see voile or quilting or shirting fabric, so I think it may work better than just knit or woven.
Posted on: 6/13/14 9:12 AM ET
In reply to marymary86
Yes it does exist. Have you shopped at EmmaOneSock? Additionally, the customer service is out of this world, the best on earth. Until recently it was just Linda (amazing huh?!!!) but she now has helpers.
I think she also carries the best fabrics, hands down.
I think she also carries the best fabrics, hands down.
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