Name

Have I ordered from them?

My General Comments

Other people's comments

Class Act Fabrics

No

A small business owned by an SCA member with reasonable prices (though generally not as good as some of the bigger stores) It has good information about the historical accuracy of the fabrics.

Denver Fabrics

Yes
3 times with good service.

They have a good selection of natural fibres fabrics, their prices are fairly average, but if you keep an eye on their clearance area you will occasionally turn up a really good bargain.

Designer Fabrics

No

A lot of drool worthy brocades scattered among the modern stuff, very little in the way of solid coloured fabric and it's expensive, a nice place to stare at but lock up your credit card first.

Dollar Fabric

No

Despite the name their prices are not impressive, but they consistently have a good selection of fabrics in natural fibres.

Fabric.com AKA Phoenix textiles

Yes
I 've bought fabric from this company, 3 times successfully and once they lost my order and didn't reply to my emails. I have heard that other people had similar problems around that time.

They have a broad selection of fabrics that changes often, their prices are OK but not particularly cheap like Denver fabrics you've got to keep an eye out for discounts. They used to cut their fabrics by the metre but they have recently stopped this practice.

Fabrics Store

No

This company often gets rave reviews on mailing lists for their linen, their 3.5oz linen is probably the most affordable handkerchief linen available, there are discounts available for bulk orders. They occasionally have other fabrics like cotton or linen blends but they seem to have decided to do one thing and do it well.

Trim Fabric

No

They have a good selection of linen, silk and wool fabrics, most of their prices for SCA appropriate fabrics are about average but if you spend the time looking through their discount areas and you can find a use for 10 yards or more (you can always share it with a friend) you can find some really great bargains. The other area where they come into their own is in the trims, if you buy them by the yard they are not much different from retail prices, but, like the fabric, if you buy in bulk you can get prices like 20 yards of lace for US$5.

Istok Enterprises

No

Brocade fabrics designed for Church vestments but most of them are 16th century designs or earlier. Definitely not cheap (prices range from US$15 - $300 per metre) they offer a small discount for orders of 10 metres or more.

Liberty Linens

No

As the name suggests they specialise in linen, it's a small business aimed primarily at the American Revolutionary War market, their prices are not too bad, but where they are special is in their notions section. You will find hand woven linen trim and a couple of other items which are appropriate for SCA period clothing.

Mini Magic Inc.

No

They have various fabrics none of them particularly cheap, however the major find is 100% silk velvet for US$30 per yard. It may seem expensive but for silk backing and silk pile velvet this is a good price. Note however they may be wrong about the fact that it is 100% silk, I would strongly urge getting a swatch and doing a ‘bleach test’.

Renaissance Fabrics

No

A reasonable selection of natural fibre fabrics but it's a relatively small business with information about what sort of historical clothing their fabrics are suitable for. Good prices, especially on period looking brocades. Really good for those who don't have much experience with what sort of fabric a particular era requires and those who don't have the time to browse past all the polyester to find the good stuff.

Silk Connection

No

White silks and cottons prepared for dying. They offer discounts for 5 or more yards.

Silk Road Fabrics

No

A relatively small operation with a reasonable selection of silk and linen (plus cotton and tencel). Quite expensive, you can get the same thing cheaper elsewhere, (well except for the tencel, but there really isn't a need to buy tencel for period clothing). What's really good about this website is the information on the fabrics, such as how they react in a burn test, how to wash it and stain removal.

Sy Fabrics

No

Very little period appropriate fabric, (their 'linen' is actually cotton) the only thing worth buying might be their cotton velvet, or their silk/rayon velvet as they do give discounts for orders over 4yds

Thai Silks

No

A big selection of silks for good prices, many are undyed, but there's plenty of colour if you're willing to pay a bit more.