I love the Canadian online fabric shopping scene! Over the past few years, it has grown by leaps and bounds, providing Canadian (and US and International!) shoppers with lots of variety and choice.
Today, I’m thrilled to be able to feature Lindsey from The Fabric Snob, chat about her shop and give you a chance to win a fabric-y giveaway! Plus, she’s provided a discount code for you to use in her shop. (P.S. This is the 20th Canadian Online Fabric Store interview we’ve had here!)
“It started with the search for the perfect diaper fabric for my newborn son, which was impossible to find in Canada. I realized there was a huge gap in the Canadian market for on-trend fabrics, so The Fabric Snob was born!
We also have a brick and mortar location. We are located in a small town, Riverton, in rural Manitoba! If you are ever out our way, please stop in for a visit, we would love to have you!” ~ Lindsey, The Fabric Snob
I had a lovely time shopping at The Fabric Snob. They have a huge shop including 60+ solid knit colours plus prints, french terry, and heathered knits, quilting cottons, fleece, minky, flannels, notions and thread! Plus a low Canada and US shipping flat rate of $9.99.
My order arrived super-quick with a washing sheet and bonus fruit snacks that, yes, I did share with my kids! Plus I got a swatch sheet for their huge array of knits – so I can properly match future orders. (Almost my favorite part of the order, besides the fabric of course! #fabricnerd)
Sherri: Why did you decide to start your shop?
Lindsey: I wanted something that I could do from home while being a mom, I LOVED sewing and was a self-professed fabric snob. Plus I have always loved working with technology. An online fabric store was the perfect fit!
Sherri:What is your favorite type of sewing project?
Lindsey: Clothing! I love being able to custom fit something to my body. But I also love the challenge of quilting projects!
Sherri: What is something coming up in the near future that you are especially excited about?
Lindsey: We are hoping to expand our apparel fabrics in a big way over the next few months, and we are also in the process of getting a long-arm to start offering edge-to-edge quilting services!
Sherri: Thanks, Lindsey!
Lucky us! The Fabric Snob is offering a discount at their shop until May 31, 2018! (One-time use, discount is not applicable to EverSewn Sewing Machines.)
Use the code THR10 to get 10% off your order.
The Fabric Snob is giving away the best kind of gift – a $50 gift card to use in their shop!
This giveaway is open to everyone worldwide, from today (May 17) until midnight May 24, 2018 (EST). Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter – and if you don’t have Facebook to sign in with, use your name and email address. There’s a “click to enter”, no social media login entry too!
Thanks for reading Thread Riding Hood. Don’t miss a post – come #alongforthreadride!
Disclosure and Privacy Policy: Fabric Snob is a current blog sponsor. I contacted them to see if they also wanted to be interviewed. They provided fabric and a giveaway as part of our collaboration for this series. I won’t promote a shop that I do not love, and my opinions will always be my own. Thanks for reading!
I was thrilled a few years ago to find a fantastic sketchy knit with drawings of Disney Frozen’s Anna and Elsa in my local Canadian online fabric shop, Funky Monkey Fabrics. “Frozen Fever” is still going strong in our house and the youngest, very blond child, has claimed to be Elsa. Our newly pronounced tween, while interest is slightly waning, is still very OK with being Anna.
I love the way this Springs Creative knit is designed and drawn. I get a cool-looking product, and my kids get to wear their favorite licensed character. It has been very difficult to find good quality knits at my local box stores, and the smaller shops don’t seem to carry many either. Enter a Canadian Online Shop to fix the problem!
I’ve known about Funky Monkey Fabrics for quite a while. (Check out my 2015 interview with Melissa.) Recently I’ve started looking for better quality garment fabrics than I can get at my local shops and I’ve begun ordering more from them. Each fabric I’ve received has been delivered quickly and accurately. As a bonus to living very close by to their location, my fabrics sometimes arrive even as soon as the next day!
A quick look through their online shop shows that they sell everything you’ll ever need to create your projects. I’ve personally ordered lots of knits, but also included Pellon interfacing for bag-making and Minky and Licensed Character woven fabric for the Mitered Corner Nap-time Blankets I made a few years ago. Honestly, they really stock it all – needles, cork, batting… I could go on.
Exciting News!
Funky Monkey is currently working with a new solids supplier that will allow them to always have stock readily available. So good! Look for that coming up in the next couple of months. They also have a weekly sale, so you can save on the fun stuff you need!
Since I know some of you are like me (blergh!) and will need a reminder to check out their of their sale info, go ahead and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. For all of you with amazing memories *so jealous*, you can also check the Funky Monkey online shop regularly so you don’t miss their stocking announcement.
P.S. They are planning a big expansion for later this year as well! Can’t wait to see what they have in store for us. Pun intented!
Making the Hoodies
I’ve wanted to try the Kitschy Coo Reversible Zippy Hoodie for a while now. While I was scrap-busting it turned out that the Anna and Elsa Sketch knit was just long enough for two raglan sleeves and a hood. I happened to have enough cozy blue and purple knit to offset it and some shiny knit in silver and gold to use as an accent.
The pattern was easy to change to a non-reversible hoodie. The Zippy Hoodie includes a regular sleeve, and I wanted to feature the Sketch knit with a raglan sleeve. Altering the top of the sleeve with the Hey June Greenpoint Cardigan pattern was really simple and I was thrilled when it all worked out. Whew!
I added the gold and silver to the hood and pocket edges – silver for Elsa and gold for Anna – of course! My daughter’s also love the trendy armband thumb hole, and it was fun to sort out how add that as well.
The not-so-bad fallout of writing a blog and working with online Canadian shops?
While we were planning this post last month, I happened to fall in love with a few knits from their shop – of course! I posted these gorgeous Art Gallery knits and pink French Terry on Instagram and they are now pre-washed and waiting not-so-patiently in my stash. Yay!
Honest Conclusion…
In my personal experience and opinion, Funky Monkey’s online shop really is amazing. As sewists, we put a lot of work and effort into our projects and I am regularly dismayed by the state of fabric quality and pricing in most of our local Canadian box stores.
Their fabric stock is huge and includes thread, zippers and notions, plus they have unique fabrics I can’t find anywhere else in Canada. The fabric quality is good, their service is fast and their pricing is competitive. This makes them a great stop on the perfect supply search for your next project, I’d highly recommend them.
This new year brings in some extra-frigid weather and a curated black and white bundle for my sponsor Fabric Spark‘s Monthly Sparks fabric subscription. Combining some favorite white and cream backgrounds with great black accents was so rewarding. I feel like it screams at you to get creative!
Why did I choose a black and white bundle when the weather outside is causing enough grayness of it’s own? (There is a reason for my madness!)
I think a good black and white bundle is (as said above) a fun base for a creative sewing experience. And I really hope that everyone subscribing to this bundle thinks so too. There are so many directions you can go with it! I wholeheartedly agree with Fabric Spark’s written note – the bundle says:
It’s a great mix that you can use as is, or add a single colour to. Wouldn’t it be fun with yellow, or lime green. You can add a number of clear bright solids too, even the whole rainbow.
I’ve recently seen white a few quilts with low volume or gray-tone backgrounds and I’d love to do the same thing with a black and white bundle. Separating out the mostly-blacks and mostly-whites and creating blocks with bits of colours in the corners. (Like this one – except with the blocks of colour turned toward each other to create a square.)
I also love this plus quilt. Found while perusing #plusquilt (so addictive!) for ideas to use on one I recently made. And this quilt by Johanna Masko is absolutely gorgeous! The dresden plates are set off perfectly in her low volume background.
I must admit I do have a bit selfish reason for the bundle as well. I’ve been saving up quite a few grays, black and whites and rainbow bundles from Fabric Spark to make some kind of rainbow quilt. I put them together this morning and *POUF* (See below!) perfect quilt. You know, for when I finish the other 5 quilts I’ve got half made… (problem? what problem?!)
You can get more bundles like this from Fabric Spark every month by signing up for one of their 4 fabric subscriptions. Check them (and a lovely set of curated fabric) out on the Fabric Spark website, or visit them in person at their shop in Toronto.
I swore I would never create matching clothing for our family, but then I had an opportunity to do it – and the idea was too good to pass up. So, my oldest and I can now be twinsies with matching wrap skirts. And I love them! (And so does she.) Of course, you can make it as a longer skirt for yourself as well. The panel choices are lovely!
My oldest is turning 10 tomorrow ~ double digits! ~ and when Céleste (from Meerkat Shweshwe) and I were talking about this post I thought a wrap skirt is a great tween option for her. It’s a little bit more grown up than an elastic waist and still fun enough that she can hang off of walls and such! Case and point…
Plus, I know the South African shweshwe fabric will hold up to any wear and tear she gives it. My youngest’s reversible pinafore (free tutorial) gets lots of wear. It’s been washed countless times and still looks like it’s brand new. Plus, this fabric is so soft that she loves wearing it! I wish you could touch it – the weave looks a bit like linen – but tighter – with the thickness of quilting cotton and beautiful drape! (Apparently my cat really likes it too!)
Anyhow – back to the Makoti Skirt Kit. Makoti means “New Bride” and a traditional custom in South Africa is that new brides wear specific clothing, including a makoti skirt, to show that they are married. The skirt kits are easy to make – honestly, I thought it would be harder to match the border print and it’s not at all. Plus it’s comfortable, drapes well and is easy to fit to any body type. Side note – you should totally snag this red one for Christmas.
Find a mini tutorial so you can make the child’s skirt after a bit of exciting news from Meerkat Shweshwe…
Meerkat Shweshwe 2 Year Discount and Giveaway!
Meerkat Shweshwe stocks more than just skirt kits. They sell precuts and yardage of authentic 3 Cats shweshwe imported directly from South Africa. Plus, you can find quilt patterns and kits as well.
They are offering a 10% discount on everything in the shop from November 17-19 using the code “2yearsold” to celebrate their 2 year anniversary!
PLUS – follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter so you don’t miss the giveaway in December. You could win a Double Irish Chain Mini Quilt Kit in Holiday colours! (Or sign up for the newsletter through the link at the bottom of their website to be reminded!)
Choose your skirt kit based on the length and height of the border pattern. You will need enough length above the border’s center point for an adult-sized skirt, and below it for your child-size skirt.
Use the instructions to sew the adult skirt almost to completion. Before hemming it, mark the center of the border print, then cut the skirt apart and hem the adult skirt as indicated.
For the child’s skirt – wrap the remaining bottom panels around your child to measure how many panels you will need in their final skirt. My daughter is a skinny size 8 and we used 5 panels. Unpick the seam to leave the 5 panels together and set the excess panels aside.
Cutting the remaining waistband fabric into 2 or 3 evenly sized widths. (I used two 3″ wide lengths.)
Follow the same instructions as the adult sized skirt to finish your child-size skirt. Insert elastic into the back panel if necessary for a closer fit. (See photos for steps.)
Tada! Hope you love this as much as I do.
Please share your projects, I’d love to see them! #alongforthreadride
Sometimes I wonder if my girls realize how lucky they are to have so many amazing clothes hanging in their closets. Amazing artists and designers design fabric and I get to sew with it and then they get to walk around wearing the gorgeous artwork-turned-creation!
Case-in-point, Tamara Kate’s latest collection for Michael Miller Fabrics ~ Frolic. I was able to feature the knit fabrics in this collection a few weeks ago, and now am fortunate to be able to work with the wovens. Everything Tamara designs is beautiful, and I am loving the last few collections especially. The bright springy colourways, the watercoloury designs. Did I mention the colour? I LOVE colour!
Michael Miller Fabrics provided these woven Tamara Kate “Frolic” prints for me to play with. My opinions are always my own. Thank you for reading!
This time I sewed up two Sally dresses. This pattern is easy to sew, has no closures for easy dressing and has HUGE pockets! This time I rounded the corners of the square neckline. I found that the squared off corners tended to fray over time – but maybe it was just me? Anyhow, it was an easy fix. and it keeps the original intent of the pattern in tact.
The girls love the contrasting pockets. (And I’m waiting to find the youngest’s rock collection in my washing machine, LOL.) Plus it gave me a chance to show off more of Tamara’s fabric. I also added an inset into the bodice in the same fabric to tie the whole dress together. It was fun fussy cutting the inset to match each fabric print!
I also played around with a fun heirloom-style stitch that comes with my on-loan Janome S9. I have used the cross-stitch looking X’s on so many projects – they are simple and add a nice touch without being overly decorative.
The girls surprised me again and picked the opposite favorite colours for their dresses! My blue-loving youngest girl chose (my favorite) On the Wind in Spring with contrasting pink Big Love in Candy. The pink-loving oldest chose On the Wind in Blue with pockets and inset in Maggie Jean in Sky. Fun Fact: The Maggie Jean print is named for Tamara’s grandmother – how cool is that?! This print is my absolute favorite and I’ll be hoarding the scraps for until I find the perfect project for it.
The Tamara Kate Frolic collection will be shipping to stores on June 15th, 2017. Ask for it at your local shop! To find more Frolic inspiration visit Tamara Kate to find all of the Frolic Fabric Tour posts as they are released.
Little did I know, when I was oohing and awing over Heather Bailey’s ‘Hello Love’ collection last fall, that I’d get to put together a bundle based on it. Woohoo! Watch out folks – it’s a bright, summery one…
Fabric Sparkprovided me with this fat quarter bundle and sponsors this blog. My opinions are always my own. Thank you for reading!
Fabric Spark and I go waaaaaay back, lol. They were the first sponsor of this blog and the first to ask me to curate a bundle as well! #bonuspoints
This time they asked if I would choose this month’s Monthly Sparks subscription bundle. These bundles are put together by bloggers and sewists from around the web – and lots of my favorite bloggers are on the list! #fangirl
You can find five unique Monthly Subscriptions at Fabric Spark! It’s so fun to get fabric in your mailbox every month – You can choose to receive any (or all!) of the following options:
It’s always fun to peruse an entire shop’s collection and choose a few fabrics that might go together. But, how do you ever decide?! Usually, I end up finding a fun print to start with and go from there. This time around it was Heather Bailey’s ‘Octopus’s Garden’ in coral. It’s great because it has lots of pinks, reds, purples and a lovely mustard yellow. These inspired filling the bundle with blenders to match.
Do you have a favorite quilt pattern that uses roughly 12 fat quarters? I can’t choose between all the one’s I’ve pinned on my (apltly named) “Quilts I Might Make” inspiration board!
Speaking of quilts – Fabric Spark will be at Quilt Canada, coming up June 14-17 in Toronto. Come meet them up close and in person – and pick up a few fabrics you need too. #buyallthethings I’m hoping to be able to get there on the 17th, cross your fingers I can bring the girls with me!
Thanks for visiting. See you again soon ~ Sherri
P.S. About halfway through photographing this bundle I realized it matched my kids’ colouring bucket and spent an inordinate amount of time trying to photograph both it and the bundle. And yes, the kids do keep them in rainbow order!
