Where do you buy good-quality knits for baby clothes?

[Smokering]

We have two fabric stores in town, and they're both OK for wovens... but the knits (jersey, polar fleece, ribbing etc) always look droopy and flabby and just sort of cheap and nasty. I see gorgeous knit fabrics in storebought clothes, so they must exist! Can anyone give me a good online source?

I'm specifically after stuff to make baby clothes - you know, stretchy onesies and rompers, and also some basic stretchy pants and long-sleeved tops for DD to wear under dresses come winter. I love the eco-friendly cottony knits I see in fancy baby clothes, with cream and beige stripes and cute, soft colours, but I can't find any! The stuff in our stores isn't just nasty-looking, it's all in garish colours. (And good luck trying to find flannels that don't have big, tacky cartoon characters all over them... actually, I want flannel too, for pyjamas for DD. Anyone?)

Thanks! :)

[LiLStar]

I've had good luck on ebay finding good quality cotton knit interlock for reasonable prices. Course after shipping the prices aren't incredibly impressive. There are also some co-ops on yahoo groups. diaperfabricscoop is one, they have knits and wovens. 

[Think of Winter]

I buy most of my knits from NaturesFabrics.com. Jeanne also has a yahoo group, Natures Fabrics, and members get a discount on the store.  She has a top notch selection, and great customer service.

I just bought some interlock from Fashion Fabrics Club. It is a lot thinner than interlock from NF, but it was cheaper, too (I think I paid $3/yd!) 

There are yahoo groups that coop knits.  Hedgehog Mountain just started doing bamboo knits for really good prices.  The advantage of coops is quality and price, but you'll have to wait to get your stuff, sometimes months.

There's a yahoo group for flannel, Color Me Flannel, and Dena has great prices and has a lot in stock, too.  For example, she had Killington flannel for about $3 per yard.

[staceycanada]

Nature's fabric: http://naturesfabrics.com/

Fabric Fairy: http://www.thefabricfairy.com/

Banberry Place: http://www.banberryplace.com/

Spoon Flower: http://www.spoonflower.com/

I have ordered several times from Nature's Fabrics and Fabric Fairy. They are both fantastic to work with.

One thing I really like about Fabric Fairy is that they list the weight of each fabric.

This way I can steer clear of those light weight fabrics.

Banberry place has very nice European fabrics but they are pricey. They are often listed for 1/2 yd.

Spoonflower has multiple designs that you can choose from and they can be printed as knits or wovens.

You can even design your own.

They are a pricier option though.

You can also check out etsy they have a lot of options for fabric.

[kdaisy]

These are great links!

(BTW, Smokering, just want to say congratulations!  We were in the same DDC in 2008.)

[Italiamom]

I too am looking for cute knits.  Particularly amazing stripes.  The Spoonflower link looks amazing, but the price per yard...  Ugh.  StaceyCanada, do you have any experience with the Spoonflower knits?  Have you purchased any?  Were you happy with them?  I could make several pairs of infant pants with a full yard, but gosh it is pricey!

I do have experience sewing with Michael Miller knits.  They are pretty cute, although I probably wouldn't use most of them for a boy:

http://www.fabricdepot.com/index.php?page=CatalogPage&pageid=14178

When it comes to flannels, I LOVE Anna Maria Horner's folksy flannels.  They are ADORABLE!  I'm also terribly in love with Valori Wells' flannels.  You can get both of them at several of the sites StaceyCanada listed, or just search online for either.

[Italiamom]

Sillything posted this link in a diaper sewing thread elsewhere, but they have some really interesting, all cotton knit prints:

http://www.printknitsstudio.com/

[luv-my-boys]

You might want to take a look over at www.fabric.com I've bought organic cotton jersey knit there pretty reasonably (compared to my local stores that is)  Their inventory changes a lot so even though something might not be there now you might want to try later plus they constantly have "sales". 

[Macnamara]

I like Nature's Fabrics also. I've heard good things about http://www.girlcharlee.com/

[Smokering]

Aww, man! I went as far as starting to order some nice knits from Girl Charlee, but then I saw the shipping price... and now I just can't bring myself to do it! It pretty much doubled the price of my order... grrr.

Also, while some of the knits have OK designs, there still isn't NEARLY the variety and, well, classiness of designs I see on woven fabrics. Why is that?? Why can't, say, quilting cotton designs just be transferred to knits? There's probably some good reason, but still. It annoys me. :p

[31rubies]

[Shantimama]

 There probably isn't the same market for gorgeous knits as there is for quilting fabrics. Making them probably wouldn't be that difficult but they wouldn't sell at the same rate and so they are harder to find and cost more. I wish it wasn't like that!