For you ladies that sew...

[abejita]

Where is the best place to buy athletic type fabric online? The closest my local sewing store has to athletic fabric is fleece.

[Eden]

I don't sew, but I'm in the know about fabric....

Seattle Fabrics has a ton of different kinds of outdoor cloth. You can do anything from make your own bike shorts to wetsuits to backpacks from the stuff you can get here.


http://www.seattlefabrics.com/?gclid=COu5x-6BnKYCFRhCgwodmT1cpA

[Irulan]

I have a list of ALL specialty fabric retailers here: (my website)

http://www.specialtyoutdoors.com/tips/sources.asp

I find that Rockywoods and Outdoors Wilderness Fabrics have a waaay better and more interesting selection that Seattle Fabrics. Printed supplex for board shorts? A million kinds of fleece? Patagonia roll ends for wicking?

You can get "real" bike shorts pads at what I think is called Aerotech. Do not, under any circumstances, buy the foam diaper type pad that SF sells.

Irulan

[abejita]

Thanks!!

[PamNY]

Another option is The Rain Shed fabrics. I don't have the link handy, but Google would find it. They are very helpful over the phone.

For some projects you may need to order from more than one place -- one may have a better choice of zippers, for example, while another has the fabric you want.

[Irulan]

therainshed.com

They aren't on my list because I used to consistently experience terrible service from them, but they have improved last time I called them so I guess I need to put them back on.

Best thing I can say is get sample packs from everyone so you can 1. see what's out there. 2. get educated as to what stuff is called and 3. order the right thing for your project.

[AnnieBikes]

I definitely agree with Irulan about getting familiar with what different fabrics are called. The samples sometimes cost but it is really worth it to be sure what you are getting. I used to make stuff sacks and used sil-nylon. It is very different from coated nylon, ripstop, taffeta, nylon, etc, and a variety of other things they have! Once you get the samples, you can keep them for future reference (colors may change, etc) but the basics are the same. Always call before you order to be sure they have what you want.

I can also recommend http://www.questoutfitters.com/index.html