Out of Print Fabrics
 

In using EQ8, I've noticed that a lot of the fabrics that they have are no longer being made. I buy out of print books all the time, and I was wondering if there are any websites that specialize in out of print fabrics? A quick search didn't really turn up much, but I was wondering if anyone here knows of a place? Thanks!

There is a site called Missingfabrics.com that allows you to post for specific fabrics. I've been hanging out there connecting people with fabric pretty much since it began.

Resellers on Ebay, Etsy, and Amazon sell oop (out of print) and vintage fabrics. I usually go to Amazon first.

There are some other stores that are mostly in-person but some have web orders too. I'm sure other people will post some of their favorites.

It can be one of the hardest things, stepping away from what other people did, but ultimately a blue floral is a blue floral. You pick the scale, the tone you want and get something that is "close enough".

It's really sad though when we see the perfect fabric for our dream project and know the likelihood is very very low of every getting it.

eBay offers the most out of print fabric.
fabric manufacturing is a lot like fashion. Lines are run once, sometimes if they find a large demand they may run the line a couple times- they decide how much they think will sell and run that much. Then the next season rolls around and it’s time for the new lines. Basics, solids and blenders may keep being run for a year or more but prints often stop . Some people will buy up large lots of the fabric near the end of the run cycle then offer it through warehouse sales or on eBay. Once in a while a shop will have some that simply didn’t sell in their area.

That's why my EQ palette has mainly batiks and tone on tone. I know I can always get a turquoise or red or gold hand-dye, batik or tone on tone that's close enough.

I see that someone else mentioned missisngfabrics.com. It is a great place to not only look but find many out of print fabrics. An old quilting friend of my for the last 30 years developed this site with her sister. It has grown for a small site to what it is today Pat and Suzanne have done great work there. I would use this site as a starting point. I have used it over the years many time and come up with a find that I thought would be lost forever.

You *can* import photos of newer fabrics into the program. EQ has a "fabric of the month" download you can import: https://doyoueq.com/project_download...ric-downloads/
Moda also has downloads of their fabrics you can import into EQ. https://my.modafabrics.com/downloads
I think there are other manufacturers who also have downloads, you might try a search.

In case you wish to design with fabrics you are actually using, I have an older version of Electric Quilt, but I believe I could scan in my actual fabrics back then. I think they've made it better in terms of the fabric scale, and in ease since 6.

If you haven't noticed it before (and I have to admit, I didn't check the more recent pages) there are all sorts of great hints and problem solving going on in the thread stickied to the top of this forum. It's an amazingly complex bit of software that is a lot of fun to play with!
https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f...e-t295451.html

Thanks for all the information. I have downloaded all of EQ8's fabric swatches as well as several from Moda and Andover. I also have, from time to time, taken photos off of websites and used them as well. I will check out the website mentioned earlier. Again, thanks to everyone for their responses.

Sometimes I can find out of print fabrics from etsy and ebay too. Good luck to you

GRS Creations & Fabrics carries out of print Moda fabrics:

https://www.grsfabrics.com/shop/Fabrics/Collections.htm

Hi Rob... what is HOAQ?

sewbizgirl,

It's Husband of a Quilter. Before I was married I would have been SOAQ, or son of a quilter. https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/boy.gif

Julias ......I chuckled when I read your reference to “an old quilting friend”. Several years I referred to a friend that way and she quickly told me to henceforth referred to her as “a friend of long standing”.

And the lesson here is if you really, really love a fabric, buy as much of it as you can afford.

While there's truth in that, it's also how I end up with fabric that I forget I have or forget what I wanted to use it for. It's a shame you have to hurry up and get anything you like or risk not being able to get it later.

I didn't know this place existed, thanks for the link!

If you know the name of the fabric, you can just google it if it was fairly popular. That will bring up the most potential shops across Etsy, eBay, and online quilt shops. If it was popular, you may have to pay quite a bit for new, unwashed fabric in various yardage and precut sizes. eBay can be a little sketchier than other sites but is often the least expensive route.

You can also type it in google and do an image search. I include for sale in my search so I don't wind up at blogs that include the fabric designer/line in posts. Finally, if you know the designer and they have a shop online, blog, or brick and mortar store, you can send an email. Sometimes they are willing to part with a little fabric for a fan. I hope this helps.

Years ago I fabrid for a quilt and a long time passed before I actually started turning it into a quilt.

When I started working on it, I realized that I did not have enough fabriic and could not find the fabric anywhere. So, I set the quilt aside. As luck would have it, 11 years later, I saw that fabric in a quilt store. So, I bought some. It was the exact same fabric, but the background color was a shade darker. I used it anyhow and dispersed the fabric around the top. When I finished the quilt and stepped back and looked at it, I loved how the slight change in color added more motion to it and gave it more life. I not longer feel that I need an exact match and close enough is not a bad thing.

I think it is very rare that fabrics are produed a second time and I was probably just lucky, However, I'm not any longer an exact color but avoid colors that clash and consider those that will blend in sort of well.

That's the reason so many Quilters like scrap quilts. If you only have enough of this blue fabric to make three blocks, who cares? You dig through the stash and find a similar blue or two or three and you go on to make your quilt.

Good suggestions everyone! Thanks.