Online fabric shopping! Help!
 

Hello quilters! I too have been lurking behind the curtains & absolutely love this board! There are so many hints, how tos, tutorials & of coarse the inspirational pictures of your beautiful projects. I am addicted to you! I am partially disabled with RA so do a lot of sitting. I love to quilt but don't seem to get as much done as I would like. It is very hard for me to get out to the LQS for fabrics so I have been looking at the online fabric stores. WOW! My question is for those of you that buy fabric online is are you happy with the matching. The pics look great when you see them side by side but what about when you actually have them in hand? Your opinions would be greatly appreciated but am a little nervous if it is a positive response. Hubby may want a divorce after first shopping spree! :)

I'm never dissapointed with connecting threads!

I've bought some fabric on eBay, and while the images did match, I so far haven't been thrilled with the quality of the non-name brand fabric. I've reached the decision that when I'm shopping for fabric online, I will only buy fabric from recognized names such as Moda, so I know that I can trust the quality. Otherwise, I need to see it before I decide whether it's good enough. I want my quilts to last!

I do most of my shopping (fabric) online, seldom have I been dissappointed. It may not look exactly like I thought it would but still works, to be certain things go together you can buy from the same line, all the matching is already done. A good place is Connecting Threads, it's affordable, good quality and gets here pretty quick. Good luck, we'll be waiting to see some projects.

i've been buying fabric from fabric.com for over 10 years and have never been disappointed- there are lots of other shops out there too- & i purchase from a few others at times- i believe most really work hard to make sure they have good pictures with true colors- but individual computer monitors do vary- some shops (like fabric.com) do offer swatches so you can order a number of swatches & make sure you like what you want before commiting to yardage-
i am (picky) about shops- and shipping charges- i generally shop at the ones that offer free shipping at a reasonable purchase amount --like at $35-$50 spent....if shipping is going to cost as much as a yard of fabric or more i tend to look elsewhere.

I order fabric online as it's 30 miles to the closed Walmart or LQS and 50 miles to the closest Joanns. I've always been happy with Connecting Threads. I have also been known to email or call online shops and ask about my selections. Being quilters/sewers, they often have a pretty good eye to what coordinates.

Missouri Star Quilt Company have great prices, a daily deal and wonderful tutorials! Check out their website: http://www.missouriquiltco.com/

They have stupendous customer service. They will help you any way they can. If you call them, they will tell you whether or not the fabrics that you want go together and they will actually look around their store to find something that will! Quick shipping too!

I order from Connecting Threads, Keepsake Quilting and Hancock's of Paducah and I have always been very happy with the fabrics I have bought from them. I have ordered a lot of the matched up Medley's from keepsake Quilting and they have always been just perfect for my projects. I am working on the Serenity Garden kit from Keepsake Quilting now and the fabric is so beautiful.

I've ordered from Keepsake Quilting, Hancock of Paducah, and a shop in Arizona and I've never been disappointed. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, was very happy with my purchases.:thumbup: Welcome to the board from NE Ohio.

I love on-line shopping at Favorite Fabrics. For current fabrics , the best prices and service. The staff if you call is extremely helpful. HUGE selection. A plus is that the owner is a frequent contributor here on the board and often gives us previews of new collections. I love that! The images are very true and the site provides great info on how much is in stock.. and if you will be able to order more once that stock is depleted. Plus lists coordinating fabrics .. very valuable infomation when trying to pull together a group of fabrics.
http://www.favoritefabric.com/

I really like the Fabric Shack. They have a huge selection and you don't have to buy a whole yard. You can buy as little as 1/4 yard. I also like Hancock's of Paducah. Both have excellent, fast service. I find that the colors match what you see on line very well. The only thing I would watch out for when buying on line is the scale of the prints. To me they look smaller on line and I've been surprised when receiving fabric at how big the print is. Welcome to the Board!!

Colors are hard to match unless your familiar with the line which is why I seldom buy fabric online unless I've seen it in person, have bought some unusable fabric before from different vendors which are commonly used here. To me it's wasted money and a risk you assume by shopping online IMHO

I love buying on-line and have never had problems. Being so far from the US means a package takes about a month to arrive, but that only makes the surprise element so much greater. I like to buy the bundles and with very few exceptions have loved every piece. I have yet to purchase a specific line for a specific quilt, but since I usually find the bulk of the fabrics right here in my stash, I have not had the need to buy fabric for a whole quilt. The variety is awesome and surpasses anything and everything to be found locally.

I, too, order a lot of fabric online and have never been disappointed. One of my favorite shops is The Old Country Store. Their prices are a little less than the LQS for the same fabric and they often ship the same day that I order! I have also ordered from most of the other sites already mentioned and have been pleased with both the fabric and the service. I, especially, like the sites which have a "design wall" so you can see swatches of fabric next to each other.

If you shop in full line shops and choose colors from one manufacturers line and blenders, that's one way to make sure your colors work together.

When in doubt, call and ask! Many of us small shop owners will take plenty of time to answer questions, help with color coordination, and even send you samples if you are unsure. If we are unsure of what you're after, we may offer to send you several samples for you to choose the one that works for you. Small owners depend on repeat business -- we want you to be totally satisfied with your purchases.

I have ordered fabric on line for years also. There usually is a discription of the fabric, color etc. Every once in a while its not exactly what I wanted, I just stick it in my stash. I love Crafttown Fabrics, The Fabric Shack, Fat Quarter shop, and Bunnyhill Designs. Google quiltshops.com, there are over 200 shops connected to that site. You can search by quilt shop or do an item search. Have fun!!

Wow! Thanks everyone! Only 1 negative response, guess what I'm gonna do! It's not like I need more fabric but I have a couple proects waiting for some companion fabrics that I just can't come up with out of my stash so I MUST go shopping!
Thank you also for all the links to your favorite fabric sites.

I love the fabrics I have purchased from Fabric.com and Connecting Threads.

I love buying from fabric.com. I have bought from them for several years now. They always give you a wee bit extra on already generous cuts. They have coupon discounts frequently and have free shipping when you make a $35.00 purchase. It takes several days, and then they send you one or two e-mails, one to say they got your order. I pay with PayPal. So that is easier. They send you an e-mail with a tracking number to tell you when it is shipped. They ship by UPS. So it is delivered right to your door. I have never had a problem with them. One time I was shorted a bit on a cut. I called them, and they sent me out another whole cut, and I was told to keep the first one. If you are unsatisfied at all, they will pay for the return shipping. They have all the best designer fabrics and other unknown ones. I have always gotten what I expected with colors. I hope this helps you a bit.

With the high price of gas and more and more LQS closing, find I've had to turn to shopping more online. Just this year I started buying from Connecting Threads. I've been very pleased with the quality and they've made it extremely easy to coordinate. A couple of years ago, I thought their fabric line was a bit "flat", but I have changed my opinion and believe they've stepped up their designs to be more competitive. If you're hesitant, order a little of their clearance fabric (some less than $3.00) or pick up a charm or layer cake pack. Think you'll be pleased. Their service is super prompt too. You get a big bang for your buck.

I've bought from fabric.com a bunch and only disappointed once with the fabric. I've shopped with keepsake quilting a couple of times and the last time was really diappointed. :( Oh well!!! :)

I love Connecting threads and Batik Plus!! Great fabrics.

I've had some disappointments but for the most part I've been happy. I do sometimes look at the same fabric on different sites to see if it still looks the same or if another merchant has a better or bigger pic.

I've bought at Favorite Fabrics, Fabric.com, Connecting Threads and have never been disappointed. Joanne's I don't know they have advertised a fabric that I need to finish a quilt and they say it's on backorder and then today I look at the e-mail I got and they had that fabric on sale for $3.99 and I put in to buy and they said it was on backorder so why did they put it on sale so I don't know about them. I doubt you'll be disappointed with online shopping for fabric I've bought a lot and the colors are usally what the pic looked like. It's hard sometimes to match a color to the block. Good luck. Sue

I shop online for most of my fabric. The online pics of fabric can be deceiving. Fabric.com,Thousands of Bolts,Fabric Shack,Fabric Depot are just a few of the online stores I buy from. When I find a fabric I like I do a search for that fabric in my browser and compare the pic colors at other sites. You can usually get a pretty good idea from the manufacturers website for that particular fabric also. If you are buying several pieces of fabric, try buying in that fabric collection,those fabrics are made to match. Fabric.com and Thousands of bolt have good prices but their pic colors are not so good(IMHO). If you are building your stash..go for it..every opened package will be a pleasant surprise!!

Connecting Threads is also my favorite.

I have been disapointed several times......I like to do most of my shopping llocal...get a feel for whats out there..the colors etc. Then I look online if its a good sale. And know what I'm buying.

I regularly purchase from Fabric.com and Thousands of Bolts and Only One Nut. They have great prices and shipping is fast. I have never been disappointed with my orders.

It really helps when you are shopping online to know the manufacturer. That way you know the quality of fabric you are getting. If you can get to some LQS to get familiar with the manufacturers, that might be a good thing. I have never been disappointed with the service online shopping offers except at JoAnns. Fabric.com has a "design wall" where you can put the picture of the fabrics you are looking at and compare and see what really does go together. You can move them around and group them, toss them away, whatever. It's a fun way to shop online. I've never been surprised when I opened my package when I use that.

Nettes quilt fabrics is where I go first. She has a limited selection but her prices are fantastic. She also offers free shipping no matter what you spend. She ships immediately and is really fun to talk to on the phone. Her address is Nettesquiltfabrics.com

I agree I would also add Wish upon a quilt.com, very nice online shop

I have been shopping online for more than 10 years for fabric. I have ordered from a whole bunch of different stores and have only gotten one fabric that I didn't think matched the screen image. It was for a backing though and the price was excellent so it didn't matter too much. I think stores try really hard to get their images accurate. If you're finding that the fabrics you get don't really match what you see on your monitor it could be your monitor is off and needs to be recalibrated.

I agree with Connecting Threads, Fabric.com, Thousands of Bolts and Fabric Shack but one other favorite is Whittles.com great service and fast shipping. I do lots of online shopping and have only been disappointed with one piece of fabric in the last 10 years.

On line I go to fabric.com and quilthome.com and Hawthorne Threads. Quilthome includes a hand written thank you that makes me feel like I have shopped at the LQS.

I have found the owner at BEARPAWQUILTING to be more than helpful, love thousands of bolts, and favorite fabrics, fabric ,com. thousands of bolts is my favorite so far.

I cannot drive so rely on online ordering sometime. I have ordered fabric online from MANY different shops (most of them are on the fabshophop list) and have made many a phone call to the respective shop phone number for questions about whether the fabrics I have chosen are coordinates or not and have had much luck with their assistance. Good luck.

I haven't been disappointed with them either, but I love Moda and several others, too. The safe way is to chose from one line of fabric by one designer if you want to make certain they absolutely coordinate.

I do craft shows and have purchased wholesale & retail with a number of the business already mentioned. But do be leary of those that chose not to post important information on the quality of the merchandise you chose to purchase. I do call and ask for thread count on fabrics, dye fast guarantees and things of this nature. In the past number of years that I've venture out to shop via the internet and have only been burned once. Some companies process slower than others but all and all they want you as a return customer. Needless to say the one that burned me will never hear again from me. I should have gone with my gut feeling when they avoided answering my questions. Oh well - life's lessions. I love connecting threads, fabric.com, and a number of them posted on the fabshophop. Have fun and good luck.

All of these are great suggestions. I purchase fabric online wayyyy toooo much! LOL I'm addicted.

I truly love www.equilter.com They send a newsletter twice a week with what's on sale. First quality fabric and I've NEVER been disappointed.

Also try www.fatquartershop.com The shipment arrives almost before you hit send.

My thoughts exactly! I just got my newest catalog from them & I'm itching to get some goodies! Plus the prices are great!