purly

I live in Germany and fabric is super expensive over here. I pay for one meter patchwork fabric €18 (~$22). I've already had a look into US online shops and even including shipping the price per meter or yard is about half the price I pay over here. But I haven't ordered yet and have no idea how much I have to pay on import tax on top of everything. I was wondering - maybe it's cheaper to order from the UK as well (especially because of the non-existing import tax when I order from the UK).

Calling all quilters who live in the UK - where do you buy your fabric? I'm especially looking for online-shops. And what is the average price you pay for 1 meter (or 1 yard) of fabric?

Also I will be visiting Aberdeen (Scotland) in October. So if anyone knew of any quilting/ fabric shops in Aberdeen, that would be awesome as well.

Nammie to 7

Wow! I guess we should feel fortunate that we only pay $11.00 per yard here in South Dakota. (We have an Aberdeen here too!)

purly

Oh yes! I visited my best friend in Ohio at the beginning of August and I felt like being in quilter's paradise with all that fabric at an awesome price. Of course I got lost in buying fabric and other supplies. ��

Thank you for the hint - I edited my text. The Aberdeen I'll visit is in Scotland. ��

Sisty88

Hi purly!
One of my favourite online shops is "Minerva crafts and fabrics" which can be found here: http://www.minervacrafts.com/fabric-...emsperpage=200 I have found their customer service to be fantastic, and they are more than happy to email a photo of fabrics together if you are concerned that they won't quite go together. I had a quick look and they have a flat shipping rate of £5.99 for european orders. I believe their pricing is by the fat quarter, and usually around £3, so would be £12 per metre.

For more quirky fabrics, I like to use Fabric Rehab: http://fabricrehab.co.uk they have a shipping rate of £7.50 for european orders. I actually live not far from this shop but have never managed to get there myself due to illness, but have ordered from it several times!

I also sometimes use Doughty's but haven't been overly impressed with their customer service (it's not terrible, I've just had better from Minerva!)

At a recent quilt show I came across "Lady Sew and Sew", who have a huuuuge warehouse filled to the brim with lovely fabrics (and quite a good selection of wide backing fabrics!!). However, I have not ordered online from them so am not sure how good their customer service is. I will definitely give them a go in the future!

Hope that gives you a good starting point :-)

purly

@Sisty88 - Thank you! I will have a look at these shops!!

Panchita

I really like Hancock's of Paducah (US store) - they currently have a summer offer of reduced price on international shipping. My last order from them (including shipping) was literally one third of the cost of what I would have paid in the UK even without shipping.

Re additional charges/VAT/import - it seems really hit and miss here, sometimes a parcel will be 'caught' and you have to pay VAT at 20% of value and a handling charge (£8 last time this happened), other times it sails through without any additional charges. Not sure how it works in Germany though.

I can't think of any UK store I've ordered from online offhand, sorry.

Sisty88

Oooooh, I'll have to check them out! I hate how expensive fabric is here! I am very lucky to have a pretty extensive fabric shop in my village, but they are pretty expensive! Hilariously the name of the shop is "The Cheap Shop"! They've just started selling online, but unfortunately their website is terrible to navigate!

tron80

Hi Purly;

I live in Madrid, Spain and my favorite on line shop is Fabric Shack in USA. They charge half shipping price in USPS Flat rate envelopes. Here in Spain the fabrics ar very expensive too.

Cathy77

Don't I know your predicament! Here (CH) fabric costs $26/m!

I usually order from fabric.com, a few times I used Hancock's of Paducah (not a fan, their customer service could be far better, they could mark their parcels properly, but $10 international shipping is great).

I have only ordered from one shop in the UK, and that was www.strawberryfayre.co.uk. Went without a hitch, very low shipping costs.

I've found quite a few online shops, but haven't ordered from them (yet! ). Here's a list:
- cottonpatch.co.uk
- myfabrics.co.uk
- quiltingessentials.co.uk
-eclecticmaker.co.uk
-quiltroom.co.uk
-jbquiltingfabrics.co.uk

And apropos import tax:

Google it or call them! I found mine online, it's something along the lines "If VAT is less than 5CHF, there's no charge", which basically means I can order everything for free below 62.50CHF/ca.$68.

The main problem for me is not the VAT though, but they charge over $20 extra as a handling fee. For that kind of money I might just as well place a second order...

Damkina

Hi purly,
The online shops that I have used and had brilliant customer service are, jbquilting.co.uk, quiltessentials.co.uk and The Tabby Cat (not sure of their address). Their sites are easy to navigate and the staff are really helpful.

I'm not sure about postage to Germany, but I hope you find what you're looking for.