The Armour Archive

Hi, folks!

I can't believe that I'm asking this question, but where do you buy your linen? I've been a longtime devotee of Fabric-store.com, but I noticed today that their prices on 5.3 oz fabric went up an extra $1.20/yard since last month. I'm incredibly bummed about this-- I've been doing some sewing for hire, and this price hike might mean lowering the wage I'm paying myself to 'I'd be better off flipping burgers' level, or jacking my prices up into 'I'm not payin' that!' territory.

I buy from Fabric.com when I can, since the overall cost is lower when you consider the free shipping, but their quality of linen usually isn't as nice, and often they don't stock the colors I need.

If anyone has a source I've overlooked, I'd be delighted to hear about it. Thanks, all!

These are my current favs.
Sign up for the sale notifications emails on the websites below. Worth it.
I only buy on sale and stockpile. Not sure how helpful that approach is for a business person like yourself. Unfortunately, none of these have crazy deals right now. But they will.

You just missed the big linen sale at http://www.fashionfabricsclub.com the week before GWs. They had all kinds of quality 60" linens for $5 in tons of colors. Don't worry, it will come around again. In the meatime, their silk suiting and twill is on sale. Not sure if I've just been lucky or what, but I machine wash all the silk I buy from them in 5 yard pieces. I serge the edges first to prevent raveling (or is that unraveling?) and then machine wash in cold. So far, they have all done great.

http://www.fabricmartfabrics.com/xcart/home.php
More expensive, but nicer weaves. Not the same crap everybody else has. On sale you can get the silks and linens for about $6 and the wools for $8.

http://www.fabricdirect.com/acatalog/one_of_a_kind.html
Sales have all kinds of stuff. In the summer you can get really high quality linens for $4. Not that slubby crap. Just grabbed up $5 a yard melton wool coating in red last month. It is probably the nicest fabric I have ever bought. Wish I had got more than 10 yards.

http://www.designdivafabrics.com/special-offer.php
If it aint more than 90% off, forget it. That's too high for me. Sales usually last a day or less. But they happen all the time.

Fabric-Store.com
http://www.fabrics-store.com/first.php?goto=showarticles&menu=f&article=2
Absolutely the best. You can even get up to 5 fabric swatches sent to you per day (for FREE!!).

I have the Amish down the road from me make it. They find the SCA really funny. I also get my honey and apples from them for brewing so they are some of my favorite people.

@AndrescalledAJ- you have a source for handwoven linen in the states? Do they weave to your specs, or do you simply buy what they have available?

fabric.com usually has very nice linen. If you sign up for their daily emails, you can sometimes get good 20% off deals or better.

Black Swan Designs wrote:@AndrescalledAJ- you have a source for handwoven linen in the states? Do they weave to your specs, or do you simply buy what they have available?

Bump - I'd love an answer to this, too.

In other news, on our most recent order from www.fabric-store.com, they charged $11 shipping for 2 yards of fabric. When it arrived, they'd mailed it in a $5 flat rate envelope. Their prices look good up front (and they used to be good a few years ago), but they're gouging on the shipping.

Still, the nine yards of fabric I got from them and used in my Gambeseon is one of the best kit purchases I've ever made.

Check out William Booth Draper at http://wmboothdraper.com/

This isn't the cheapest source, but everything he carries is the "real deal"; no poly blends or other modern materials or colors. I'm new to the SCA, but for my 1812 era projects I gotten most everything from him and it's all been fantastic.

Probably wouldn't hurt to add William Booth Draper to the stickied "Fabric Guide" thread at the top of this forum?




I would do it myself if I had purchased from this source, but I haven't (yet).

Of note on the shipping, fabric.com usually has a deal where orders over $35 ship free or at a reduced rate. One of the reasons I love them ... I agree on the shipping from fabrics-store. I like their product, but they really are taking you to the cleaners on shipping costs.

I recently got about twelve yards of linen from fabric-store.com, and it cost me about 80 bucks, with shipping. Lo and behold, they had a sale the next day, but oh well. . .

My mom even said it was the nicest fabric she'd seen in a while. I like them because it works for large purchases out in the middle of nowhere, and it's cheap compared to the prices in the stores here.

I buy what they have. Years ago there was a textile "work house" in central Ohio similar to the furnature ones you hear about on late night tv. They made broad cloth and a small amount of linen.
I only ever get a yard or so because its not GREAT quality.

For fabrics-store.com, don't forget to use a coupon code. You can get anywhere from 5%-7% off using that.

We get ours from Russia. White 16th c. style shirt linen was only 2.5 euros/m. I call that cheap. The only problem is that you have to go there to get it. Fortunately that city is pretty close from here. Stilly you need to by craploads to cover your travel costs

GrimR

Would the broadcloth wool from William Booth Draper be good to use for dark ages reenactment, viking, saxon ,norman etc.?

Through this weekend, fabrics-store.com has 10% off all linen if you use the code ALL-LINEN.
Yeah, I just blew some money.

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone! I'm going to haunt the sources I haven't heard about before, and I'm very grateful.

Thanks to some good sales at Fabric.com, I'm set to the tune of about fifty yards of lightweight linen for now (all snagged at $6.70 a yard after shipping-- pretty decent). I guess I'm going to have to have stocking up and coupons in mind more often, but oh well!

BTW, 50% off linen (so $4.50 -5.00 per yard) sale right now:
http://www.fabricmartfabrics.com/xcart/50-Off-Linens/

Wow, thanks, Jess! I just bought a few yards for myself. Thanks for posting that!

Just realized there are some $5 wools and a silk/linen suiting here too:
http://www.fabricmartfabrics.com/xcart/ ... ed-Fabric/

The $7.99 clearance Shetland wool is also some of the most gorgeous wool I've ever handled. It's going to make wonderful cold weather hosen. Definitely worth a look.

Ylsa wrote:The $7.99 clearance Shetland wool is also some of the most gorgeous wool I've ever handled. It's going to make wonderful cold weather hosen. Definitely worth a look.

As an added plus, Shetland is pretty close to some medieval breeds, so it's not only gorgeous fiber (some of the most beautiful wool I've ever handled), it's also very authentic. Most of it's a 2/2 twill, and the colors I got (colonial blue, heathered palm, blue houndstooth) are all easily possible with natural dyes.

Not linen.

But $16 Scalamandre 100% silk taffeta:
http://www.designdivafabrics.com/specia ... php?page=1

IKEA sells heavy linen fabric in their stores (not online, sadly) for $5.99 a yard. It's in only a few colors (black, gray, bleached, natural, and pink).

I'm going to make a fabric deals thread on the classifieds board so we can post to it when we hear of good sources and sales.

-Jess

http://www.denverfabrics.com/ has 58" linens on sale for $6. Silks on sale too.

http://www.denverfabrics.com/ Has $4 linens again. Some are blends but others are 100%.