Fabric Stores in Seattle

I've been engrossed in making things for baby Nam, who is due at the end of August.  Since I've recently developed pregnancy-related carpal tunnel, I've switched from knitting to sewing.  I was able to use some of my small stash to make some taggies and a play mat, but then needed to find more fabric to continue crafting.  Here's a list of places I've visited in the Seattle area.

1.  Ikea: This is an excellent source for affordable fabric!  The selection is limited, but they   have  great bright and modern prints.  Generally, the prices only run about $7.99 a yard - and that's for upholstery weight!  I used the billy goats on a bridge print below to make a pillow cover.  In the kid's section, they also have kid-specific prints in regular cotton for about $7.99 for 3 yards!  I used a cute black, white, and red print from there to make sheets for the co-sleeper and bassinet and still had plenty leftover to make a taggie, some drawstring bags and a burp cloth.

 

2.   Stitches: This is a small fabric, sewing, and knitting store in Capitol Hill that also offers classes.  Although it is smaller than most of the other stores, it's selection is so well-edited that I often find what I want here.  They have an especially great selection of the beautiful echino cotton/linen fabrics from the Japanese company Kokka.  Echino fabrics are pricey at around $18/yard, but I haven't found anything cheaper that is the same in terms of weight (in between cotton and upholstery), design, and color.  Stitches has also been a valuable resource for sewing notions, ribbon, felt, etc...  I used the echino fabric below to make a playmat for the baby.

  3.  Pacific Fabrics and Crafts: The Northgate store is fairly close to me and I've also been down to their SODO outlet, which has a bigger selection of remnants.  This store has a HUGE offering of fabrics, but you have to sort through a wide assortment of cheesy quilting prints.  I do find they have a fairly good selection of kid's prints and flannel (solid and printed).  They also have a fairly large selection of notions and ribbon.  I recently found a coupon for them in the Stranger or Seattle Weekly, which came in handy. I bought the cute grey flannel print there to make a changing pad cover.

 

4.  Nancy's Sewing Basket: I was excited to check out this shop in Queen Anne, but didn't actually get much there.  They did have the same grey animal flannel print above along with several coordinating prints in the same color scheme.  They also have a ribbon room with many fancy ribbon options.  I think it was a bit too high-priced for me overall.  They did have good quality felt there, but it was double regular prices and still wasn't 100% wool.  This is a good place to go for highly specialized items like fancy ribbon, buttons, or fabrics, but I'm not sure it has much to offer for everyday users, unless you live in the neighborhood or have a big pocketbook.  I do like its proximity to Macrina Bakery though!

5.  JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts: Their Ballard store is my go to place for general craft supplies, but I don't actually buy much fabric here.  It is a good place to get sewing supplies/notions, especially when they are having a sale.  They also have a special discount card for teachers!

Up next...I'd like to check out West Seattle Fabric Company.  It's a bit of a trek for me, but I spied some of their selection at the West Seattle street fair and it looked awesome!