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It may be 2014, but I am still so skeptical about purchasing items online.
I’m always worried whatever I order isn’t going to look like what it looks like online or it will be different than I pictured it.
This is especially true when its a larger scale item or something that costs a good bit of money.
I absolutely despise paying return shipping fees if its not what I expected.
A lot of times though, prices are just so much better online than in store.
For example, fabric.
Oh my goodness, I could stay in a fabric store FOR-EV-ER.
(Please picture me saying FOR-EV-ER just like the kid with the glasses said it in The Sandlot.
And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, run and find a copy of The Sandlot and watch it.
Even though my brother subjected me to watching it over and over and over again one summer until the VHS finally gave out (thank you, lord), it really is a great movie.
Ok, back to fabric. I love fabric. I buy fabric and have no clue what I’m going to do with it all the time – I just think its pretty.
However, fabric can be so ridiculously expensive – except in this great realm of possibilities that we call the internet.
Seriously y’all, when I was using dial-up internet 15 years ago to download music illegally from Napster (we had no clue it was illegal then), I never dreamed I would one day be able to purchase just about anything I wanted with the click of a button.
Toilet paper. Click.
10 swimsuits from Victoria’s Secret (so you can try them on in the privacy of your home, only to return all 10 of them). Click.
Fabric. Click.
Now that I’ve rambled on and on about The Sandlot, the amazingness of the internet, and other things that the cheap beer I am drinking has led me to type, let’s talk about the real question here:
How I Buy Fabric Online Without Seeing It In Person
This post contains affiliate links.
Fabrics Pictured Above, Left to Right:
Fynn Jade / Portobello Vase / Linked Navy / Kaleidoscope / Guitars / Hockley Mandarin / Coral Stripes / Morrow Cool Grey / Feathers
Buying fabric online can be tricky.
Is the picture really showing the fabric’s true color?
Is it going to work with your rug?
Will it work with your curtains?
What about those pillows you want to be buried with? (Oh, maybe that’s one just me.)
There are two ways (according to me) you can rest assured you made the right fabric choice when buying online:
1. Order a sample of the fabric (for the patient person and large fabric purchases)
Many online sites that sell fabric offer samples of their fabric as well. Personally, my favorite online fabric stores are Online Fabric Store and Fabric.com. At both stores, you can purchase a small square sample of the fabric you are thinking about buying for about $2 per sample. Shipping and handling on samples are usually free. In 5-7 days you get your samples, put them against your rug, your curtains, your accent pillows, etc., see which works and then order it. You still get the savings of buying your fabric online, you just have to wait a bit longer.
When I was re-upholstering my dining room chairs, I went this route in selecting the fabric. The material I wanted was more expensive than any I had purchased before, so I wanted to make sure it was the right choice. I highly suggest going this route when you are purchasing a large quantity of fabric or a fabric that is more expensive than usual.
If you are impatient like I am most of the time and don’t like to wait to get your samples or the place you are buying from does not sell samples, you can go with option #2.
2. Create a collage of your fabric options and your current patterns & colors in your home (for the impatient person)
This is the route I usually go when buying fabrics online. I’m usually impatient and when I dream up a project – I want what I want when I say that I want it.
First, save images to your computer of the fabrics you are considering. You can usually drag them to your desktop on a Mac or do a right click and save image on a PC.
Next, take photos of your rugs, curtains, wall colors, etc. If you can find these items online, you can also save the images as you did above.
Now, go to PicMonkey and click Design, then select one of the options, I usually click the 5×7 one. Leave the canvas color white. Click on the Overlays button, which is the butterfly icon on the left side. Select Your Own at the top and choose a file of one of your fabric options. Continuing adding in all your files with the Your Own button until you have all your fabric options, rugs, curtains, wall color, etc. on the image.
Make the images larger so that you can actually see the curtains and patterns and play around with them until you decide which work best together.
This method is what I used for selecting the fabrics on my screened-in porch makeover. Here is what my image I made on PicMonkey looked like in the end.
And just in case you are wondering what all those colors and patterns are:
I grabbed images of the colors of my porch floor from Home Depot, then just pulled in the rest of the images of the fabrics I was considering. I knew I was good to go with all my fabric choices after making the collage on PicMonkey.
Don’t believe me?
Its all good, I wouldn’t believe me either – I’m a freak. See how it all came together in the porch reveal here.
More Picmonkey Tutorials:
17 PicMonkey Tutorials, Tips & Projects
Personalized DIY Thank You Cards with PicMonkey
You might also want to see…
50+ Home Decor Fabrics Under $15 a yard
How to Waterproof & Repel Stains on Fabric
You know you don’t wanna miss any of this crazy.
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I’m impatient too and love to create storyboards with Picmonkey. Great tips!
Isn’t PicMonkey awesome, Leslie!? I love everything it can do – perfect for impatient people!
Thanks for the tip. I will give it a try.
You are welcome, Zena! Hope it helps!
Thanks for the great tips! I loved PicMonkey but patient it had been crashing on me every time I edit a picture… Says the shockwave player crashed. I’ve tried all the trouble shooting steps and still it doesn’t work 🙁 any tips?
Oh boo, Syndney!! I don’t know what the problem is. Its crashed on me a time or too, but has always worked itself out. Have you tried to contact them? They are usually really good at helping out. Maybe the plugin needs to be deleted and re-installed on your computer?
Shut the Front Door! Not only have you given me great advice for buying fabric online, you just enlightened me on how to create a mood board on Picmonkey! I have been smacking my head trying to figure that one out for a week.
{{super big hugs}}
~ Ashley
hahaha! Don’t worry – it took me quite a while to figure that one out too, Ashley! One thing, if you do save images of furniture and stuff, the white background isn’t always the same white as PicMonkey’s background, but its better than nothing!
Yup, I totally make my own little collages just like this! Great post -sharing it on my FB this week.
Awesome, Krista! It makes it so much easier to buy fabric!
Giggle … thanks for sharing … I’m playing around with the idea of doing some simple curtains to block out a tad more than the cloth verticals (oh, so 90’s I know) on the west windows of the Florida room … about 30 feet worth of windows so yeah, I’d like to make sure I like that fabric before buying a whole bunch of it! 🙂 Sort of crazy that I’m even thinking of this as I’m NOT crafty whatsoever 😉
Wow, Jan!! 30 feet of windows?! You are a brave soul, gal! I would go crazy if I had to make curtains for that much window space!
THIS IS AWESOME!!! even though I LOVE the idea of the collage for selecting fabrics, I am even more excited about the link to all of the PicMonkey tutorials. I am just starting to play around with the program, and was NOT having an easy time. IDK how I missed this post previously (I thought I had stalked your whole entire blog!!) but I am glad you re-shared, and I am totally going to use this exact method to pick a fabric for a bench cushion I am making for my brother…long distance,without seeing the space,and just swatch sample of paint,and a photo of the coordinating fabric. YEAH = HARD!!! So, in essence this post may just SAVE my first semi-professional paid sewing job!!! so, THANKS (sorry for the ultra-long comment – too much coffee) p.s. I always have a hard time with the ‘scale’ of patterns, in selecting fabrics online
Wow, Julie! You are a trooper for doing a long distance fabric project- my hat is off to you!! I hope the PicMonkey tutorials help – there is so much you can do on there and they are always adding new things! And yes, scale of patterns gets me every time too. I usually don’t worry about it as much with cheap fabric, but I freaked out about with my dining room chairs because I needed the pattern to be somewhat centered on each seat. I had my mama holding a a measuring tape on one end of my chairs and me on the other making sure it would work!
I love that you create design boards on PicMonkey. What a great idea! I’ve had so many, “Oh… oh no… this isn’t what I thought it would look like…” moments when I order something online. It’s still daunting… as monitor colours can sometimes distort a colour, or if dye lots go weird, but I think you do a really good job of hedging your bets, Jenna. I love your porch, by the way. It’s fabulous!
Thanks, Tara! Yes!! I have been there too, girl. In fact it happened just a month or so ago with an item I ordered online. It totally was not what I thought I was getting!
Girl, this is fabulous! I order samples too when I’m ordering a lot of fabric. I have no idea what Sandalot it but I guess I have to rent the VHS now LOL
Hugs girl
You have to get the Sand Lot. James may not like it now, but he will soon!! Its just a funny kids movie! Miss you!!
Jenna, this is genius! How have I never thought of the collage method before?! I am so impatient, so I never want to take the time to do the samples either. This is perfect. Thanks so much for sharing, friend! Have a wonderful weekend!
~Abby =)
Thanks, Abby! It makes ordering fabric online so much easier!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who drinks and blogs! I decided I could be patient enough to order a sample of fabric not long ago and actually got three samples of some of the fabric you’ve shown. Great minds! That feather fabric is the nuts. I’m usually super impatient, though, and when I find a fabric I like, I google image search it to see if I can find the fabric shown with other fabrics that I’m familiar with and I can compare the colors. Addiction.
Oh Dena, you are not alone in drinking and blogging!! I love all of those fabrics I put in this collage – I think I could find a place for all of them. I LOVE that feather fabric – I just found it the other day! That is a great idea with googling the image of the fabrics!!! Love it! Thanks!
I’m with you… I’m a online fabric shopper. There are just so many more options! I just bought this fabric on super sale!
I love that fabric, Laura! Its gorgeous!! Isn’t finding great deals online so much fun?! And yes, you are right – so many more options!
Love the fabric collage idea, Jenna! I’m impatient, too, so I would totally take this route 😉
Impatient right here with ya, gal!
Hi! Great idea! I usually order fabric online for my upholstery shop, but this is a great suggestion to help my customers with design ideas. If you shop at fabric.com you can create a design board on their site as well.
My husband told me he would leave me if I bought any more fabric. I’ll miss him.
C.J.
hahaha!! I love it, C.J. – I would miss him too! haha! Had no clue fabric.com did that – so cool! Thanks for the tip!
Thanks, Jenna, I need to check out PicMonkey and the aforementioned online fabric sources. Fabric is so much more expensive than when I was a seamstress years ago, part of the reason I stopped sewing. I will definitely put PicMonkey to good use!
I know what you mean, Mary – fabric has gotten really expensive! 🙁
thanks for introducing me to this site. In all of my online fabric purchasing I have never found this place! Also, I love the idea of making a collage to see if you choices work before purchasing.
Love that store, Mackenzie!
I definitely a person who has the need to touch the fabric. This guide is super helpful because I’m online fabric shopping challenged. I’m currently on the hunt for some fun rayon prints and I haven’t been able to find any in my local fabric stores. I guess it’s time to venture out of my comfort one.
I totally understand, Patricia! A lot of online fabric shops have a sample option where you can get a sample for around $1 and shipping is usually free.
A great pace I would recommend is Stash Builder Box, it gives you a lot of learning experience with three different fabrics every month. I think that it can help everyone who wants to learn more and gain experience in quilting.
Oh what a cool idea, Connor! thanks!