Catablog · fabric · fabric designers · sewing
All About Fabric Part 1
This is far and away the question I receive the most…
“Where do you buy your fabric?”
A long time ago I would have said Joanns. Or Hancock. Or Hobby Lobby. And I actually still do get a lot of my fabrics there. But working within Etsy, I discovered this whole world of fabric that I didn’t know about. I saw designs that blew me away! So much beautiful cotton fabrics…I had to know more!
So I spend a LOT of time online, googling and looking fabric up. It took me awhile, but I soon came to learn the prints and styles of the big-name fabric designers. And I love their work and the quality of the fabric. It’s just addicting, is what is is.
So, have you heard of Michael Miller? Amy Butler? Heather Bailey? Moda? Joel Dewberry? Riley Blake?
Yes, no, maybe?
I originally thought I could put this all in one post…silly me. There’s WAY too much information! So I’m just going to do a fabric series introducing you to several big fabric designers and following up with where to purchase these fabrics.
{{And just as a disclaimer, this is all my own research/opinions and I am not getting compensated in any way. But if you wanna send me free fabric, I guess I won’t fight ya. }}
Today’s topic…
Michael Miller is actually a company, not just some dude who designs a crapload of fabrics. The name is a conglomerate of the two founders, Michael Steiner and Kathy Miller. The company has many, many designers working for them. Here are some I like…
Sandi Henderson
Pillow & Maxfield
Laura Gunn
Patty Young
And I think these are some of the most famous fabrics by the Michael Miller company:
(By the way, the top #3 is called “Divine Damask” and it’s what I use in my “Diamonds” puff quilt.)
Michael Miller is my go-to for polka dots (although Amy Butler’s Moon Dots are some of my favs too.) I just love the whole “Ta Dot” collection, which are the larger polka dots (bottom row.) They add a lot to quilts and can really help to solidify a color scheme. I also love the damasks, and they have quite a few to choose from. The ones I have here are just a very small sampling. If you visit www.fabric.com and click on Quilting Fabric -> Shop by Designer -> Michael Miller Fabrics you can find a whole section just of their damask prints.
If you have questions for me about fabric or designers, please feel free to email me and ask and I’ll try to answer them next week!
I love, love, love Michael Miller fabric! They have a fun blog too w/free patterns.
I've learned so much about fabric in the last year. It makes such a difference to pick a good one. Right now, my fav is Holly Holderman!
All those prints make my heart happy!! I also love online fabric! Now…I just need to find a way to afford more of it:) I am getting burned out with Joann. Thanks for sharing!!
To die for! I wish JoAnn would carry amazing fabrics like these. I'd buy enough to support it all on my own 😛
Thank you so much for sharing! I have just recently started quilting and have noticed that I'm having a hard time finding fabrics I like at the local fabric shops. Can't wait to see what else you've found! 🙂
Ah! I expected a much shorter answer to my question earlier this week.
I'm learning to craft, and I really appreciate the help!
I am fabric and sewing illiterate. But I want to reupholster my dining room chairs – the basic staple gun and some nice fabric. I can "see" the fabric I want – classy, grays and purple but I am not sure what and where I should start. I have no idea what kind of fabric I should choose. I went to my neighborhood Joanns and Hancock and felt all the materials and found I like the usual cottons more than the upholstrey fabric. I have been browsing fabric.com but without a start point. I am lost. Can I use any of the quilting fabrics for upholstering? pros and cons?
Thanks for everything