adamae

I spend hours at HawthorneThreads.com just looking at fabric and using their website to check out complementary colors and styles. Someday I plan to buy from them. Right now, I'm trying to reduce my stash of some fabrics that have been with me too long.

debbiemarie

VERY GOOD QUESTION! I have always chosen my fabrics exactly the way you just described your technique...hours of pacing up and down every isle. For the first time this month I did buy some fabric online for a quilt I am working on now. I noticed most of the online fabric stores have collections, these are fabrics all made by the same manufacturer meant to compliment each other by a professional designer. I bought the Ellie Ann jelly roll, I couldn't have chosen better colors myself, and I am super picky about colors, I like a designer look. If you do not want the precut fabrics, there's usually a place below the jelly roll that shows where you can purchase the fabric by the yard. If you do not see the yardage options, type the collection name into your browser and maybe another online fabric store does have the yardage available.

catmcclure

Go to the manufacturer's websites (Moda, Timeless Treasures, P&B, etc.). Their samples and colors are usually the best rendition.

Maribeth

My all time favorite online shop for fantastic customer service will always be fatquartershop.com , but Hancocks of Paducah and fabric.com are also great for purchases, returns and customer service. Bellaboo posted before that when she isn't sure about a fabric line she buys the 5" charm pack and then purchases yardage after she looks over the charm pack, that might be a great way to get an idea of the fabric line.

Lori S

I few things that helped to be more comfortable with online shopping. Take use of a shopping cart , just like you would in a fabric store, some sights have so many fabrics its easy to forget what fabric you saw and where it was in the "store". Always enlarge the small thumbnail photo, this has saved me many times from a bad selection. Also some sights will save your cart so you don't have to make the decision to buy in that shopping session. I really like that feature , it takes the pressure off , and I can make relaxed decisions. Do use the edit feature in the shopping cart , just because the fabric is in your cart doesn't mean you have to buy it.. its just there for you to think about it. Even though I have a few quilt shops close to me ... the majority of my fabric purchases are done online.

sparkys_mom

Thousands of Bolts actually does have a color matcher and I do use it quite a lot. Unfortunately, if you already have something that is not on their site, it doesn't help. They have also added an 'on line' color chart for the Bella solids and for Stonehenge. Someone mentioned that purchasing the color cards is pricey and that is true, but the on line color charts are helpful as you can at least compare variations in shade. Just expand the number of colors per page and it helps a lot.
http://www.thousandsofbolts.com/inde...TOKEN=26502674

I did purchase a kona solids chart and find that helpful, too.

Sdwill

I also try to by from a collection when I purchase fabric online. Have you tried the Fabric Barn here in Hope? The shop just opened last Fall. I know Saratoga isn't to far from Hope, but it may just be as for you to go to Texarkana as it is to come to Hope.

carslo

I was reading through the thread to see if someone mentioned Hawthorne Threads They have the most beautiful fabric and superb service. Not cheap but the fabric is to die for. A chance for a free give away 2 x per week also!

Fortyniner

I really love Equilter's website. You can save fabric to a wish list and then save it to a design board and move it all around to see how it looks. Also, some of the fabrics have quilt patterns. Once you click on them, you will see swatches of all the other fabrics in the quilt pattern and fabrics from your wish list. You can replace the fabrics in the quilt with ones from your wish list to see how they look. They also show a swatch of fabric that matches the background of the chosen fabric and you can click on that to find other fabrics with that same color. There may be other websites with those options but I haven't found them yet.
I also like their customer service. I saw a fabric I loved that sold out within a week. I was only able to order about 1/2 yard. I e-mailed and asked if they were expecting more of that fabric in stock. They responded quickly and even sent me an e-mail when the fabric came back in stock. They also sent what extra was left on the bolt with the 1/2 yard at no extra cost. I sent the manufacturer of the fabric an e-mail and never heard back from them.

Quiltlady330

I like to buy in the same fabric grouping, too, but sometimes that's not possible. This doesn't answer your question about matching but I would like to tell you of a great online only fabric shop- www.fortworthfabricstudio.com. Jodie is the owner/operator and ships the same day if the order is received by 3 p.m. She is very helpful and runs specials each week on Friday as well. I've used the site for several years now and have never been disappointed. I also use Connecting Threads and am pleased.