Marsha

Adult enrichment and empowerment

You are here: Home / Uncategorized / “Everything Else” Series

“Everything Else” Series

by

Many of the recent bags I’ve been making have been calling for Soft and Stable, which is a really great product that adds shape to bags, but it’s not very easy to find. Connecting Threads carries it though,  and they even have it on black or white!
Today I’m very excited to start a series here that I’ve decided to call the “Everything Else” Series. The typical scenario I see amongst fellow sewists goes something like this: 
“I found the perfect fabric to make this purse I have a pattern for!” 
*Runs off to look at pattern again, only to discover the fabric itself is actually just a small part of the bag*
“huh…where I do I find everything else?”

I buy almost all of my fabric from Canadian online shops; there are actually many really great ones, like Stay Home Fabrics and Fabricspark.com, and many more featured in Thread Riding Hood‘s series found here. So, finding fabric in Canada is getting a lot easier, but I find that locating everything else can still be a challenge.  I hope this series, featuring shops that carry some of these harder to find items, will help ease the challenge.

The series will actually start with an American online shop, Connecting Threads, and I’m featuring them because unlike many American shops that ship to Canada, this shop actually has the items shipped from Canada, so you aren’t hit with any surprise custom/duty fees. They even offer free shipping to Canada with orders over a certain amount from time to time (like, right now actually) 

In addition to their high quality, affordable thread, Connecting Threads carries a large variety of items.

When working with Soft and Stable, I find that Wonder Clips are much nicer to use than pins. Connecting Threads has a big selection of notions, including Wonder Clips. They’re even on sale right now. Have a look through their tools section for lots of fun tools that make the job easier.
In addition to all the great tools, thread and other extras, they have a pretty great selection of fabric too! I picked up some of the new Cotton + Steel Tokyo Train Ride.
Are there any really great Canadian shops I should know about? Send me an email, or let me know in the comments. 

Comments

  1. Angela says

    Great post. Thanks for posting pictures…it makes it easier to find the products you mention. 🙂

  2. cathy says

    I’ve ordered a similar product as softnstable from http://www.emmalinebags. She operateds her shop out of Alberta. She carries a wide variety of bag making notions and her selection of hardware is excellent! I have recently ordered a bolt of sf101 through Marlene at Flare Fabrics!.another great Canadian source who not only matched an American mega shop.then reduced it by another5 percent!!

    • Reece says

      That’s wonderful Cathy! Emmaline Bags and Flare Fabrics are both on my list for upcoming posts. I’m so glad you had a great experience with both.

  3. Jane says

    Great article! Looking forward to more in this series. I love to support Canadian shops but like you said, it can be hard to find the same products here as listed in American patterns.

    • Reece says

      Thanks Jane! My next few posts in the series will be Canadian shops, and I’m really excited to share what they have to offer.

    • Reece says

      That’s great Hanne! I actually shop there, and never even thought to check them out online, thank you!