Shopping Online for Fabric and Sewing Materials

Quilting has been my best friend in the past year. It kept me busy from thinking about what's happening to the world. Because of the situation I have discovered a great way to shop for materials - online. I miss traveling though and visiting my favorite shops in Japan, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea and Manila.

Here are the online shops I've shopped from in the past year:

(1) Spotlight Singapore Online

I get a lot of my supplies from Spotlight Singapore so I'm familiar with the items they're selling. They also make it easy for quilters to get the right fabric. You also get your items in just a few days. The only problem I've encountered is I never get all my items. Usually about 20-25% of my orders become unavailable. Of course, they refund the items that are unavailable. 

Tip: They update their sale items often, don't get frustrated though if it becomes unavailable while waiting for delivery.

(2) Sing Mui Heng

I just recently discovered that Sing Mui Heng, my favorite store in Chinatown now sells some of their items in Lazada! This was a joyful discovery since a lot of their items are much cheaper than Spotlight. They also have some of their fabric collection available online. I just made my first order the other day. Let's see how it goes. 

Tip: I think the shop is fairly new on the online platform. They haven't categorized their items so you may need to spend more time looking for what you're looking for. 

(3) Lazada

I've bought a lot of odd sewing accessories on Lazada. Basic items like thread, garter, buttons etc. are much cheaper. Most of the items come from China. One really good deal I got was binding tape maker (or bias tape maker) from a shop in Hong Kong. I was so happy with it I also got a set for my Mom. Another item was a set of rulers. They are usually expensive when you but them from physical shops. That was a really good deal. Buying fabric though is a hit and miss thing. I still prefer to buy fabric in person. 

Tip: If an item you're searching for doesn't show up when you use the app, search via Google. It happened to me while looking for a Brother sewing machine extender. 

(4) Shopee

If I need anything fast I try to get them from Shopee. Most of the shops are based in Singapore and deliver in just a few days. They also have hard to find items. I try to mix other materials in my quilts and got good quality iron-ons from Shopee. One thing I'm looking at now are customizable fabric stamps. 

Tip: Same as Lazada tip :)

(5) Amazon

If you prefer to buy more Western-made items, you'll find it on Amazon. I found very good priced wadding (batting) on Amazon. I've been looking at fabric and I'm still deciding whether I should try buying it online. If you're the type who likes documenting your quilts, there's a lot of cute notebooks on Amazon. Of course, there are also a lot of books available. 

Tip: You get free delivery if you're signed up for Amazon Prime (as long as you meet the minimum amount). They also have a lot of super cute sewing-related fashion accessories.

(6) Big Bad Wolf

Big Bad Wolf only happens once a year (I think). They had a lot of craft books available during their last event. I got a couple for inspiration and now have a full list of projects I want to do! Watch out for your local Big Bad Wolf event!

Tip: Search for the books you want early in the event!