Links to Sewing Supplies

Copyright 2005   Ronald B. Standler

Table of Contents
Manufacturers
Retail stores: Notions (e.g., thread, needles, etc.   auf deutsch = Nähzubehör )
Retail stores: Fabric

Manufacturers


Pfaff sewing machines
Schmetz needles


There are different measurements for sizes of sewing needles in metric and American (i.e., Singer Sewing Machine Company) practices:
metric 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
american 8 10 12 14 16 18 19
The diameter of the needle in millimeters × 100 is the metric size, so a size 65 needle has a diameter of 0.65 mm.
The relationship of one American size per 0.05 mm is true only from 0.6 mm to 1.1 mm.

Thread

I do not like the standard cotton/polyester thread commonly available in the USA, as it is not durable. Instead, I prefer 100% polyester thread from any of the following three manufacturers in Europe:
  1. Gütermann in Germany
  2. Mettler in Switzerland
  3. Mölnlycke in Sweden

I particularly like the heavy-duty thread (size 30) intended for buttonholes and top-stitching (in German: "Knopfloch- und Zierstich-fäden") that is sold: One needs to use needle sizes 100 or 110 with this heavy-duty thread.

Retail Stores: Notions

There are two big mail-order notion (e.g., thread, needles, sewing accessories) stores in the USA:
  1. Nancy's Notions in Wisconsin
  2. Clotilde in Texas

There are many small mail-order notion stores in the USA that have a better selection of speciality thread from Gütermann or Mettler:
There are several mail-order stores in the USA that stock Schmetz needles:

Retail Stores: Fabric

I tend to use heavy-duty fabrics. For example, I made a book bag out of Nylon Cordura 1000 denier fabric that lasted through three years of law school with virtually no detectable wear, while many of my classmates purchased a new book bag every year. I made a car seat cover and a bedspread from cotton duck cloth, a light-weight canvas. These kinds of fabrics are not sold in local fabric stores whose customers mostly make clothing, curtains, etc.

American fabric stores give the density of the fabrics in "ounces per square yard", which is often -- and improperly -- shortened to "oz." To obtain the density in grams per square meter, multiply "oz/yd2" by 33.8

I order most of my fabric from stores that specialize in outdoor fabrics:
  1. Rainshed in Corvallis, Oregon
  2. The Green Pepper in Eugene, Oregon
The following fabric stores have interesting websites, but I have not ordered from them:

http://www.rbs0.com/sew.html
webpage created 9 Sep 2005, revised 16 Sep 2005

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