Sewing swimwear is fun! And choosing the fabric and pattern to use is even more fun! If you’re looking for a swimsuit pattern I have a list of 50 great patterns HERE.
But today we’re talking swimwear fabric! I know that finding fabric can be challenging, which is why I created this list of resources to find swimwear fabric online.
But first, just a couple tips to help you choose your swimwear fabric:
- if it’s marked for swimwear, you should be golden!
- if not, go for a nylon/spandex (or nylon/lycra, which is the same thing) blend
- look for fabric with at least 50% stretch in both directions – stretching vertically and horizontally
And a quick question before I get into the list of stores where you can get swimwear fabric: Are you new to sewing swimwear? If so, I’ve got a Quickstart Guide to Sewing Swimwear that will help you get started making your own swimsuits! You can grab it here:
Alright here is a list of online stores where you can find swimwear fabric! I’m sure you’ll be able to find something perfect for your project in one these places! And if you know of any other great shops to add to the list please let me know!
Sources for Swim Fabrics
- The Fabric Fairy
- Fabric.com
- Spandex by Yard
- Blue Moon Fabrics
- Solid Stone Fabrics
- FunkiFabrics
- Raspberry Creek Fabrics
- Prairie Love Knits
- Stretch House
- Spandex House
- Mood Fabrics
- Fashion Fabrics Club
- Phee Fabrics
- JoAnn Fabrics (They usually have a few- but it takes some digging to find as they don’t separate swim fabrics from other “performance” fabrics)
- So Sew English
- Sew Sassy Fabrics
- Also try searching Etsy!
Good sources for Swim Linings
- The Fabric Fairy
- Mood Fabrics
- Fabric.com
- Spandex by Yard
- Stretch House
- Spandex House
- Sew Sassy Fabrics
- Phee Fabrics
Places to Find Notions (elastics, slides, etc.)
I hope you found the perfect fabric and supplies for your next swimwear sewing project! Now to get started sewing swimwear, you can grab my FREE Quickstart Guide to Sewing Swimwear and learn what you need to get started and get some tips to make your swimwear project come together beautifully!
Wow I can’t tell you how happy amd lucky I feel to have found this blog, I have been struggling for the longest time to find good swimwear fabric and with how big the internet is, oh boy even worse, so this made things 100xs easier for me! & I signed up for your guide so I’m super excited about that too! One question though: do you know of any companies that allow you to design your own pattern on spandex/nylon fabrics? That’s also been a big issue for me!
Thank you thank you thank you!!!
Yay! I’m so glad the blog helped you find some good sources for swim fabrics! 🙂 For custom design swim fabrics, these are three companies I’ve heard the most about (I haven’t personally ordered custom fabrics from them, but have heard good things):
Spoonflower (their sport lycra fabric): https://www.spoonflower.com/spoonflower_fabrics
Raspberry Creek: https://raspberrycreekfabrics.com/pages/custom-fabric-printing-process
Spandex Global: https://spandexglobal.com/custom-printing
Hope this helps!