Ordering from OS Part 2

I have had some good comments and questions since my last post and would like to answer the questions.

PicnicFan - try taking out 1/2 a yard at a time and see if that helps.  It seems to have increments that you can reach until it goes up and I find if it goes up I just shave 1/2 a yard until it goes down. I have never seen $30 though. That might be the difference in the Euro (or Drachma????) I don't know. Mine tends to go from $24 to around $70. If you stay with the $15 you don't get much for the shipping and it takes longer. Mostly I am happy with the fabric. Most of the times that I haven't been is because I haven't read the description carefully enough. The exception has been the ponte knits - I have found that they do have a bit of stretch - but they are SHINY! If I have any doubts now I order swatches (in with a fabric order) and I have found that most of my worries have been had merit in these cases - ie - I wouldn't order the actual fabric. So I would only order full amount of fabric if I think it won't be a surprise. Overall - very happy. However if you have good online shops in Europe, stick to those. Fabric prices in AUS are so high (usually) that it pays off for me.

LauraM - isn't it strange that it takes patterns just as long to get to you than it does to get here! One of the great mysteries. I have heard others in the US say that this website takes time too. Patterns over here are on average around $18 for the big four and sometimes even $25 so waiting for them to come over here for the price sewingpatterns.com is really worth it. As for StyleArc patterns - I have heard a lot of good things but my experience hasn't been that great but I think that is more my problem than theirs. Firstly - let me say that their customer service is EXCELLENT. They really understand the concept of what a customer is. I spent 2 years teaching Small Business Management to people starting their own business and it is funny how such a simple concept of "without customers you have NOTHING" is still lost on a lot of businesses. They understand it.

My big problem was sizing. And I think that had to do with my FULL FULL FULL bust. I ordered these patterns before understanding about the need for a FBA. Now I did read on someones review that they didn't need to do a FBA with Style Arc but I think I would. Problem that I have is... I tend to go overboard when I like the look of something and remember I am new to sewing so not experienced in this way. I measured my full bust and purchased a whole lot of stylearc patterns. I was going to test one out first but got carried away (as usual). Anyways - made the first one and it seemed a little tight on the bust (hence should have done a FBA). Now being a BIG lass I ordered the largest size they had and when this didn't fit I emailed stylearc asking if they were thinking of making their patterns larger. Chloe got back to me and said that 30 was their biggest size but if I gave them my measurements they will see what they could do. I replied that I really just needed one more size up and they said that would grade up any patterns I wanted (see what I mean by customer service) so I ordered heaps in 32 and made one up and it swum on me - talking TENT.

The patterns themselves are good quality paper - and I understand why they are not multi sized and maybe I will go back to the ones in size 30 and do a FBA (although thinking now about it - my high bust is actually 26 according to their sizing chart - so I am pretty lost on this)

Bottom line - after a lot of rambling.. You really need to get the sizing right with this. They are a good company to deal with - I just wish I hadn't purchased so many patterns without getting the size right. Maybe just try one out - one that is fitted so you can see if the sizing is right - as there are so many good reviews on PR.

Suzy - I am envious that you can find such cheap fabric on sale at Spotlight. I go there a bit but haven't seen the cheap bin. I must look!

Ciao for now.... this weekend I am going to start my Red Dress - wish me luck!

Ordering from OS

I had a question from Suzy who asked me how long it takes for delivery to Australia, so I thought I would put the answer up as a blog in case there are others who are thinking about it.

The answer is... it all depends! I know that is a bit of a cop out - but let me explain. My experiences with ordering from OS - basically the USA - has been mixed but on the whole positive.

I can only speak from my experiences. The longest it has taken to get fabric has been 4.5 weeks and the shortest has been 5 days - yes 5 days all the way from the USofA. It seems to depend on what company you order from and how much you order.

I used to order a lot of fabric from DenverFabrics.com. I have read lots of bad reviews regarding the customer service from this company but I never had to contact them as all of my orders were filled correctly and I was impressed with the fabric I received. The reason I stopped ordering from them is the cost of shipping. Often a lot more than the cost the fabric itself. I worked it out and with the escalated shipping costs from this company you don't really end up saving much. And you don't know how much it is going to cost you in shipping until after it ships and they charge you. It takes approx a month for delivery from here.

I wanted to order from FabricMart.com - they have lots of lovely looking fabric - however the level of customer service I received when I made an enquiry about shipping left me cold so I struck them off the list.

I have had good experiences from fabric.com - both with queries and products. I find that if you put items into your cart and go to check out - change the country to Australia it will tell you how much the shipping costs will be and you can make your decision then. I tend to split my orders so that I pay $24 odd in shipping and I can usually get about 10 yards or so of fabric for this cost. When you go over 10 yards (or so - I guess it also depends on the weight of the fabric) the costs go up to around $70 odd. It will go up from there. Bottom line is - if you go even half a yard over the cut off weight the cost of shipping over doubles - so I just take things out of the cart until I get to the $24 shipping (I play around until I get it just right amount as the more fabric you order for your $24 shipping the more value for you). I have found it to take 5 days for these deliveries. NOTE - if you put less in your basket and the shipping costs go under this amount they send it a different way and it takes weeks to arrive.

Let's talk about patterns. Now Suzy - I don't know where you get your patterns from but sewingpatterns.com have cheap patterns and the shipping is reasonable - NOTE - it does take weeks to get here and if you order so many that it takes more than one envelope they split it and the second envelope can take even longer. I did get one order that went missing but the company resent it at no cost so I am happy with their service.

Remember - you do run the risk of not getting what you think you ordered, not receiving your order or having other problems and I have heard some shocking stories regarding customer service. You do run the risk - but for me the risk has paid off with some gorgeous fabric that is a lot cheaper than you can get here - I often order matching cotton as well as that is cheaper too. If the fabric you receive is not what you wanted - often the cost of returning for a refund is not worth it.

Hope this helps - does anyone what to share where they get cheap fabric?

I thought I would show you 6 of my favourite fabrics that haven't appeared on my blog yet. Do you have favourite fabrics that you can show on your blogs?

PS - I had to buy another storage crate to store my purchases (this makes 3 x 81 litre full to brim).. However when my family complained I just showed them the blogs of Shannon at Hungry Zombie Couture and Sewphisticated Lady and they shut up!