How to SAVE MONEY buying FABRIC

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

BUY SHEETS! If you need cotton for a project head to the sheet department! You can get sheets on sale for a fraction of the price of fabric by the yard. And sheets come in many prints now and every color! They are not only good for clothing like kids shorts, nurse scrubs, casual pants, but they are also great for using as the back of a quilt or for making curtains and other window treatments!
Step 2

BUY TOWELS! Why pay for expensive terry cloth when you can buy a towel instead? A big bath towel at a discount store will save you a bundle and it's big enough to make a hooded bath wrap for a baby. Decorative hand towels make neat little throw pillows. And stock up on beach towels when they go on clearance! Put two beach towels together and make a full length summer lounger or bathrobe for just a few bucks! And beach towel prints are incredible!
Step 3

BUY BLANKETS! You know how those no-sew fleece blankets are all the rage? It's a blanket where you buy 2.5 yards of two different prints of fleece (so 5 yards total fleece) and you fringe the edges then tie the fringe into knots and you have a pretty and soft and EXPENSIVE blanket (fleece can cost $8 to $15 per yard). Head to the blanket department and buy two fleece blankets and use those! So what if you are cutting perfectly good blankets to put them together. You are allowed to do that! After Christmas full size fleece blankets in my Wal-Mart were on clearance for $2.00 and $3.00 each. Total cost for a double sided fringed blanket would have been $4.00 to $6.00! THAT'S ALL! But buying 5 yards of fleece for the same end result would cost $40 to $75! So skip the fleece by the yard and head to the blankets! Blankets also make awesome fabric for robes and pet beds and soft pillows too!
Step 4

BUY CLEARANCE CLOTHING! Hit the clearance racks and buy the biggest clothing you can find. Cut the clothes and use the fabric! If you have a pattern for a child's t-shirt buy a big t-shirt for a couple bucks on clearance and use that fabric! You can often find unusual prints and novelty fabric in the clearance clothing section... fabric you can't even buy by the yard!
Step 5

BUY LINGERIE! If you do not live near a fabric store you may have a hard time to find quality lace or slinky sexy soft satin. Run to the lingerie department and pick up some long slips or long satin nighties and now you have some nice specialty fabric to work with!
Step 6

BUY SHOWER CURTAINS: If you have a pattern for a rain coat or girl's vinyl poncho or for any type of home decor that requires vinyl hit the bathroom aisle! You can get huge shower curtains in beautiful prints for a few dollars (look at the shower liners too). Vinyl by the yard can cost a small fortune. You'll save a bundle by grabbing a shower curtain instead! And shower curtains are great for Halloween costumes too!
Step 7

BUY TABLE CLOTHS! Table cloths are also another great source for unusual fabric. Lace table clothes can turn into a wedding dress! Yes, they can! Vinyl backed table cloths make awesome totes and beach bags. They can also be turned into great outdoor patio pillows! You can even recover your patio furniture pillows with vinyl table cloths!
Step 8

Once you start thinking differently about fabric you will soon be finding all kinds of "fabric" that you didn't even know existed! It's a great money saver and it's fun to hunt for your next canvas to work with. Hit the dollar stores too! Wow... they have lots of shower curtains, table clothes, discount clothing that you can cut up... have fun!