I'm a sewing newbie so this may be a dumb question. I'm going to a few fabric stores on the weekend to look for something to use for curtains and a diy headboard. I'd like to bring home some samples for my husband to look at. Is a yard the smallest you can ask for? I just want a little piece of it. The question seems even more dumb now that I've written it out......haha
yeah, several of the stores around me actually have swatches already snipped that they attach to the bolt with a safety pin so you can just grab one off of there
Post by SusanBAnthony on Nov 15, 2012 10:21:53 GMT -5
Some places also let you check out sample pieces of home decor fabric as it is usually more pricey, so even a 1/4 yard of 5 different ones would be 20-30 bucks. My fabric store gives you a 1 inch strip of fabric for free, which is fine for color matching, but you can't see the pattern too much on that small of a piece, so it just depends on what you need to look at.
Joann and Calico Corners will give precut swatches of in-stock merchandise.
Some stores have a lending library of larger swatches which can be borrowed and give a better idea of what the fabric looks and drapes like.
Most stores sell fabric in increments of 1/8 yd. I shop a wholesale fabric district- the don't give any samples and typically won't cut less than 1/2 yds but their margins are smaller.
A snippet won't give him an idea of the total look.
We've taken to getting a snippet for color/feel, but taking a picture of the fabric hanging (we'll open a bolt and pull out enough to get a good look at it and set it somewhere to get a picture -then we put it back nicely), so that someone can get a better idea of the total look.