The Best Places to Thrift Fabric

Since I've done a lot of fabric thrifting this year I thought I'd do a post about the best places to find quality vintage fabric. The number one place I recommend is a local thrift store you can visit. Nothing beats being able to hunt for fabric in person, and you can see, inspect, measure (and smell!) all the fabric before you purchase it. It also tends to be the cheapest source of fabric. I've done best at my local Goodwill shops; I think a lot of my luck has to do with the fact that I reside in the country, and there's a huge quilters' guild in my area.

Many vintage textile sellers have shops on Etsy. It's a good idea to first read the reviews on the shop before you buy from them, and even with all good reviews I recommend making a small purchase first. Most sellers on Etsy are great and won't try to swindle you out of money for bad fabric; I've built a list of sellers I trust to provide me with what they promise.

Online auctions are another decent resource for vintage fabric, which you can often buy in lots. eBay tends to be a bit on the pricier side, but they have the most detailed listings. Goodwill online has better prices, and there's less competition during the auction, but they only offer a few photos and the listing details are sparse and mainly offer what the weight of the lot is.

If there are quilt shows in your area you can sometimes find vintage fabric for sale; my local guild sold huge bins of scrap fabric donated by their members at their show for very low prices. You can also find quilt tops and other unfinished projects or project kits for sale. One year I had the good luck to win two raffle baskets at the county show, which had lots of fabric, trims and notions in them, so don't forget to buy raffle tickets. :)

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