10th Day of Christmas – 2014
Jan 03
Hi everyone,
Welcome to Day 10 of our 12 Days Of Christmas celebration!
Today we are giving away something to everyone! I’m often asked where I find fabrics, notions, wigs, shoes, etc. So for today I wanted to share 10 resources from my personal list of places to shop for doll crafting and sewing supplies… Enjoy!
Cinnamon’s Top Ten Places to Shop:
- Britex Fabrics - Located in San Francisco, CA – This is my absolute favorite place to shop for fabrics! The store is just so beautifully laid out, all 4 floors! The fabrics are displayed by color, from floor to ceiling, there’s one floor just for trims and buttons, and my favorite is the remnants section up on the top floor! You can shop online, but if you ever get the opportunity to visit, you simply have to go and give yourself plenty of time to soak it all in! We were down in CA for the holidays and I was able to stop in and stock up a bit, be sure to check back tomorrow for the Day 11 giveaway, I’ll be giving away some beautiful fabrics!
- Zipper That Doll – This is the place to get 5 and 6 inch sippers, as well as thin velcro, and tiny buttons.
- CR’s Crafts – Tiny belt buckles are hard to find, but this store has a variety to choose from. Use these buckles for the Shibuya Jacket and the Motorcycle Jacket.
- Ruby Red Galleria – Does your doll need a hair makeover? This is the place to find great replacement wigs for you American Girl Doll. You can easily peel off the wig that’s on your doll and replace it with one of these great looking wigs.
- Elastic by the Yard – Here’s a great selection of Fold Over Elastic, You can use this to make dance leotards for Isabelle GOTY 2014, from the LJC Free swimsuit pattern! It also works great to make cami style tanks from the strappy tanks top pattern.
- Doll Clothes Store – Imported shoes and boots manufactured in China, We’ve used these in the past to complete some of our outfits…
- Fabric.com - They have a great selection of a variety of fabrics and will send you swatches to sample first.
- Marshal’s, Ross, Target, Nordstrom Rack - This may seem like an odd place to have on the list, but I am always scouring the clearance racks at stores like this to find great fabrics at super discounted prices! The key to realistic looking outfits for dolls is all about the fabric choices!
- Paper Mart – looking for packaging for your outfits? paper mart has a large variety of boxes, bags, and tissue to get you started!
- Claires – (find it in most mall’s across the US) This is a fun place to shop for tiny items, like mini backpacks, lip glosses that look like doll size soda cans, and discounted jewelery that can be turned into a variety of doll accessories!
There isn’t a contest for today, but we’d love it if you shared where you find fabrics, trims, notions, or other tiny doll treasures with the rest of us, so please leave a comment and let us know…
Happy New Year,
Cinnamon & The Liberty Jane Team
After taking your design course, when you gave us most of this information, I have used many of these sites for supplies. Thank you Cinnamon, for sharing.
PA Fabric Outlet in Lancaster, PA has some amazing deals on fabrics. They have a lot of performance fabrics and upholstery material as well as fashion fabric. There is a giant wall of trims and notions. I think there is one in Harrisburg, too.
I am in Canada and I love Zipper that Doll. They ship to canada. I also find things like grommets, ribbon and buckles in the scrap booking departments often.
Michaels scrap booking department*
Oh my goodness! I had no idea there were so many beautiful styles of elastic! I guess I really do live in the boonies!
Thank you so much for the heads up on where to get things from. I would suggest Fabric Mart in Pa. They do have a website. They sell fabulous fabric (Ralph Lauren, liz clayborn etc) at fabulous prices! They have a flat shipping fee of $8.00 so think of all that would be able to be bought!
Thank you for the list, I have used Doll Clothes Store for shoes and they were great. They ship to Australia. Not all the suggested stores do that so I have to source things more locally. I have yet to find a good supplier of F.O.E. I usually go to Spotlight or Lincraft for fabric and such. I also find little treasures at Op shops.(Thrift stores). I like to upcycle or refashion little children clothes into AG doll clothes.
Sorry, I just noticed that the elastic I mentioned only ships in the US. Here’s another one that has a large variety and ship worldwide
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Elastichouse
Thanks Cinnamon. That’s a great store. On Thursday I went to Lincraft for the elastic and they only had off white so this Etsy sore is like Aladdin’s cave by comparison.
Spandex Warehouse and Spandex World for stretch Lycra and stretch jean fabric.
Thank you Cinnamon and everyone for sharing your favorite sites! My favorite online and in-store fabric site is http://www.fabricshack.com. I live in Ohio and it is a short one hour drive for me to visit The Fabric Shack. Located in Waynesville, Ohio the entire town is beautiful and quaint. The Fabric Shack has two warehouse locations in the town. One is quilt shop fabrics and one is decorator fabrics. If you live in Ohio it is well worth the trip. If you don’t live in Ohio let your fingers do the walking. They always have great sales and close-out fabrics. The quality is always exceptional and the prices are great.
I have ordered from Zipper That Doll and was very happy with the items I purchased. I love the new skinny velcro and the tiny zippers were also a great price.
For doll shoes I regularly buy from http://www.shopsophias.com and http://www.wholesaledollclothes.com. I will now check out Cinnamon’s recommendation.
Best wishes to everyone for a Happy and Healthy New Year! Colleen
Thank you for sharing this amazing list!
I’ve been sewing for boy dolls lately, and I love shopping in thrift stores for “boy shirt” fabric… the best way to find realistic, quality stripes as long as the clothing is very gently used or new looking.
I also love fabric.com (free shipping over $35!) and Joann’s (use those coupons!).
I am so excited about the list, many thanks!! I look at thrift stores for vintage or children’s clothes for smaller patterns on fabrics
Thank you for the list!! I go to the baby sections of discount stores and buy items that are small enough to use as notions or sometimes I find baby blankets for receiving blankets that make really cute pj’s.
I am very fortunate, I live near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I will make a day of it, and visit all their wonderful fabric stores which also carry trims and such. Thank you so much for sharing your resources!
Fran, if you get towards Harrisburg ever check out the PA Fabric Outlet. It is not directly in Harrisburg but is in Lemoyne (http://www.pafabric.com/ ). After looking it up I see they have Lancaster and Philly locations too. The Lemoyne one is in a neat building though! I have not been to a lot of fabric stores but they always have cool, weird stuff and you can get some good deals too! I don’t live up there anymore so I only get to go if I visit!
Thank you so much for sharing these sites. We’re very limited in my area so online is the way to go. Anxious to check these out.
Don’t overlook your local thrift shops. I buy formals for $3-$10. It is really a bargain because I get the fashion fabric, lining, tulle, and trims that all match for a great price. I recently bought a black and white check Jones of New York jacket for $2. I will get two 18″ doll coats from the jacket. Jeans, scrubs, dress fabric, sweaters – all available to up-cycle into your special creations for great prices.
I love to use my grand daughters out grown clothes. She loves it too!
Thanks for sharing! What amazing resources.
Thrift store for prom dresses. Get a lot if fabric cheap and the linings and trim match. End of season is when they often have sales on these items.
I check out our local thrift shops like Goodwill. I find purses for leather, kids jewelry, fur and wool for coats. I clean the items then use them for doll clothes and accessories. The flea markets are good for small yardages of material, lace and trims. I take shirts and jeans that my son in law gets rid of and make outfits from those. I used a knit cotton shirt and made it into bib overalls and the jeans made a jacket for the country look. Faux red leather scrap from a torn purse made the boots. The hat was from a woven placemat to complete it. Baby clothes have great small buttons and soft materials for pjs and robes. The dollar stores have some finds like cheap underware to remake into doll undies. Thank you for sharing and caring enough to help us.
Thanks for the resources. I am very limited to what I can find in my area. I have scouted some sources such as Goodwill with success also.
I love to shop @ Joann’s clearance section for remnants.I have found some great deals on faux leather and suede. I also have found they have great selection of lycra.
My go to store is Hobby Lobby. I love using their coupons and it’s close by my house.
I am disabled and not able to get out and shop but I do shop online. Thanks Cinnamon for the list of your supplies. I shop at fabric.com,ebay,etsy,and I also buy my doll shoes at Sophia’s, which you have to be a member to shop on their website. I also buy discounted outfits if they are cute and a good price. I also use red heart yarn to crochet doll hats with flowers. When I lived at a shelter I was able to get alot of clothes that were donated and use them, alot of really trendy and cute clothes were donated. Thrift stores are a good place to shop.
Thanks for the wonderful information – I will check them all out
I shop local thrift stores and when I go to Minneapolis to visit grand daughter we go to a large outlet store that has almost every imaginable fabric and trims at great prices.
I am in Twin Cities, also. Are you speaking of the LARGE Harris Warehouse/outlet up in Brooklyn Park area? I hear you can get lost in that fabric store and better give yourself the better part of a day to go thru it !
My favorite place is http://www.homesew.com/ which is combined with Newark Dressmaking. They have a good assortment of zippers, starting with 2″ and separating zippers starting at 4″. They also have tiny buttons, buckles, and notions to make little backpacks. They have a whole doll section with lots of shoes, socks, clothing, etc. They also have narrow laces and trims and rattail in lots of colors. Check them out!
I also shop online at Forever 21, Kohls, Old Navy, and Hancock Fabrics, and Joann’s Fabrics. All of them have trendy fabrics and alot on sale, Hobby Lobby and Joann’s have coupons to save 40 percent off on one item that is not on sale. Most of the time they will email you with their daily sales. Old Navy has t shirts for $5 or less sometimes during the year. Signing up for their emails pays off.
I also scour Etsy and Amazon for jewelry bits, unique fabrics, props, and the like.
Thank you for all these great tips. Last spring I needed matching umbrellas and boots for my dolls to wear as part of a table centerpiece. I found exactly what I wanted ay Nancy’s Notions.
I used to be able to buy end of bolt pieces from cutting room floor mail order but they went out of business. I too, hit the dollar stores and resell shops. My mother taught me to soak dry clean only clothes in salt water before hand washing and line drying. I knew of some of your list and am looking forward to checking out the rest. Thank you!
I go to Jo-Ann Fabric Store.
I live in a town that is on the border between Maine and Canada. The only stores we have in town that have anything useful for sewing are WalMart and a salvage store called Marden’s. I also like Joann’s when I can get there as well as the craft stores like Michael’s. I order from homesew.com, etsy, craftsy.com, Pixie Faire, and Liberty Jane, of course. I surf regularly looking for new sites. I also use outgrown clothing and leftover scraps from sewing in the past. I keep old purses to use for purses, backpacks, and shoes. I also keep my eyes open at craft fairs (I take pictures sometimes, other times I buy one and use it for a pattern) and yard sales for ideas or things that could be useful. Thrift stores are a great idea, thanks to all who mentioned it. Thank you, too, Cinnamon for the list.
years ago I was in that area and shopped Mardens. I kicked myself over and over because they had 22″ zippers for five cents. I suppose they still don’t have such a thing, Huh. I would love to get a hold of more of them.
I find most doll things at Hobby Lobby! They have small lamps and clocks I can use to complete a photoshoot set!^_^
I find it difficult to get hold of specialist minature notions at a reasonable price in the UK and shipping costs can be insanely high, especially if I’m targeted for additional import taxes. Fortunately we have a Grandma in Florida, so we have daily trips to Michael’s (two different stores!) and Target when we’re there – and deliveries from every US supplier I’ve been desperate to catch up with. I place the orders from home before I leave and it makes the long flight easier to bear, knowing I’ll have some packages waiting for me already when we arrive! Thanks, Cinnamon, for the list… I’ll definitely be bookmarking those websites
My doll fabrics mostly come from Joann’s remnant bin and recently I got 75% off. Normally they’re 50% off the ‘current’ by-the-yard price, so IF the fabric is on sale that day, you get 1/2 off the SALE price. Some stores have a scanner to check the current price; otherwise it’s a surprise once they ring it up — LOL!
Dollar stores carry great fleece scarves, hats, mittens, gloves to make awesome doll outfits. Yesterday I got a thick fleece throw @ Ikea’s bargain area for $5 that simply needs washing!
Thanks, Cinnamon for your Top 10 List — can’t wait to check these out & to see what fabrics you’re giving away tomorrow! ;’)
Mostly Walmart and thrift stores here in our small town. Also great mail service from Home Sew.
My favorite source for doll WIGS: Audrey’s Doll Gallery. Monique wigs on sale, all the time — 30% off retail price — fast shipping, excellent customer service: http://www.audreysdolls.com/index.cfm
I change my dolls’ wigs as often as I change their clothes!
Are you able to change the wigs out and then reuse them as often as you wish….seems scary to pull that original wig off!!! I’d love to try, do you have any tips??
Thanks,
Kim
The dollar store. was just in one yesterday and saw little plastic pails and what looked like laundry baskets that would work for 18 in dolls. Very cute and colorful.
I tend to shop my own cabinets for material and supplies. After years of thrifting and receiving second-hand clothing, there is always something to upcycle! Anything the kids outgrow is fair game so long as it was not a favorite handmade item. Thanks for sharing your favorite shopping links with us!
Thanks Cinnamon and everyone else for their great list. I like out in the middle of no wear so do a lot of online searching and this will really help. When I do get to down I am fortunate to have a JoAnn’s and a Hancock’s in the same city. They have great remnant tables. Happy sewing to everyone.
For those of you who sew for dolls other than the 18 or 15 inch (for instance Hearts 4 Hearts), dollspart website is a great source in bulk or get them from my Etsy site kkdesignerdolls at my cost in lesser quantity.
I shop stores like Joannes and Hobby Lobby but they are expensive. I have started looking on clearance racks in clothing stores and in thrift stores for new or used clothing fabrics and notions. If I wear out shoes or purses I harvest the buckles and other hardware and sometimes the fabric if it is useable. I have just started and already have found things. When I shop for clothes fabrics I have to look not in my size though or I end up keeping the clothes for me instead of cutting them up!
you may laugh but….walmart in our area has a great fabric dept. and hobby lobby.
Not laughing. If I’m careful which fabrics I buy at Walmart, sometimes they are great. I admit not every fabric there is good but sometimes I find fabrics there I can’t find elsewhere. Also I am a quilter and have had Walmart fabric handle and last better than some quilt shop fabric. Doll items can be found anywhere and I especially love church sponsered resale shops.
Thank you for sharing all these wonderful websites. I just started making my Grandbabies doll clothes. What fun!!! The lady I like to visit for shoes is Diane Morello on, “YouTube.” She has tutorials on making different shoes. I believe she now has around 263 videos. I’ve posted one.
“How to Make Doll Shoes.” website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1Tx-i0vesI
by Diane Morello
http://www.youtube.com/user/Scoresheet1 (This website link shows her other videos. )
I’ve enjoyed your contest and your patterns (they work perfectly)
I love the dollar aisle at Target: they had jelly belly candies in doll size soda bottles (A&W root beer, Orange and Grape Crush). Thanks for the links for notions.
I, too, am a Sophia’s fan…her tennies come in a rainbow of colors. I buy them through Amazon.
Really appreciate the great online and make do at home ideas as am over 100 miles from an over 3000 population town. These tips are great
My favorite fabric store just closed.
It was Mills End. I shop Hancock fabric and JoAnne’s too. I love to find fabric online. Ebay and Etsy as well as some of the stores you listed. Thank you for the information. 
Thank you so much for the list of sources for fabrics and notions for doll clothing. My source list is for hardware for 18″ doll furniture. My husband made me a hutch for my doll for Christmas. We had quite the difficulty in locating small hinges and doorknobs. The hinges were found at rockler.com and finally found a source for the door knobs at myknobs.com. The smallest we have found is 1/2″ in the knobs and hinges, but they will work fine.
Thanks for all the great tips and resources! I’ve gotten things from thrift stores, church rummage sales, and garage sales. If working on something that needs a nice hem, I’ve cheated and used a flat bedsheet edge. The wider hem is great for a skirt or shawl. (The rest of the fabric from that sheet had been repurposed into a tree skirt)
I like to recycle some of my old clothes for fabric. JoAnn Fabrics is also an excellent place to find what you need.
Thank you!
I LOVE Farmhouse Fabrics in Beech Island, SC. Sally has great sales (trim and ribbon bags were on sale last week!) Check out her clearence for fabrics, very HIGH end at good prices. A great site for fabrics, laces and elastics is Kathy’s Lace and Elastic Outlet on ebay…she has great foldover elastics for swimsuits and panties in loads of colors.
Always liked Vogue fabrics in the Chicago area. Lots of variety and designer roll ends.
My collection of things comes from years of crafting and saving this and that. And also from clothes, old buttons, and who knows what will be unearthed. But it never hurts to have sources to update what has accumulated with current resources!!
Thank you so much for this.
My favorite place to shop for fabrics locally is Fabric Depot in Portland, OR, just a huge array of all kinds of fabrics! I have also used clothes my kids have outgrown, a nice way to preserve memories. I also love scouring Ross, Marshall’s etc. for doll props and furniture, plus Claire’s for accessories! Thanks for the resources you provided!
I try to use my own stash – leftover fabrics or gentlty-used clothes with usable fabric. I also look out for remnants or bargains.
Thanks for all the great resources. I plan to save them in a file doc. Loving reading all the comments each day.
Surrounded by small towns in the Midwest I try to support the independent quilt shop owners as much as I can. For cotton and other basics such as notions and thread. Otherwise it is JoAnns and Hancocks
Go to WAWAK.com order a free catalog lots of sewing items zipper all items
I find fabric at used clothing stores. It is inexpensive and can be historic.
Thanks for that great list , Cinnamon and also to readers who have shared their information . I live in Brisbane , Australia . I love being able to touch the fabric so I have a few favourite shops . I dabble in embroidery as well . My favourite local shops are Peppermint Stitches and Allthreads Embroidery . Both have websites and send worldwide if anyone is interested . The Fabric Store in Brisbane have lovely fabrics as well and have shops in Sydney , Melbourne & Los Angeles .
For those itty bitty things the craft fairs sometimes have interesting items .
I find fabric where ever it catches my eye. We are lucky enough in Twn Cities area to have the following extraordinary fabric stores: Treadle Yard Goods, Sewtropolis and you can always depend on Digs to have vintage fabrics and trims. But I am also lucky enough to have a husband who supports my love of textiles so I bring fabric ‘sovenirs’ home from my many business and leisure trips around the world. Fabric stores or lack there of can teach you sommething about other cultures as you travel. For instance:London’s Liberty store as a great mail order following for fabric I beleive.
Thank you very much for sharing your favorite places to shop for supplies. I’m also limited with places to shop at with so many stores closing so online shopping is what I will have to do. Now that I have a list of wonderful places to shop at. Thanks so much for sharing.
Always check your stash, especially if you have a large one, (hopefully you can find that piece of fabric you know you have), thrift stores for reusable clothing, the dollar store gets some good stuff occasionally, found fun elastic on cheap thong underware, lol, socks for sweaters, bargain fabrics at Joann’s and Hancocks and am working on designing my own fabric by various methods. There are tons of resources for doll clothes. What I like is that the doll clothes stash doesn’t require as much room so you can buy smaller pieces of fabrics and get a whole sack full for not a whole lot! You can try out different sewing methods and skills. And if you botch it you haven’t wasted much, the kids love it anyway and the doll doesn’t care! I do buy some good stuff when I see some gotta have fabric.
I shop at home! Before donating to Goodwill, I look over our discarded clothing to see if the fabric would be suitable for doll clothes. (If I’m really lucky, I can reuse some of the original hems!)
Well, the last great batch of material I found was at a yard sale. They had a big closet full of different sized pieces from 1 yard to 5 ot 6 yards, and ranged from 25c to 1.00 for the whole piece. I often see material at yard sales so if you don’t mind doing a bit of neighborly shopping it’s worth a try. If they don’t have material, almost all yard sales have clothes at little to nothing and those are often big enough to get an outfit or two. Granted the material isn’t brand new but usually in good enough shape that it doesn’t really matter – especially if you are just learning. It doesn’t hurt to totally ruin a piece of material that only cost a quarter.
Thank you for the list, I will check the places out tomorrow… can’t wait. I purchase a lot at joanns or thrift stores. thank you again.
Lucky to have a Hancock fabric near home. Use the coupons to buy their tiny trims. Also look at tag sales and estates.
I really don’t have any special place but usually have to shop on line… I’ve been a sewer for over 50 years and so my fabric stash is great for most things that I sew and I also knit & crochet so I just do what I can with what I have till I need something then I start hunting for whatever..
I too like fabric.com. I like the fabric wall where you can coordinate fabrics from differnt makers.
You can also order by the 1/2 yd.
I also shop yard sales and thrift stores.
Repurposing items is so rewarding too.
Thanks for sharing your recources, Cinnamon and all.
My local thrift store, and when I can get to a Goodwill! I have gotten several wool coats, felted them and now hope to have a chance to make some winter coats. I also have purchased prom dresses, a wedding dress as well as light weight sweaters. Great resource for fabric, buttons and even zippers. Reduce and reuse!!!
There isn’t anything in this area for fabric other than JoAnns. I hit yard sales and thrift stores for items that can be turned into other things. I also order on-line. Earrings make great brooches. For the “Call The Midwife” nurse outfits I recently made it needed a pin-on watch. A little antique looking earring was perfect.
Thank you for sharing the great list of resources. It’s always nice to have recommendations from others who have similar sewing interests.
eBay sellers that I have purchased accessories from : wulang55 Doll Clothes Store(umbrellas for $5.) and..
dollclothesewbeautiful (small items to add to outfits)
With over 40 yrs. of sewing both here and overseas I have learned to scavenge ALL usable buttons, zippers, buckles, etc off clothes, school bags,and use misfits socks for dolls, Barbie dresses. I now have a treasure supply of almost everything imaginable for my sewing creations. I,too, shop JoAnn’s with tons of coupons & thrift stores for preemie/infant items to upcycle and for fabric. Also use new belts for denim purse straps. Grand daughters love them. I bookmarked your resources. Thank you and Happy Hunting everyone!!
I don’t have a favorite; just wherever I happen to find something I like. Do have a question/suggestion: Would you PLEASE add this list to your free tutorials?? Then we can go there when hunting something and knowing your site endorses the site makes it even better.
Thanks for the great list of resources Cinnamon. Have been working my way through them. The small metal zippers are an especially difficult item for me to find. I have a Fabricland store in town that I probably know my way around better than my own home!
Thank you for sharing the websites. I had great luck finding tiny zippers, narrow velcro and interesting fabrics in the garment district in LA. I also found a great place to buy all sorts of elastics and small belt buckles. Unfortunately I didn’t get the names of the places I went to and my daughter, who I went to see, has moved to Houston. Maybe I can find some good places to get supplies there. The city I live in has a Michaels and a Hobby Lobby where I can find items in the scrapbooking department.
Wonderful! A new year for more sewing. I can hardly wait.
I’m from rural Canada and sometimes doll supplies are hard to find (very jealous of your selection in the States!), but sometimes the dollar stores are good for supplies. Jewelry to take apart, scarves to cut up, lots of beads. Always watching for upcycle opportunities as well.
You all mention great resources, some of which I use. I stop frequently at JoAnn’s, Michaels, Hobby Lobby. And ever since I took Cinnamon’s workshop a couple years ago, I occasionally shop the clearance racks at Forever 21. I love the internet and eBay for the diversity of things available. And I have to say I’ve started to look at my own closet in a new way – before I put an item in the donate bag I ask myself, can I use this for something? I discover I already have some great fabrics I can upcycle into a cute doll item. And I’ve already paid for them!
Okay, I’m really a quilter and just started doing the doll clothes for my granddaughter this Christmas, however I am always looking for unique finds for different themed quilts at Quilts shows and craft shows. Now I do more fabric shopping online at equilter.com; fabric.com & stitch-n-frame.com
Thank you for sharing your list with us. I look forward to browsing through them.
It’s great to know where to find some of the items that will really ‘make’ and outfit. Thanks
What a great list! Thanks for putting this!
Thanks for your list. Have a happy and healthy new year!