Here’s Where to Buy Cheap Fabric by the Yard!

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When I first bought my serger, I made so many mistakes and used a ton of fabric trying to figure out the different functions and settings. 

As the costs kept mounting, I started looking for where to buy cheap fabric online to replenish my fabric stash. I then created a list of my favorite affordable online sites and local sources. 

Whether you’re a beginner wanting to practice sewing without worrying about ruining pricey fabric or a more experienced sewist on a budget who desires high-quality fabrics, here are some of the best online fabric stores I’ve purchased from.

Best Online Fabric Stores for Affordable Fabric

If you want to buy inexpensive fabric in-store or are looking for ideas for things you can repurpose (like sheets, shower curtains, and pillowcases), check out my post on fabric sources for repurposing.

That list includes locations like local thrift stores, garage sales, and garment districts (I love my local DFW fabric district) and provides a long list of household items I love to reuse when sewing new patterns. 

As for online fabric stores, though, here’s everything you need to know!

1. Fabric Wholesale Direct

I’ve been ordering (way too much cheap fabric) from Fabric Wholesale Direct since 2020.

The fabrics are affordable, and prices get even cheaper per yard with larger quantities if you buy bulk fabric.  

One of my favorite things to order from them is their scrap fabric box. You can get 10, 15, or 20 pounds of fabric for an affordable price. (Above are 15- and 10-lb box examples from a recent order.)

The fabric is random, and you can get some snazzy options. This has added fabrics to my collection that I would normally never buy, which has made me get creative with new projects.

I also really love their DTY, ITY, crepe de chine, peachskin, and stretch charmeuse satin, especially since they’re so affordable. 

Also, if you’re new to fabrics, each fabric also has a video that demonstrates how the fabric looks and stretches, which can be very helpful, especially for purchasing knit fabrics!

Furthermore, if you sign up for their email in the pop-up or at the bottom of the page, you get $10 off your first order. After that order, they continue sending occasional coupons.

There’s also a reward system where the more you spend, the more money you make to redeem on your next purchase.

Overall, I rate their fabric at an 8.5/10. I’ve had a few small issues in the past (the fabric was snagged, damaged in the mail, etc.), but their customer service has always made things right. 

While the fabric isn’t Mood Fabrics or Spoonflower quality, it’s GREAT for most projects.

It’s also great for playing around with new sewing patterns and making clothes for kids who will spill food on the new outfit the first time they wear it anyway!

One thing that does make me a little bummed is their fabric is mostly solids. While they have a few prints, you’ll not likely find as much variety there. There is a nice selection of African prints, and the crepe de chine is SO pretty, but otherwise, they’re lacking with those prints. 

Read more in my Fabric Wholesale Direct review!

2. Fat Quarter Shop

If you’re an avid quilter looking for cheap quilting cotton, Fat Quarter Shop is my go-to online store for yardages and precut-fabric bundles (fat quarter bundles, Jelly Rolls, Charm Packs, and more quilting fabric options.)

The best deals are on their discount quilt fabric page or their 24-hour flash sale page.

However, they occasionally offer sales, so subscribe to their newsletter and check back if you need anything specific. 

I recently bought this great Fourth of July quilt panel on a good sale for less than $5 and added quilting stitches with my embroidery machine.

Their shipping speed has never been fast for me, but their cuts are great (no crooked panels), and they carry a wide variety of popular quilt fabric manufacturers like Riley Blake, Moda, and Robert Kaufman.

Unfortunately, shipping isn’t free until $80, but for my geographical location, shipping costs for small orders are not too steep. 

3. Fabric 5 & Dime

Fabric 5 & Dime, one of my recent finds, is known for its premium yet inexpensive drapery and upholstery fabric.

As this site is the online division of Boca Bargoons, a 10-location retail business in Florida open for more than 30 years, you can rest easy knowing it’s legitimate.

Since this affordable fabric store is more geared toward interior design fabrics, you will not find knit or apparel fabric options, though.

However, there are many premium home decor fabric options at a low $5/yard. If you’re up to searching, you can also find Vervain, Scalamandre, Clarence House, Laura Ashley, Thibaut, and more premium designer fabrics at wholesale fabric prices. 

Shipping is free for over $99, and you can also browse their Daily Deals section for remnant fabrics prices of $1/yard or less! 

Also, before purchasing bulk, consider their “free samples” program, where the price of the sample functions as a credit toward a future fabric purchase. 

4. Fashion Fabrics Club

This is one of the cheapest fabric stores online for print fabrics and offers more variety than most. Their prices are affordable across the board but are even cheaper when on sale.

However, this makes it a little difficult to just browse if you don’t know what you’re already looking for! You’ll be looking through pages and pages and pages of fabric options.

My favorite fabrics to purchase here are print rayon challis fabric, print swimwear fabric (this is SO difficult to find online for a good price!), and print jersey knit.

Usually, shipping is free for over $79 with a code, and sometimes they offer sitewide coupons.

5. Online Fabric Store

This is also a recent find of mine within the last two years! My first order with them was chalk cloth fabric to make placemats for my daughters. 

I’ve been subscribed to their email for a while now, and they email when new deals become available if you like waiting for rock-bottom fabric prices.

One downside is shipping is only free for over $150, although shipping on samples is free to the United States. They do ship internationally, so this is a great place to order fabric cheaply online if you’re in Canada or elsewhere around the world.

They have more fabric types than Fabric Wholesale Direct, but they still do not carry many print fabrics. They do have a really large variety of fiber types, though.

6. Girl Charlee (Currently Closed)

An era gone here, but their website promises “exciting news coming soon” and allows you to sign up for email updates. 

Try Girl Charlee if you enjoy good-quality, yet cheap, knit fabric with cute prints! They have wholesale pricing for businesses, but regular pricing for customers with smaller orders is still 20% off daily if you create an account with them. 

Check out the “SALE!” section for the biggest discounts (some fabrics start around $3 per yard), and keep an eye out for sales. Shipping can get pricey for my area, so be sure to order fabric for your next several sewing projects all at once. 

7. Fabric Mart

They’re not the cheapest online fabric store if you plan to order at the regular price, but if you’re just browsing to add fabric to your stash, it’s worth checking them out! 

They have a Dollar/$1.99 Sale Page that changes regularly, and if you check out their sales and clearance fabric, you’ll find some great deals. The Flash Sale fabric is usually a good deal, too! 

When I signed up for their email list, I got free shipping on my first order. (I’ve only made one order since shipping is a flat $9.99 for every order after that. UGH.)

They give a lot of detail about each fabric you’re ordering so you know exactly what to expect. For instance, content, stretch, weight, and expected use. This is always helpful for beginners!

If you’re looking for more craft supplies and not just fabric, check out their Bargain Bin, where they usually have inexpensive sewing accessories or notions, too.

8. JOANN.com

JOANN is hit or miss when it comes to purchasing discount fabric online. 

You have to watch their weekly ad and their daily coupons, and then jump when the getting is good!

I steadfastly refuse to buy regular-priced fabric from JOANN, because there is almost always a good sale on the horizon or I can scrounge around in person in their remnant bin. 

I’ve found their Doorbusters around the holidays to be great deals, and I can even purchase online and pick up in-store if I want the fabric sooner. They update their weekly ad every 2 weeks, so check ahead of time when they’ll have their 60% off regular price coupons or their extra 25% off sale price coupons.

On good days, I can get 60″ printed fleece for $2.99, which is pretty cheap fleece fabric! 

Flannel is sometimes $2.99/yd as a doorbuster, and their Quilter’s Showcase quilting cotton can be as low as $1.99/yd. While it’s a little thinner than some other quilting cotton, I’ve always been able to find a suitable project. 

Fat quarters will drop to $0.99, and even lightweight interfacing will be as low as $0.49/yd. You just have to be patient and wait for a good sale!

9. Best Fabric Store

Best Fabric Store specializes in home decor, upholstery, quilting, and bridal/fashion fabric. Unfortunately, if you’re a knit junkie like me, you will not find many stretchy fabrics. 

Since I mostly enjoy sewing clothes with my sewing machine (I almost exclusively sew knit fabrics for my daughters’ clothes), I prefer to buy more often from stores that carry lots of knits.

However, you can find some good deals on fabric at Best Fabric Store on everything from silk to faux leather. 

Check out their Sale section, where you’ll find cheap fabric by the yard, bolt, or even as a remnant.

As a plus, they ship fast and free with a $75 purchase, which is one of the smaller minimum shipping amounts of these places to get cheap fabric.

10. Fabric Guru

Fabric Guru features specializes in drapery fabric, upholstery fabric, outdoor fabric, and even cotton prints. 

You’ll find the biggest discounts in their Sale section, which has fabrics listed by discount percentage, flat cost, closeouts, and clearance. 

The owners started as eBay sellers in 2003 but now have a warehouse and sell via their website. 

What sets Fabric Guru apart is the wide range of fabric brands they carry. For example, P. Kaufmann, Oscar De La Renta Home, Robert Allen, Della Dura, Mill Creek, HGTV Home, and even Tommy Bahama. 

A Note About Amazon Fabric (Formerly Fabric.com) 

Fabric.com has closed and is now redirected to Amazon Fabric. I have not bought from Amazon yet to verify if it’s still the same fabric as my once beloved Fabric.com. 

While not the cheapest fabric store out there at regular prices, Fabric.com offered free shipping with a $49 purchase and had a great selection of clearance fabrics, which is where I scored the best deals. 

I bought some pretty cheap knit fabric from their clearance section (around $3-$4 per yard) and many specialized fabrics, like branded fabric from my alma mater college. 

Getting Deadstock Fabric From Your Favorite Stores

Deadstock fabric is essentially the left-over fabric produced by a mill or a brand that needs a new home NOT in the landfill. 

Companies usually sell this extra fabric at a discounted price, so you’ll save some bucks when purchasing it and help with an arguably more sustainable fabric solution for the fashion industry. 

What’s fun (or frustrating, depending on how you look at it) is you never know what you’ll find, as overproduction of textiles is not predictable. 

While I will only buy my deadstock fabric from clearance warehouses near me, not everyone has the luxury of living in a huge city like I do!

Here are a few big online fabric stores that sell deadstock fabric. (When buying, just make sure you purchase true deadstock fabric, not fabric with misprints or imperfections.)

Mood’s Deadstock Discount Fabric

While I would not consider Mood’s regular fashion or home fabrics very cost-effective (even though they’re beautiful), their Deadstock fabric is discounted and worth a look!

As they note, any fabric you purchase is not reorderable–once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Etsy

Etsy has an entire page dedicated to small businesses that sell deadstock fabric on their site. Sometimes I wonder if these Etsy sellers qualify any fabric that won’t sell as deadstock, but I often still discover hidden gems by browsing through. 

Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics

Stonemountain has a humongous selection of designer garment deadstock fabric, although it’s not marked down very much. 

Blackbird Fabrics

Canadian-based Blackbird Fabrics ships worldwide and also has a great selection of overstock fabric. 

The Fabric Store

This New Zealand-based fabric store offers worldwide shipping and an extensive deadstock collection. It sells in as little as 1/4 meter increments, perfect for smaller projects. 

Core Fabrics

While not highly discounted, Core Fabrics has an extensive selection of designer surplus fabric as well. 

 

Any other inexpensive online fabric stores you recommend I check out? Let me know!