Where To Buy Cheap Fabric By the Yard (10 Online Stores!)

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When I first bought my serger, I made mistakes and used a ton of fabric trying to figure out the different functions and settings. 

So, I started looking for where to buy cheap fabric online to replenish my fabric stash without spending too much money. Fabric can be SO expensive! 

That’s why I want to share with you where to buy cheap fabric online and go over some of the best online fabric stores that offer a big bang for your buck.

This is important if you’re a beginner wanting to practice sewing without worrying over the cost of possibly ruined fabric.  It’s also great if you’re on a budget but still want to find nice fabrics for your new wardrobe or crafts.

(But first, if you want to buy inexpensive fabric in-store or are looking for some ideas about where to find cheap fabric or other items to repurpose, check out: where to get cheap fabric to repurpose in-store.)

Best Online Fabric Stores for Affordable Fabric

I’ve been ordering (way too much cheap fabric) from Fabric Wholesale Direct since the beginning of the pandemic. 

The fabrics are affordable, and prices get even cheaper per yard with larger quantities if you buy bulk fabric.  

One of my favorite things to order from them is their scrap fabric box.  You can get 10, 15, or 20 pounds of fabric for an affordable price. 

The fabric is random, and you can get some snazzy options.  This has added fabrics to my collection that I would normally never buy, which has made me get creative with new projects.

If you’re new to fabrics, each fabric also has a video that demonstrates how the fabric looks and stretches, which can be very helpful, especially for purchasing knit fabrics!

Furthermore, if you sign up for their email in the pop-up or at the bottom of the page, you get $10 off your first order. 

After that order, they continue sending occasional coupons.  There’s also a reward system where the more you spend, the more money you make to redeem on your next purchase.

Overall, I’d rate their fabric at an 8/10.  I’ve had a few small issues in the past (the fabric was snagged, damaged in the mail, etc.), but their customer service has always made things right. 

While the fabric isn’t Mood Fabrics or Spoonflower quality, it’s GREAT for most projects.  It’s also great for playing around with new patterns and making clothes for kids who will spill food on the new outfit the first time they wear it anyway!

One thing that does make me a little bummed is their fabric is mostly solids.  While they have a few prints, you’ll not likely find as much variety there. There is a nice selection of African prints, though. 

Read more in my Fabric Wholesale Direct review!

If you’re an avid quilter looking for cheap quilting cotton, Fat Quarter Shop is my go-to online store for yardages and precut-fabric bundles (fat quarter bundles, Jelly Rolls, Charm Packs, and more.)

The best deals are on their discount quilt fabric page or their 24-hour flash sale page.

However, they offer sales occasionally, so subscribe to their newsletter and keep an eye out if you need anything specific. 

Their shipping speed has never been fast for me, but their cuts are great (no crooked panels), and they carry a wide variety of popular quilt fabric manufacturers like Riley Blake, Moda, and Robert Kaufman.

Unfortunately, shipping isn’t free until 80$, but for my geographical location, shipping costs for small orders are not too bad.

Fabric 5 & Dime, a recent fine for me, is known for its premium yet inexpensive upholstery fabrics.

As this site is the online division of Boca Bargoons, a 10-location retail business in Florida open for more than 30 years, you can rest easy knowing it’s legitimate.

Since this affordable fabric store is more geared toward interior design fabrics, you will not find knit or apparel fabric options, though.

However, you’ll discover many premium home decor fabric options at a low $5/yard.

If you’re up to searching, you can also find Vervain, Scalamandre, Clarence House, Laura Ashley, Thibaut, and more premium designer fabrics at wholesale fabric prices. 

Shipping is free for over $99, and you can also browse their Daily Deals section for remnant fabrics prices of $1/yard or less!

And, before purchasing bulk, consider their “free samples” program, where the price of the sample functions as a credit toward a future fabric purchase. 

This is one of the cheapest fabric stores online for print fabrics and has one of the largest varieties of print fabrics available. 

However, this makes it a little difficult to just browse if you don’t know what you’re already looking for!  You’ll be looking through pages and pages and pages of fabric options.

My favorite fabrics to purchase here are print rayon challis fabric, print swimwear fabric (this is SO difficult to find online for a good price!), and print jersey knit.

Usually, shipping is free for over $79 with a code, and sometimes they’ll offer sitewide coupons.

Their prices are affordable across the board but are even cheaper when on sale.

This is also a recent find of mine within the last two years!  My first order with them was chalk cloth fabric to make placemats for my daughters. 

If you’re looking for cheap fabric online with a large variety of fiber types, I recommend checking out this online fabric store. 

I’ve been subscribed to their email for a while now, and they’ll email you when new deals come available, in the event you’re waiting for rock-bottom fabric prices.

One downside is shipping is only free for over $150, although shipping on samples is free to the United States.  They do ship internationally, so this is a great place to order fabric cheaply online if you’re in Canada or elsewhere around the world.

They have a larger variety of fabric types than Fabric Wholesale Direct, but they still do not carry many print fabrics.

Try this online fabric store if you enjoy good-quality, yet cheap knit fabric with cute prints! 

They have wholesale pricing for businesses, but regular pricing for customers with smaller orders is still 20% off every day if you create an account with them. (If you enter 119246 as your friend referral code, you’ll get $5 off your first order.)

Check out the “SALE!” section for the biggest discounts (some fabrics start around $3 per yard), and make sure to keep an eye out for sales. 

Shipping can get pricey for my area, so be sure to order fabric for your next several projects all at once. 

They’re not the cheapest online fabric store if you’re planning to order at regular price, but if you’re just browsing to add fabric to your stash, it’s worth checking them out! 

They have a Dollar/$1.99 Sale Page that changes regularly, and if you check out their sales and clearance fabric, you’ll find some great deals.  The Flash Sale fabric is usually a good deal, too! 

When I signed up for their email list, I got free shipping on my first order.  (I’ve only made one order since shipping is a flat $9.99 for every order after that.)

They give a lot of detail about each fabric you’re ordering so you know exactly what to expect.  For instance, content, stretch, weight, and expected use.  This is always helpful for beginners!

And, if you’re not looking to just buy cheap fabric online, you can also check out their Bargain Bin, where they’ll usually have inexpensive sewing accessories or notions, too.

JOANN is hit or miss when it comes to purchasing discount fabric online. 

You have to watch their weekly ad and their daily coupons, and then jump when the getting is good!

I steadfastly refuse to buy regular-priced fabric from JOANN, because there is almost always a good sale on the horizon. 

I’ve found their Doorbusters around the holidays to be great deals, and I can even purchase online and pick up in-store if I want the fabric sooner.  They update their weekly ad every 2 weeks, so check ahead of time when they’ll have their 60% off regular price coupons or their extra 25% off sale price coupons.

On good days, I can get 60″ printed fleece for $2.99, which is pretty cheap fleece fabric! 

Flannel is $2.99/yd sometimes as a doorbuster, and their Quilter’s Showcase quilting cotton can get as low as $1.99/yd.  While it’s a little thinner than some other quilting cotton, I’ve always been able to find a suitable project! 

Fat quarters will go down to $0.99, and even lightweight interfacing will be as low as $0.49/yd.  You just have to be patient and wait it out for a good sale!

While not the cheapest fabric store out there at regular prices, Fabric.com offers free shipping with a $49 purchase and has a great selection of clearance fabrics, which is where you’ll score the best deals. 

When you sign up for their email address and create an account, you may receive a 10% off coupon, too!

I’ve bought some pretty cheap knit fabric from their clearance section (around $3-$4 per yard) and a few specialized fabrics. 

They’re the only online fabric store that even carries fabric from my undergrad college, so I always buy that from them.  I finally gave up trying to fit into my t-shirts from college 15+ years ago and decided it was time to–gasp!–cut them up and stitch them into a quilt.  

Fabric.com has a large selection of print knit fabrics, a huge plus for outfit diversity, and they run big sales occasionally.  

You usually have to order a minimum of 2 yards of many clearance fabrics, although you can order in 1/2-yard increments after that!

Shipping has been historically fast, and the quality is actually very good! 

Make sure when you’re purchasing knit fabrics, though, that you know what the different types of knit fabrics are like.  Ordering knits online is much more difficult than ordering woven fabrics simply because knits vary so much. 

Luckily, Fabric.com does have great detail about each fabric so you can learn the material, intended use, weight, and stretch percentage, for example, before ordering.

Best Fabric Store specializes in home decor, upholstery, quilting, and bridal/fashion fabric.  Unfortunately, if you’re a knit junkie like me, you will not find many stretchy fabrics. 

Since I mostly enjoy sewing clothes (I almost exclusively sew knit fabrics for my daughters’ clothes), I prefer to buy more often from stores that carry lots of knits.

However, you can find some good deals on fabric at Best Fabric Store.  Check out their Sale section, where you’ll find cheap fabric by the yard, by the bolt, or even as a remnant.

As a plus, they ship fast and free with a $50 purchase, which is one of the smaller minimum shipping amounts of these places to get cheap fabric.

Where to Buy Cheap Fabric Online – Conclusion

I’m always looking for bargain fabric to add to my stash, so I’d love to hear if you know of any other inexpensive fabric stores online.

I do hope this helped you find some new sites to shop for fabric on, though. 

Happy sewing!