8 Secret Sources for Fabrics: Cheap to Free

8 secret sources for fabric: In this post, you will learn my tips and tricks on how and where you can buy fabric for sewing for free or very cheaply.

The most important things at a glance

• In this post, you will learn my best secret sources for inexpensive fabric
• Sewing with free or inexpensive fabric can be economical, sustainable, and practical
• Using inexpensive or free fabric is also a great option for muslin mock-ups; just make sure that, if possible, they have similar properties to what the fabric for your planned sewing project requires
• You can use inexpensive or free fabric for reasons of thrift, because you want to sew sustainably and be mindful of the environment, or because you generally need large pieces of fabric, for example for trial sewing

If you love sewing as much as I do, then you are surely also looking for ways to get your hands on inexpensive fabric for your sewing projects.

8 secret sources for fabric

This may be for reasons of thrift, because you want to sew sustainably and be mindful of the environment, or because you generally like to use large pieces of fabric, for example for trial sewing or for muslin mock-ups (you can find out how and why you should sew a muslin mock-up here).

These "trial fabrics" don't actually have to be expensive at all.

They should just, if possible, have similar properties to what the fabric for the planned sewing project requires.

But where to get it without stealing it?

In this post, you will learn my best secret sources for inexpensive fabric.

Snagging fabric at the furniture store

Yes, you read that right. In furniture stores, you can often get fabric not just super cheaply, but practically for free. Many furniture stores have fabric swatches for upholstery ready. Sometimes there are even very fine pieces of leather included. From these trial pieces, you can sew wonderfully cute mini pouches, neck pouches, baby shoes, or patchwork bags! Just ask nicely; most furniture stores are happy if they don't have to dispose of the fabric samples and they serve a "good cause" (and you can't call our sewing madness anything else, right?).

But there is also an opportunity to buy here: especially in furniture store chains, there is now often very inexpensive fabric. The quality can vary, but for example for test models of new patterns or the like, the fabrics are absolutely okay and quite useful.

And who knows: many a muslin mock-up turns out in hindsight to be a super comfortable favorite piece for at home (at least for me!).

My tip: In case you don't have a furniture store within reach (or no time to go there), there is also very simple and inexpensive muslin fabric available to buy online.

In my experience, it is definitely worth always having a few meters of muslin fabric^* in stock. With it, you can not only try out a new pattern in a flash: the inexpensive and natural cotton fabric is also ideal as a productive bag lining!

Doing something good on the side: Fabric from the charity shop

A real treasure trove for fabrics and textiles of all kinds! If you shop at a charity shop, you aren't just doing something good for your wallet. You are often financing jobs for people with disabilities or similar with your purchase there.

In the charity shop, you can find bed linen, pillows, second-hand clothing, vintage tablecloths, and much more. It is brilliant if you subsequently embellish the fabrics, for example with fabric printing. I will show you how fabric printing works in a separate blog post.

It is also very cool to combine chic vintage fabrics with, for example, glitter faux leather^*. You can get a precise guide on how that works and what great things you can do with it in my blog post on sewing with fabric scraps.

One thing is certain: Whatever you finish creating from these fabrics and textiles, you are sewing a true one-of-a-kind piece!

Easy on the wallet: Fabric from the dollar store

They exist, the discount stores with real sewing bargains! But beware: not everything you can purchase in these stores is really good, especially tested for harmful substances or high quality.

But there are always beautiful and practical things to discover again and again. For example, blankets, which you can use not only for hats, jackets, or as the bottom side of patchwork quilts. In the thin version, they are also great as batting for bags and pouches.

By the way, you can also wonderfully use cleaning cloths as batting for cosmetic bags & co. Simply sew them in! Firm hammam towels made of cotton can also be wonderfully repurposed into shirts or bags and are often available in very beautiful colors at a really low price.

But safety pins, cute buttons, ribbons, or little stamps can also often be found in these stores. So it is definitely worth stopping by.

And if you have a piece left over, you can quickly sew a dust cloth for the mop out of the scraps, wanna bet?

Sustainable sewing: Reusing curtain fabrics

Old curtains are a real lucky find when it comes to sustainable sewing. They can be wonderfully processed into vegetable and fruit bags! Moreover, the finished bags look so pretty that you can also wonderfully give these practical little shopping helpers away as gifts.

And if your friend says: "Somehow I always think of your kitchen when I see these fruit bags!", you can just smile knowingly. ;)

You can find a detailed guide on sewing fruit bags here on the blog.

Woken up and thought about: Bed linen

Just don't simply throw it away! Wonderful harem pants and casual tunics can be sewn from old bed linen. Especially if you subsequently dye the finished sewn parts with sophisticated techniques (for example with the cool Japanese Shibori technique!) or paint them with fabric paints (I will show you how that works in this guide), you can look forward to wonderful unique pieces.

You can also use patterned bed linen great for bags (e.g., for my Japanese market bag), as lining fabric, as laundry bags, hotel sleeping bags, or for trial sewing projects.

Cleanly processed: Towels

Simply throw worn-out towels in the trash? Absolutely not! Old towels are great for sewing practical makeup remover pads, for example! On SewSimple, there is a detailed guide for makeup remover pads with a laundry bag.

Towels also look good as an insert in pot holders or oven mitts! Just try it out: the links take you directly to my free guides!

Surprise guaranteed: Fabric from the flea market

For true explorers, there are great things to conquer at flea markets! Not just fabrics, leather jackets for cutting up (great bags or smartphone cases can be made from these!), tablecloths and bed linen, but also ingenious sewing accessories, which are often not available to buy like this anymore today, can be found here by the trained eye.

But be careful: you should really only buy there what you can also test on the spot. Many a sewing machine purchase at the flea market has ended in disappointment because you couldn't test the machine on the spot.

Paid once, used twice: Upcycling clothing

What applies to flea market finds applies even more to your own clothing: Before old wool sweaters go into the clothing container, think about whether you might want to use them as raw material for sewing.

Wonderful hats and leg warmers can be sewn from wool sweaters! By the way, you can find a guide for warm arm warmers for free here on SewSimple.

Stylish patchwork quilts can be sewn from shirts, jackets, ties, or blouses, which also make a very personal gift. By the way, the same applies to jeans. A quilt from different jeans pieces, each with a different degree of fading, and then perhaps edged with a nice binding: Is there a more beautiful picnic blanket?

By the way, absolutely ingenious: shopping nets made from old shirts and sweaters! How does it work? I'll show you in my blog post: sewing shopping nets from T-shirts!

For my children moving out of home, I actually sewed individual quilts from worn clothing of us all (i.e., also the siblings). So, when you are exceptionally plagued by homesickness (or heartbreak), you can snuggle up comfortably in a little piece of home and feel a bit better immediately. ;)

Happy simple sewing,

your Sabine

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