Vintage Fabric Source Guide

A Mary Beth and Kim joint production. All images contained in this post are copyright their respective shop owners as noted. If you’d like your shop listed on this page, please email Mary Beth.

Stand-Alone Websites

AntiqueFabric.com
“While we specialize in cottons for quilters,” writes owner Flinda Terteling, “we also have a selection of 1930s-50s rayons for costumes and swing era dresses; lawn, dimity and organza for doll costumers; and silks, satins and brocades for crazy quilters.” They also offer vintage feedsacks, antique cigarette silks, lace, trims and buttons. Phew.

Contemporary Cloth
Contemporary Cloth’s primary focus is new commercial fabrics and hand-dyed/printed fabric by fiber artists. But owner Sondra also carries a small selection of vintage fabrics too.

Dewitt & Co.
Offering a variety of vintage fabric, including feed sacks, pillowcases and aprons, plus needlework and other ephemera, Dewitt & Co. also encourages contacting them directly if you don’t see what you are searching for.

Donna Flower
This U.K. web shop carries a range of antique, vintage, and retro fabrics, including 19th Century French fabrics. She also has a feedsack collection “that has now grown to gigantic proportions.” If that doesn’t sound promising I don’t know what does.

Mary Koval Antique Quilts
Self-proclaimed “fabraholic” collector Mary Koval has vintage and antique fabrics dating from 1775 (you read that right) to 1970. In addition to selling vintage fabric, she also sells quilt tops, whole quilts and will help you match fabrics for antique quilt repairs. The website seems geared to a personal interraction rather than online shopping, but this could be a winner if you’re looking for something in particular instead of eye candy.

Material Pleasures
Material Pleasures carries a large selection of antique and vintage textiles including: quilts, linens, lace, fabric, Victorian paisley shawls, handkerchiefs, and aprons.

Modern Fabrics
Better known for their reclaimed upholstery-weight fabrics, Modern Fabrics also offers vintage and reproduction fabrics, like the Eames fabric above. They also have a storefront in Charlotte, North Carolina at 128 East Park Avenue.

Niesz Vintage Fabric
The word here is florals. Look here for shabby chic, barkcloth, children’s fabric, feedsacks, and chintz. (Niesz also has an Etsy shop.) See our interview with Kimberly Niesz here.

Pindot
Pindot is also a Tokyo, Japan brick-and-mortar shop at: Suginami-ku, Shouan 3-39-11, Citycorp Nishiogi 202 (two minutes on foot from Nishi Ogikubo JR station, south exit). All fabrics on the website are sold by 22×22cm pieces and they accept postal transfer, bank transfer, COD, credit card, and Paypal. They only list shipping fees for inside Japan but try contacting them for international shipping. Alternatively, use a shopping service like Shiratama Zenzai (who graciously helped us decipher the Pindot website!)

Retro Age Vintage Fabrics
This is an Australian web shop selling vintage fabric from the 1940s-80s as well as custom orders, serving everyone “from home crafters to Hollywood movie studios, from remnant to bolt.” Stock includes prints from Marimekko, Tampella, Heals of London, Verner Panton, Lucienne Day and Tuppen from Sweden. Don’t miss Vanessa’s frequent giveaways on herblog. Retro Age has an eBay storefront, too.

Revival Fabrics
Their motto: “We hunt and gather so you don’t have to.” The site is organized into two broad categories: 1920s-1950s and 1960s-1970s, plus a spotlight on Marimekko. Revival also offers vintage trim and ribbon.

Sharon’s Antiques Vintage Fabrics and Textiles
Sharon’s Antiques boasts more than 400 feedsacks and 300 vintage cotton print fabrics, plus vintage kitchen linens, aprons, hankies, antique quilts and quilt tops, rayons, upholstery and drapery fabric, vintage all cotton rickrack, bias tape, and trims. Owners Sharon and Bill also write a blog called The Rickrack Rag.

Shelly’s Shop
Shelly lists over 500 vintage cottons, about 50 vintage rayons, and a few vintage silk and linen yardages, in addition to tablecloths, household linens, handkerchiefs, buttons and patterns.

Something Fine
Vicky Grubb’s new shop, Something Fine, sells vintage fabrics from 1940s-1980s. “Most of my fabrics are thicker upholstery or curtain fabrics ideal for crafting and include linen, satin brocade, cottons and some synthetic mixed fabric … I also collect vintage designer textiles such as those designed by Lucienne Day, and fabulous art textiles produced for Heals and other retailers.” Vicky has an eBay shop as well.

Spinster’s Emporium Vintage Fabric
This UK-based web shop stocks half-meter cuts of vintage cottons and silks (and occasionally other fabrics) with a mid-century floral bent. Free shipping within the UK, and the fabric descriptions are very detailed.

VintageFabricAddict
Elizabeth built her reputation on eBay Australia selling cotton, wool, and synthetic vintage fabric under the name Fabric Deli. Her rebranded eBay store, Vintage Fabric Addict, is still going strong; and she’s also got a new stand-alone website. Don’t miss the vintage fabric scrap packs; she also sells notions, trims, and patterns, and ships worldwide.

Brick-and-Mortar Stores

Brooklyn General Store
128 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Brooklyn General was created by Catherine Clark and Katie Metzger. They sell vintage cottons, calicos from the 1940s and 50s, plastics, barkcloth, quilts, and tablecloths.

Knittn Kitten
7530 N.E. Glisan St., Portland, Oregon, 97213

Billing itself as “The only vintage fabric store in the Northwest,” Portland, Oregon-based Knittn Kitten sells vintage fabric by the yard from bolts dating back to the 1930s: “pre-owned, but not used.” They also sell quilts and notions and advertise standardized thrift pricing. Look for the building with the big pink kitten.

Urban Burp
170 Columbus Ave., Suite 110, San Francisco, CA 94133

Urban Burp offers rare vintage fabrics in categories such as tropical, geometric, novelty, juvenalia, tiki, and more in addition to design services. Read about True Up’s visit to Urban Burp here. To place an order or check availability, call Electra at 415-399-8761.

Etsy-Based Shops

In With the Old
In With the Old has been in business since 1998. The Etsy shop carries vintage appliques, aprons, fabrics, lace, trims and other notions, and yarn. There are many midcentury delights among the fabric offerings; photography is consistent and prices are very affordable.

Moxie
Moxie is a great source for vintage fabric — she always has a wide selection of excellent prints, and best of all, they are priced very reasonably. At this writing there are 50s painterly florals and midcentury mod botanical prints and mod 60-70s florals that would make Mrs. Roper proud, amongst sweet vintage quilting calicos and traditional cabbage roses. Also offered through this Etsy store are fabulous vintage dresses, purses, accessories, kitchen textiles, and jewelry.

Ms. Legacy Sews
Legacy is a vintage shop in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Ms. Legacy Sews is its Etsy outlet for vintage fabrics and sewing patterns. It’s a well-stocked shop with sections for cotton, linen, silk, rayon, and more.

Paperhill Fabrics
This shop specializes in decorator fabrics from the 1950s-70s, sold from the bolt. Owner Susan bought the collection from the estate of a woman who had a thriving drapery and custom sewing business for 30 years — as such, the fabrics are all of a similar aesthetic, which may or may not be your bag (for the record, it’s definitely our bag!). Shipping is from Buffalo, NY. Paperhill also offers patterns, notions and trim. Catch Susan’s blog here.

Pintucksew
Pintucksew is a shop with nothing but vintage fabric and sewing patterns. Fabrics span from pre-1960 to the 1980s, and there’s also a small selection of ethnic fabric. Fabrics are well-described with measurements, fiber content, weave, and colors, and the photographs document the print scale well. The owner writes a blog about vintage fashion here.

ShaneLilyRain
This shop sells a small assortment of vintage fabrics and linens, in addition to vintage trim and other ephemera.

Whimsie Dots
Whimsie Dots sells a variety of handmade items, but today we’re most interested in the well-stocked sections of vintage fabric and supplies (which includes lots of bundles and scrap packs), and the popular upcycled vintage sheet packs.

eBay-Based Shops

Aah eBay, enabler of thousands of vintage fabric addicts. There is an overwhelming number of listings there at any given time, to be sure, but you just need to get into a groove with search terms. You can also browse eBay Stores that carry vintage fabric to wander aimlessly or to find sellers that specialize in your particular niche (feedsacks, say, or antique ticking, or 40s rayon, or atomic-era barkcloth). The following is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but a handful of sellers we have come to know over the years or who stood out as having a significant amount of cool old fabric.

Antique Vintage European Textiles
This shop’s focus is French ticking and antique French fabric and textiles, vintage grain sacks, and homespun linen. There are about 800 items for sale (yowsa), and they ship from the U.S.

Atomic Textiles
Atomic Textiles is the vintage arm of contemporary fabric store (and True Up sponsor) Funky Fabrix. They also have an Australian storefront at 5/40 Blackwood Street, Mitchelton, Qld. In their own words, “Atomic Textiles boasts one of the largest Scandinavian textile collections in the world.”

Effie’s Quilt Shop
Kim loves Effie’s. In fact, if she ever has a daughter she just might name her Effie. These are vintage finds from rural Kansas auctions, including lots of great feedsacks and packs of assorted squares (great for little projects or just collecting.)

Fabrics-etc
Vintage feedsacks, novelty prints, and quilts and quilt tops are the focus of this shop, which also offers a selection of half-sack cuts. Fabrics-etc welcomes international buyers.

Fabric Sew Cheap
This eBay shop is true to its title, with bids starting at 99 cents and free shipping on buy-it-now (shipping to the U.S.) items. A wide assortment of fabrics falls under the category “Vintage Fabric Materials.”

Hipasbury Vintage Fabric and Co
Quality vintage decorator fabrics and big names. He vows he “will come close to knocking your socks off” and certainly won me over with the storied descriptions.

KomputerKat
Nostalgia spurred KomputerKat’s feedsack collection, currently numbering 100 items, and including some prints still in sack form.

Littleveggie’s Vintage Goodies
The stock at Littleveggie’s is kind of random, with ’80s novelty prints next to 1800s quilting cottons, but there are definitely treasures to be found, including some feedsacks, barkcloth, “atomic-era” prints and others.

Majik Pin Up Doll
This shop used to be a mind-blowing source of vintage fabric, especially of quirky juvenile-leaning prints from the 60s-70s. For some reason it has changed names a few times and stock has been going in waves lately, but the customer service has stayed solid through it all.

Nancy Lee’s Fabric and Laces
A respectable feedsack collection is nestled among more Victorian-leaning vintage fabrics and trims. Lots of basics like solids, gingham, stripes, and plaids; and dotted swiss too.

Silvia’s Vintage Treasure Chest
Silvia’s offers a variety of prints in assorted lengths and cuts from the 1920s through the 1960s, including feedsacks but also vintage linens and other related items.

Sodapop Dreams
Sodapopdreams specializes in vintage fabric as well as tablecloths, feedsacks, floursacks, runners, towels, and linens, including a number of trippy 60s prints.

Sweetpickins Fabric Store Feedsacks & More
Sweetpickins is definitely feedsack-centered, though they also deal in other vintage fabrics (yardage, aprons, et cetera) and items with a more country flavor.

Ruby Lane

We’re not as familiar with Ruby Lane, which is set up like a gigantic virtual antique mall, sometimes with prices to match. Look for “offers considered” on items if you’re in a haggling mood. Overall on Ruby Lane the selection is not nearly as vast as eBay’s, and there doesn’t seem to be a way to easily locate shops specializing in fabric, but here are a couple we were able to find.

Barkcloth Betsy
Betsy has a variety of vintage home decor fabrics in addition to barkcloth.

Jim’s Quilts and Goodies
Goodies = lots of feedsacks, vintage dress fabric yardage, and quilt square lots.