Wawak: excellent online shop for sewing notions, been around forever and has great resources as well HERE 

1. Sailrite: this place is a WEALTH of information. A lot of their stuff is for marine or outdoor cushions. They have fabric available, YouTube videos are very helpful and their fabric calculator below is a game changer for helping to figure out upholstery and upholstery adjacent projects. Fabric Calculator by Sailrite
2. Big Duck Canvas - is a great source for canvas fabric for bags or other utility goods. Stick to 10 oz or so as you are learning, much thicker and it gets a lot harder to handle without an industrial machine. Check out their fabric HERE. 
3. Simple square bag tutorial: HERE
4. Klum House: Basic bag patterns designed to be made on a home sewing machine. Classes and kits are all available online. Ellie is the founder / owner and she is lovely. All of the kits are for waxed canvas with leather straps. Be still my utility loving heart! 
5. Klum House: Bag making kits, patterns, waxed canvas, leather & tools.

Thrifting fabric and other notions / craft supplies:

• The Craft Box: Thrift shop for crafting supplies, including items for quilting, knitting, stamping & scrapbooking. **Their hours are a little different, they are closed on Wednesdays, check google or call before heading over there. 
• Art Parts: Non-profit store offering deep discounts on recycled arts and crafts materials, fabric, and yarn
• Treelotta: Craft store offering fabrics, patterns & machine rentals, plus quilting & sewing classes.
• SewBo: Fabric store offering a variety of materials and patterns, plus sewing classes for adults and kids.

Purchasing your first machine is such an exciting & can be very confusing / overwhelming.

My floor for spending on a new sewing machine is $150. Anything below the $150 range isn’t usually going to last very long and will cause you more stress than it's worth.

Once you get into the $150 - 200 range, those machines have a lot more staying power. As far as brands go, I would go somewhere where you can try the machines out (Rocky Mountain Sewing and Vacuum has a lot of models available for you to use & if you purchase from them they host monthly classes on “getting to know your machine”).

Sewing machine brands are like cars - you have an entire spectrum of brands to choose from, some are more value brands and others are more luxury. Settle somewhere in the middle if you are just getting your feet under you. 

List of qualities I like to see in sewing machines for new sewists:

• At least $150
• Mostly metal body
• Some way to transport the machine, handle or box works great
• Tension wheel
• Stitch length selector
• At least 10 different kinds of stitches
• Speed control (no matter how hard you step on the pedal, there is a preset that only allows you to go so fast)

You can also thrift or find a machine on Facebook marketplace, if you do so be prepared to spend whatever you get the machine for plus up to $229 - $300 for a tune up if the machine isn’t in as good of working condition as the seller said it was.

Ed: 720-260-8747

• Can repair industrial and domestic machines, and will come to you if needed (usually this is for industrial machines only). Otherwise, he is located in Centennial. 

Mr. Repair Inc

• Pricing List
• Locations for drop off / pick up (Note: ThreadPlay in Centennial is now closed)

Rocky Mountain Sewing and Vacuum (RMSV)

• Locations in Westminster, Littleton, Aurora & Colorado Springs
• **Maintenance and repairs start at $229 for home sewing machines.
• RMSV accepts trade-ins! Essentially any home sewing machine with a needle that can be applied as a credit for a new machine!
• Other benefits at RMSV:
• 6 month Trade-Up Program
• UNLIMITED New Owner Classes
• Professional Technical Service
• Low Price Guarantee

When starting out, all purpose sewing machine needles that fit your specific machine are a great place to start.

All Purpose Sewing Machine Needles from Wawak

• All purpose needles mean they can be used on a variety of fabrics, not that they are compatable with all machines. Check your machines manual to see which brand of sewing needles to use.
• Tip for newbies: Change your needle every 6 - 8 hours of sewing or with every new project!

Ralph's Industrial Power Sew

14509 E 33rd Pl, Aurora, CO 80011

(303) 455-6831

Ralph's is the only dealer in Colorado for industrial sewing machines. We use industrial machines exclusively at Olive & Olde's.

Repair Shop: Reuben is the head of the repair shop (where I spend a lot of time 😊). He is so knowledgable, full of ingenuity and helpful, as are ALL of the mechanics. 10/10 highly recommend if you have an industrial machine.

YES! A great place to start with fabric is thrifted or repurposed fabric. 

Non-profits selling art / craft supplies, machines and thrifted fabric:

ReCreative - Denver, CO

Art Parts - Boulder, CO

FabScrap - NYC & online

If you thrift fabric and want to know the exact contents, a burn test is a great way to do so!

If you thrift fabric and want to know the contents of it, you'll need to do a burn test. Learn more HERE

Tips to remember when buying fabric:

When purchasing remember to check the width and weight of the fabric. International retailers will sell fabric by the meter. US based retailers sell by the yard. Many retailers sell things by the half meter or half yard.

• 1 meter: 39 inches
• 1 yard: 36 inches 

Anything that is labeled with OEKO-Tex means it is grown, milled and manufactured OUTSIDE of the US. India and China are the leading producers of all fabric in the world and they make incredible fabric, this is how it is tracked to meet internationally agreed upon standards. 

• Blackbird Fabrics - incredible online Canadian retailer, great selection of all kinds of fabrics (high quality garment and quilting fabric). They are an amazing biz, if you have any questions, reach out and ask, 
• Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics - based in Berkeley, California. Excellent selection of fabrics and patterns
• Lyrical Fabrics: gorgeous apparel fabrics, I bought some of their French Terry cloth and can attest, it is beautiful fabric. Price is reflective of that as well. 
• Merchant & Mills - based in the UK, work directly with mills all over the world and produce / sell some of the most beautiful fabric ever. Prices are reflective of quality, without a doubt.

With all of these businesses, if you are struggling to get to a free shipping minimum, grab a friend and split the bill!

Overall, when ordering fabric, if you have any questions, reach out and ask. Be as kind as you can all of these businesses are small businesses that have been navigating the uncertainty of tariffs where things are literally changing hour by hour. 

As of April 2025, the de minimis still applies to Canada and the UK, so anything under 800 USD is not subject to tariffs. As always, check with the retailer as they will have the most up to date information.

• SuayLA - Host a community dye bath is awesome, gives you a way to give new life to clothes that are still good but not bringing you joy anymore. You can purchase online and they will send you a bag to send your order in. All of their dyes are synthetic and can dye natural or synthetic fibers. They are currently working to repurpose over 120,000 pounds of textile waste (clothes donated after the LA fires that no one wanted into 10,000 new garments.) The drivers behind this company are the ones who helped Patagonia start their WornWear. 
• Green Matters Natural Dye Co: Commercial plant dye application - they only dye with plant based dyes. They dye for individuals and businesses.