Buying Sewing Notions

Yippeee!  The Great British Sewing Bee is back on You Tube and I was just watching Episode 5.  At the beginning of the episode, as the contestants were entering the set, they noticed the “haberdashery” was all changed.  (Find out what changed by watching the video) Among the many things I love about this show is the good selection of fabric and sewing notions, all in one place, from which the contestants may choose.  That got me thinking about places like that where I can buy all needed sewing notions and fabric at one time, for a reasonable price and at one convenient location

Of course, I thought of the large chain stores first.  Then, I thought about the local independent stores near me, but eliminated them because they are not really close.  One is in Baltimore and the other is just outside Washington, DC.  Neither is what I call convenient since both are about a 45 minutes to an hour’s drive.  So, it looks like I only have the chain store. There is, however, a huge selection of on-line stores from which I can purchase my needs , without ever leaving the comfort of my home.   The problems with on line purchasing, though, are that you have to pay for shipping and it always takes several days to a couple of weeks to receive the order. 

So, to determine whether in store or on line was the most convenient and most cost effective, I made up a list of places from which to buy sewing notions and then I made up a list of notions and equipment the average sewer might need and here is the results of my research.

Note:  I typically buy my fabric on-line; I occasionally buy from Joann’s because of my employee discount and when I am in Denver visiting family I go to Colorado Fabrics.

Before I get started, I want to list of few caveats.

• Because the chain stores are limited to the big named brands, comparison was not always possible because there many different selections available on line. 
• Also, not all the items were exactly alike.  I tried to match them as closely as possible, but one would stock 8” while another would stock 9” Although this isn’t a significant difference, it can add to the price.
• I did not include any coupon pricing.  I know Joann’s has terrific coupons and you can get some large ticket items, like cutting mats, for half price and thereby beat the on line prices.  I also did not include any sale prices currently listed for each of the locations.
• Finally this is not an endorsement of any particular item, brand, store, or selection process and in this post, I am not acting as an affiliate for any of these stores. This is just an outline you might find useful

Now that those are out of the way, let’s cut to the quick summary. As I am sure you have guessed, buying on line is much cheaper than going to a local store and buying what you need.  Problem is, you may have to pay for shipping, and you must wait for your package to arrive when you may need the item(s) now. 

Typically, I find there are two things I need immediately when I start a new project:  thread and zippers.  Sometimes I can find the correct color thread in my stash and I may have a zipper too.  Chances are, however, I will not have enough of the thread color I need, and the zipper is 22” when I need an 8” or 9”.  (I am too lazy to shorten a zipper when the right size is so easy to get.)  So off to the store I go where I know that in addition to the actual items, I will also be paying for the convenient location, the immediacy of purchase and the availability of many items in stock.

The other items, however, I can buy on line because I can stockpile them at home and always have one on hand.  I have a good stash of sewing machine needles, pins, markers, chalk, Fray Check, hem tape, Wonder Tape, stay tape, interfacing, rotary blades, and seam rippers.   These types of things I buy in bulk and stash, so an internet store is the perfect place from which to get them.  Large ticket items, I buy to last 5+years.  This includes things like scissors, rotary cutters, cutting mats, irons, ironing boards, etc.  (I have had my ironing board since college which was back in the Middle Ages, but I usually buy a new iron every 5+/- years.) These too, you may want to order on-line

To illustrate my findings, I created a sample-shopping basket of items, which I priced on 3/20/2019 and used a sample of 8 shopping locations, which is listed below:  

Shopping Locations for Notions

• Joann’s – sewing and crafts chain store  (in store or on-line)
• Home Depot – large hardware chain and you just never know what you might find there
• Art Supply Store – great place to pick up odds and ends; I used Utrecht for my sampling
• Fabric.com – the name says it all and this is a well-known site
• Amazon.com – no introduction needed here
• Wawak – in New York City and supplies the garment trade
• Nancy’s Notions – well known and made famous on Sewing with Nancy
• Bluprint – This is the new name for Craftsy, which includes a supply division in addition to their on-line courses.

I figured this list just about covered all the thinking both  in and outside of the box.  I am sure there are additional places you can check.  But keep this info with you when you do shop, on line or off, so you have a good idea of the pricing ranges.

To start with I am just going to list a “typical” basket of items one might want to buy on a single shopping expedition.  It includes:

Basket of Sewing Notions

• Pair of dressmaking scissors
• Rotary cutter and replacement blade
• French curve
• Sewing machine needles
• Markers
• Thread
• Fray Check and
• Seam Ripper, (of course)

Based on my research, this bundle of goods is the cheapest at Amazon and because the total cost is greater than $25, there is no shipping charge.  At Joann’s the total cost is $106.82, $33.88 more than Amazon.  So, even if you had to pay for shipping, and/or you had a 50% coupon from Joann’s it would still probably be cheaper to purchase from Amazon

(Note:  I did not include the total pricing on the other locations because they did not have a complete basket but only certain items. See the chart below.)

This was just a sampling from my larger research scope.  Attached below is my complete chart, which includes many of the notions and supplies my customers’ at Joann’s purchase.  Have a look through this and be as amazed as I was at the difference in pricing.   The dashes in a store column indicate that the store either does not carry the specific item or doesn’t carry one really close enough for comparison.

Finally, here are the costs of shipping for the sample sites.   Rather than driving to different stores to buy an item only to find they are out of stock or it is a non-stocked item, you can order your item(s) from different on-line stores with minimal effort and from the comfort of your living room couch.  I don’t know about you, but I love getting packages in the mail and the more the better.  I am only limited by shipping charges.s

Shipping Charges

Home Depot – free with $45 order or sent to

Utrecht – free shipping on $35 order

Fabric.com – free shipping on $49 order or $4.99 flat rate if less than $49.

Amazon – free shipping on orders $25 or over

Wawak – – free shipping on orders over $99

Nancy’s Notions – no free shipping

Bluprint –  free on orders  over $99

All on-line stores offer various shipping times depending on store policy and method of shipment selected.  For specifics, check directly with the web page.

I hope this information is useful and it helps you maximize price and convenience when purchasing  your sewing notions.

Oh, and enjoy the rest of the Great British Sewing Bee. 

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Next time, come back for a stash busting idea or two.  Until then,

Cheers,

Pricing Chart for Purchasing Sewing Notions at 8 Different Locations