In Search Of...

[PrincessSara]

I thought it might be a good idea to start this thread up again to help people find any rensewing related things they need.

To start, I'm looking for extremely fine, lightweight wool, linen, and matte silk (ie. not habotai).  I'm planning some Roman costumes now that faire season's over.

Thanks!

[gem]

What kind of wool--woolen or worsted?  Renaissance Fabrics has beautiful lightweight flannels that are a joy to work with (I used their butter yellow flannel for my 18th century jacket.  It's fully lined in cotton broadcloth, which accounts for the slight stiffness you see in the garment.  The wool itself is very soft.).

I've been through a lot of worsted swatches this summer, and I finally decided on one from Fashion Fabrics Club--I think it was one Cilean actually recommended! (Thanks, Cilean!)  I found that too many worsteds had textures that (whether they really were or not) just screamed "modern!"  Candlelight Valley Fabrics has some beautiful wools, as well.

I don't have a lot of experience with silk, but I just placed a big order from Silk Baron, and I got some really nice swatches earlier this summer from Silk Road Fabrics.

[PrincessSara]

I think woollens are probably my best bet for what I'm doing.  I'm looking for fabrics that are soft and nigh on sheer - for example, the 3.5oz linen I got from Fabrics-store.com is too stiff for these pieces.

[LadySeasan]

When you buy fabrics online, do they send you swatches before the purchase?  I just cant imagine buying fabric online without feeling and seeing the fabric for myself.

You should see me at Joanns, I molest the fabric while Im there.  They have this microsuede premier velvet that is 25 dollars a yard, and it is simply fantastic, i love it sooooooo much

[gem]

When you buy fabrics online, do they send you swatches before the purchase?

Some places will do free swatching (Renaissance Fabrics, Fabrics-Store.com, and Silk Road do, I know), others charge a nominal amount (anywhere from 10 cents to a dollar a swatch, and sometimes reimburse that cost when you place your order), and a few places don't (Fashion Fabrics Club/Denver Fabrics.  You have to order the minimum cut, which is usually 1/8 yard.).

I've found that with fabrics I'm unfamiliar with, I definitely want to swatch (you should see the stack of black worsteds I went through this summer trying to find the right one for the Promenade gown!), but if I have a pretty good idea of what the fabric will be like, I can sometimes get away with not swatching.  I actually didn't swatch out the yellow flannel I made my 18th C. jacket with, because I already had samples of the same wool in other colors.  And I just placed an order for some red fine-wale corduroy.  I know what corduroy feels like, and I really just wanted any dark red, so I didn't think it was necessary to wait.

[Master James]

While Gem mentioned this in her last post, www.fabrics-store.com is a great place for linens.  They are first rate linen and very inexpensive.  If you wait and look you can get it on sale.  We ususally wait for the sale and then buy like 20 yards at a time!  You can get the 3.5 oz linen for around $5/yrd then!

[Artemisia]

Lightweight wool - you mean tropical weight wool?
I've seen it on Fashion fabrics club: http://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/catalog_items.aspx?Query=Tropical%20Wool%20Fabric

Fabrics-store.com had 2.5oz linen - guess they ran out.
I've also asked Fabrics-store to buy us a twill canvas linen so we can make corsets. They said they'll purchase some with their next order.

[Adriana Rose]

I have nothing but good words for Dharma trading company! They have Silks and all sorts of cottons. Including the bubble gauze that alot of chemises are made of.

www.dharmatrading.com

Their servace is fast and very friendly, you also can get swatches of the fabrics!

[PrincessSara]

I'm looking for a saffron yellow coloured wool.  I found the perfect thing two days ago on fabric.com for $4.99/yard, but when I went to order it today, it was sold out. *headdesk*  This is really all I can afford - I have seen the yellow wool on Period Fabric, but it's way too expensive for me.  Anyone have any sources of reasonably priced wool?

Thanks x100 if anyone can help!

[Cilean]

Linens

Fabric.com
www.fabric.com  I have been working with this company for 14 years back when it was Phoenix textiles, pretty good and they will send you a sample.

DenverFabrics.com  they got bought out and I think the quality changed a lot and I hate the new search because it used to tell you no we don't have it, and now it gives you pages of utter useless things.  But when they have a sale on the stuff you want? Get it, I just got 20 yards of linen/silk fabric in black for $2.85 per yard.
http://www.denverfabrics.com/

Trim Fabrics- Only bought from them once but it was good fabric and timely I got it in like 3 days and did not pay for the 2nd day shipping.
http://www.trimfabric.com/linen-fabric-1.html


Woolens
FashionClub- This is the Denver Fabrics now as well.
www.fashionfabricsclub.com

For the person who needed Yellow wool, I am sorry I only found $10.00 per yard but here they are
http://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/search/search.aspx?keywords=Wool+Yellow


Silks
www.thaisilks.com

If you are in the SCA and you give them your membership ID # they will discount 25% from 50.00 sales!!

www.Silkconnection.com


More later!
Clean

[Lady Rosalind]

<i>snip</i> Candlelight Valley Fabrics has some beautiful wools, as well.

Gem, thank you SO MUCH for that link!!!!!! I just wanted to see what they had available, and clicked a ruby silk dupioni. To my surprise, they had the laundering instructions right on the product description page! It was exactly what I needed, as I have 9.5 yards of black silk dupioni, and 4 yards of a peacock blue/green changeable silk dupioni! I am so hand washing this...

I noticed that the site is having a 30% off liquidation sale, so I may have to pick up some fabric for future projects...

[PrincessSara]

Natural fibre damasks and velvets.  Any colours (although I'd really love to find an orange damask a la Mary Tudor).  I'm finding it really hard to find natural fibre damasks at all, for any price.  Cotton is probably best as that will be more affordable than silk.  I've got a few swatches of the cotton velveteen from Renaissance Fabrics but the pile is too short for most of my "projects".  I'm lusting after the 100% silk velvet at Silk Baron, but it's really not in my price range.  But it is a steal at $25 a yard.

Does anyone know if all of the velvets at Silk Baron are 100% silk?  If they are, I may just have to indulge in some. 

[Syrilla]

In desperate search of Dark blue cotton velvet or velveteen.  ASAP
I need at least 5 yards, but can deal with 4.

Thank you,
Kimberly

[Lady Gwyndolyn]

Syrilla
like this...
or this....

I would go to www.distinctivefabric.com.  Great material and a great price too.

[Syrilla]

Thanks Lady G.  I have ordered swatches from them.  But they are taking forever, and may arrive to late.

[PrincessSara]

I thought I'd try this thread again since the last one died and I've noticed a few people asking about fabrics and such lately.

So, if you're looking for anything costuming/sewing related - fabric, boning, patterns, notions, buttons, beads, trim, whatever - ask here and hopefully one of our sewing gurus can help you find what you're looking for.  This thread is designed to be a more specific search function than the Online Fabric Stores and Trim Sites Round-up threads.

So, to start things off, I'm in search of some good quality, fairly thin woolen fabrics.  Colour doesn't matter right now, I'll pick from whatever colours I can find.  I'm looking for fairly thin stuff, since I'm using it for lined gowns that I don't want to be too heavy.  So if anyone has found any online (or has seen some in their local fabric store and is willing to ship to me) I would greatly appreciate the help.  Thanks!


ETA: Right, well, I meant to start a new thread, but it just posted in the old one.  Whatev.

[operafantomet]

ETA: Right, well, I meant to start a new thread, but it just posted in the old one.  Whatev.

Reviving the old one seems like a better choice than starting a new topic. As much as I love this forum, I think there's way too many new ones started, stuff that could have been gathered into existing threads. Might be fun at the moment, but it makes it very hard to navigate later on, cause the info is so spread.

ETA: wish I could help you on those fabrics! Hope someone else will have good tips/advices.

[gracefulcarrie]

Actually, I just mushed the two topics together into the one.  It seemed more fitting to me to have one topic of that name and order than to have an old one and a new one.
So it is the new one, just melded with the old one.

[gem]

Bumping this up, as requested.

I know it's the off-season for this, but I'm looking for a charcoal grey wool flannel. Renaissance Fabrics has nothing (well, not *nothing,* just no grey!).

Any leads?

Gramercy!!

[act2redux]

I would really like to find some kind of pattern for an attifet (spelling??   its seen in tudor era art- has sort of a heart shaped/wired? front.   I think it would be perfect for my "look" but cringe at the idea of drafting a pattern for it myself!

I could have sworn that I saw some lightweight charcoal wool on Fabrics.com...been about 3-4 weeks, so not positive at this point~

[gem]

Attifet patterns:

Lynn McMasters has one (click on "patterns" and scroll almost all the way to the bottom).

Margo's Patterns/Elizabethan Accessories has one.

and Tudor Tailor has a variation on the heart-shaped bonnet.

Fabric.com has no wool at all anymore this season, alas!

[Genievea Brookstone]

Too funny! I just ordered the Attifet from Lynn McMasters and Basic Buckram Hat Kit from Judith M Millinery to make it.