Sewing · Reference
Fabric sourcing list
We would rather buy five yards of good cloth than twenty of cheap. Here is what we look for, and how to judge a bolt you cannot touch through a screen.
Step by step
Step 1
Order the swatch
Any shop worth buying from will send swatches. Wash the swatch, dry it, then decide. Colour and hand both change in the first wash.
Step 2
Look for weight and width in the listing
No stated gsm and no stated width usually means a reseller who has not handled the cloth. Move on.
Step 3
Buy European flax where you can
Belgian and Lithuanian flax is long-staple and consistent. It costs more per yard and needs replacing far less often.
Step 4
Support the local shop for small runs
New England fabric shops will cut a yard, order a bolt, and tell you honestly when something is not right for the project. That advice is worth the markup.
Write to us if you want to know exactly what is on the workroom shelf this season — it changes with what we can get.
The Mercantile Letter
Notes from the workroom
Seasonal shop openings, new patterns, and what's rising on the kitchen counter. Sent quietly, never often.