Sewing Business Blog

Website Review: Fabrics.net Your Complete Fabric Destination

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Fabrics.net has been online since August 1997 and they cater to a targeted niche that includes sewing enthusiasts, small and large fabric stores, small and large manufacturers, and hobbyists and students doing research.  The goal of the site is to be a complete fabric destination so Fabrics.net has been compiling information about fabrics, trims, care, embroidery, knitting, vintage fabric and quilting for more than a decade.

In addition to the wide variety of wonderful fabrics available to purchase from Fabrics.net, there is also a directory of other sources for fabrics, accessories, notions, patterns, sewing professionals, publications, trade organizations and much more.  Additionally, you can enter your company information if you’d like for your business to be listed as a source.  The first listing is free and there are minimal fees for additional listings or services.

One of the neatest things about Fabrics.net is their free posting service that allows you to put your fabric requests out on the Internet.  The site has many agents who pay a small subscription fee to see the listings, and the contact information from the fabric requests is only viewable by subscribers.  That means that if you need say 25 yards of faux fur to create a new line of stuffed animals, you can post your fabric request for free, and any stores that carry the fabric will contact you directly.  You don’t have to worry about spammers getting your contact information, and you get to compare prices and offers without having to run all over town or scour the Internet for a source.

So if you’re looking for a special fabric, large amounts of fabric, or just need some information on identifying or caring for fabric, be sure to check out the abundance of information and sources available at Fabrics.net!

Interview With Lenna Green of StitchingCow.com

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Lenna Green of StitchingCow.com credits her grandmother with teaching her to sew and fondly remembers spending lots of time with her as a child doing different sewing crafts and projects.  “I can remember making small items on the sewing machine with her and I still have some of these projects today including a small doll’s apron which was my first attempt. I also have memories of making my first quilt at the age of 14-15. I had no pattern and no real idea about cutting. I just took to some fabrics with a pair of scissors and then started sewing bits together. I’m glad to say that I have come along way since then.”


Green later studied at university and graduated with a Degree in Design and Technology, majoring in Food Technology and Textiles and Design. She spent a few years teaching high school students, then decided to take some time out to start a family. Green was approached to teach patchwork and quilting classes at a local fabric shop during this time, and she says that “one thing led to another and I now have an internet business that sells my patterns and sewing resources. I also manage a wholesale business, Little Green Cottage, that supplies retailers with my patterns.”


Green manages her businesses from her home, full-time.  Her Stitching Cow website showcases original Australian designs that can be purchased as physical patterns or as downloadable e-patterns. This means that customers can download their pattern choices to their own computers within a few minutes of purchasing them. Her website also offers sewing enthusiasts many useful resources and helpful information about sewing related topics. The site has recently grown to include online classes and monthly pattern programs. There is also a video resource available to teach people how to embroider.


The designs that Green supplies to retailers, marketed under the name Little Green Cottage, include block of the month quilt projects, cloth dolls, sewing accessory type projects as well as wall hangings and bags. Her work has appeared in such leading magazines as Homespun, Country Threads, Patchwork and Stitching and Patchwork and Quilting.


Green plans to expand her business by representing other talented Australian designers. She envisions the Stitching Cow website as a portal for other designers to showcase their work to the world and looks forward to designing and producing more electronic resources to help fellow sewers enjoy their passion to create.  Be sure to join the mailing list while visiting her site, and check out her blog for all the latest news and information.

Website Review of Aimee LaLiberte’s StyleForGrace.com

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As a child Aimee LaLiberte’s passion for sewing was encouraged by her mother, then later in life her husband bought her a sewing machine for a wedding present. While LaLiberte was pregnant with her daughter she began searching for unique girl’s clothes but didn’t have much luck.  That was when her love of sewing truly came to light.

LaLiberte decided that she wanted to start her own business where she would offer fashionable dresses for girls. She opened her online children’s clothing business last summer after attending trade shows and studying at the Rensselaer Entrepreneurial Program.  She named the business Style for Grace, after her daughter Grace who was her inspiration.

LaLiberte says “My childhood memories in my mother’s sewing room coupled with the birth of my daughter are the primary catalysts for launching my business. My mother’s technical expertise is the heart of Style for Grace and without her, my business wouldn’t be a reality.”

Her interactive website, located at StyleForGrace.com, contains a virtual design center that allows visitors to design and then order their own custom outfits.  Visitors to the site are able to customize six different dress designs from at least 45 ever changing fabrics, in sizes from 2T up to 14, in just three steps.  Once you submit your one-of-a-kind design, the dress is custom made and shipped to you within 3-4 weeks.

Website Review of the Spoonful of Sugar Blog

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A Spoonful Of Sugar is a great blog run by Lisa and Sarah Cox, a mother and daughter team (40 something and 11 years) who love all things crafty, baking, reading, movies and chocolate.  Lisa says “we just love to sew, craft and bake and decided to start a blog together to share our sewing and crafting adventures! We started our blog in early 2008 when we discovered the world of craft blogs. Sarah loves computer based applications and wanted to start our own blog. She designed the template and away we went! It has been most enjoyable sharing the blog as we love to sew together. It has been an educational enterprise for Sarah – she writes her own posts, takes her own photos and styles her shots – she is 11 years old!” 

An avid crafter since childhood, Lisa attributes her passion for sewing, needlecrafts, and quilting to her Mother and Grandmother who taught her the basics and encouraged her to develop her own style. Her first projects involved making clothes for her dolls. Since then she has progressed to dress making, soft furnishing design, patchwork and quilting, soft toy making, cross stitch, and knitting. In fact, there are few crafts that Lisa hasn’t dabbled in at one time or another! She has traveled extensively, has lived in four countries, and has been influenced by the art and design she has seen on her travels. Her designs have been featured in “Pretty Little Presents” (Lark Books, 2009) ; and “Sweet Nothings” (Lark Books, 2009). Lisa is also an accomplished cook and food designer, and some of her recipes for baked goods are featured in “Du Jour” ( Kristen Watts (editor) Jet Media, 2008).

Sarah has enjoyed a range of crafts since childhood, and is particularly interested in scrapbooking, sewing, painting, and beading. She has been taught the basics by her mother and enjoys crafting afternoons with her Mum, Nan, and cousins. She is also an accomplished cook and has won a cooking competition. Sarah is a keen inventor and was runner up in 2006 in the Inventor of the Year Schools Competition (Western Australia) for her invention of Mitt Magic, an oven glove that is sized to fit childrens hands and comes up to the elbow to provide extra protection. Following her win, Sarah set up her own small business, Magic Enterprises, where she sold her oven gloves that she had manufactured overseas. In 2007, Sarah won her division of the same competition with her invention of “Visor Magic”, a storage solution for the car. She made a storage pocket to fit over a sun visor to store sunglasses, mobile phone, and pens. Sarah has appeared in a television program “Our WA: Our Inventors” and has been interviewed on local radio and in print media.

Keep your eye on this duo as I’m sure we’ll see many more wonderful things from them!  Be sure to visit A Spoonful Of Sugar to check out their unique project ideas and of course the yummy baked goods.