Friday 2 September 2011

Dragonfly Fabrics Giveaway!

Ok dear readers, here's the news you've all been waiting for.  The Dragonfly Fabrics giveaway post!


As I mentioned yesterday, Dragonfly Fabrics are a new internet shop and as such they are very interested to have some feedback about their site in order that they can effectively provide what you the customer would like to buy.

In exchange for this vital information they are giving away three gifts as follows:

1 Colette pattern of choice
 5 half metres from Anna Maria Horner's collection of cosy flannels
3m dotty ribbon


 **
1 Colette pattern of choice

3 x 3m dotty ribbons


**
1 Colette pattern of choice

3m dotty ribbon

Three prizes, three chances of winning!

Rules of the giveaway are:

1:  Entries must be via the comments box on this blog post
2:  Your entry must include some constructive feedback about the Dragonfly Fabrics Website and products offered
4:  If you post a link to this giveaway on your own blog, and include a link in your entry as well as your feedback, you will have 2 entries.  That's a double chance of winning this stupendously fabulous giveaway! Go on, share the love!

Entries will be drawn by random number generator next Friday 9 September.





98 comments:

Jenny Wren said...

Well, all the fabrics are completely out of my price range, but it's a very clear design and it's easy to find what you're looking for. The pictures are pretty clear, which is the most important thing for me about buying fabric online; I want to be able to see the threads!

Psaryce said...

I like the layout as it is easy to navigate. However, I wished there were more fabrics - particularly in the "knits", "jersey", "jeans" and "organic cotton sections.

wren said...

The layout is beautiful and the "thumbnail" swatches are nice and big. (nothing like clicking through to discover the fabric looks nothing like the tiny thumbnail)

It would be super awesome if there were a way to sort/search by (dominant) color.

More wools for winter would be cool, too.

Anonymous said...

It is a nice layout - very clear and easy to find.

I also wish there was a bigger range of fabrics - especially in jersey and knits.

It is nice to see a good range of flannel

H said...

Although the prices are a tad out of my range, I think the website is very clean and good looking.
One change I would like is to see the price per meter without having to click through.

Melizza Makes said...

The layout is clean and the site is easy to navigate. I find it useful when I can search a fabric by color and am given the option to sort fabric by price. More indie pattern options would be good, too. I love a lot of the independent patterns but the shipping costs (they usually ship from the States or Canada) often deters me from ordering them.

I love the choices in corduroy. Very sweet options.

Unknown said...

I love the size of the thumbnails, you get a really clear idea of the fabric and the website has a really lovely layout.

I would suggest the following:
- List all the sale items under "Specail Offers"
- Perhaps when viewing a particular fabric you could have a row of smaller thumbnails with complemenary fabrics which tone well with the selected fabric (it's so hard to tell something like this on the computer!)
- The items under "More Lovely Things" seem a little random
- Perhaps you could stock Sewaholic patterns as there are very few UK stockists.

But such a lovely site with some really gorgeous fabrics - I think it was rather dangerous (to my wallet) discovering this new site!!!!

KittyMeow said...

It's good to see that their international shipping isn't too high.

I too would like to see price per metre on the initial search page without having to click through.

I like the swatch size. It's nice and big.

An improvement would be to see a bunched photo of the fabric so you can get an idea of drape and the way the light shines off it, as well as it's opacity or sheerness.
Kind of like how this site does it:
http://www.nyfashioncenterfabrics.com/gensym-15.html
This gives a good indication of the weave too.
I can see this is done with some of the fabrics but not all of them.

I also find the More Lovely Things tag a big vague.

I notice there are no silks available to purchase either.

I'm not sure if it would be confusing to put the fabrics into subcategories of Natural, Man Made and Blends. I consider this an important decision when choosing fabrics for my garment but I'm not sure if other people would think the same :-D

Kitschy Coo said...

The site is nice looking and easy to navigate, with a great selection of fabric. It would be good, however, to be able to see prices without clicking through. Also (going into pedantic mode!), shouldn't some of the fabrics in the jersey section technically be in the knits section instead? :)

dragonfly said...

How could I not have my say!
I love this site and often look but have yet to buy. I really like the sample service and will definitely be using this to choose some dress fabric in the near future.

I'd love to see a 'by colour' option as I find this really useful when choosing lots of different fabrics for quilting.

dragonfly said...

Oh, and off to put a link on my blog too!

SewLittleToSay said...

I'm really pleased that the prices are per metre and not per fraction of a metre or, even worse, per fat quarter.

It is sometimes difficult to judge the scale of a pattern - including a 6" ruler in the photo would help.

grrrl said...

I bought some material from here only last week - my package was lovely when it arrived - beautifully presented!

Being able to sort by colour or price would be fantastic; I love a bargain and always sort the selection by price. With the fabrics I've bought, I'm now looking for another to match; if the fabrics could be ordered by colour, it would be easier to see what would go with what (e.g. I could look at everything pink in one screen!).

I've seen another fabric website where they had some images at the bottom of related fabrics that go with the design you're viewing; that could be good to show a matching fabric or the same print in a different shade.

The checkout screen could do with a thumbnail of the fabric so you don't have to remember which ones you've added and which ones you were just looking at in other windows.

I love the big pictures of the fabrics (they're true to life so there are no misconceptions as to what you're buying) and the range of fabrics available.

I'd like to see a few more patterns (maybe for a bag or two?)

It would be good to have pricing information on the front page of the fabric search so that you don't have to open all of the individual fabrics up in new windows.

I do like the site though, and will be ordering from there again :) x

Penny said...

I agree with a lot of the feedback already given particularly:

-listing all sale items under the sale section would be good.

- The layout is clean and easy to navigate. I like that the simple design doesn't detract from the fabrics

- I'm also feel the selection of items under 'more lovely things' is a little confused and not consistent with the rest of your products - though perhaps this is an area you are planning to develop in the future

-Are the picture buttons on the front screen going to change periocially? If not you may want to choose a more consistent choice of sections to link to either all generic - ribbons, bio linen etc rather than a mix of generic and some designers

Unknown said...

Fantastic giveaway, thank you for hosting this. What an opportunity!

At first look the site is beautifully laid. I love the clean lines. I also like the division between fabric types and fabric by designer, however feel that in current format it clutters the left navigation bar. Drop down menus will work great here. The photos of items to sale are good but I would rather know the price before clicking to see more details. Top marks for price per meter. I get tired of sites that sell per fq.

Gaenor said...

It is a very beautiful site with a good clear image of each fabric. I would agree with other commenters that it would be really useful to be able to see the price on the top level page of thumbnails, not just after having clicked through. Also, it may be my inexperience, but while the sale pages are listed as 30% off, it is unclear to me whether this discount has already been applied or if this will happen at checkout.

Pomona said...

It is a good clear, clean site which loads quickly on my country broadband (dialup speed!). I agree that price per m is far more sensible, and it would be good to have this under the top pics, rather than having to drill down. A search box would be a good idea so that you can search by colour, or spots, stripes, etc.I clicked on More Lovely Things in the left hand column out of curiosity - perhaps more specific categories would be better, as this could easily be missed.
Is there a newsletter sign-up for special offers - not clear from the front page.

Pomona said...

Forgot to say - have put link in sidebard of my blog:
http://littlecottagecomforts.blogspot.com/

Pomona x

sorbetsurprise said...

I like the main page layout, it is not too cluttered and everything is clearly listed down the side. The photos are all very clear and I also love that the prices are per metre rather than per fat quarter which I prefer for dressmaking projects. Something to add would be a search box so you can search a colour or pattern type of fabric if you have something specific in mind.

sorbetsurprise said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Mjade said...

-I like that the sections are sorted by fabric type.

-It would be useful on the thumbnails if a ruler was presented so we have an idea of the size of the pattern on the fabric.

- I was specifically looking for cordoroys and was disappointed by the lack of solid colours.

- I would agree that the prices for many of the fabrics are out of my range. It would be useful to see the price on the list of fabric rather than having to click on the thumbnail.

Bridget said...

Thanks for the giveaway, I love finding UK suppliers that have unusual fabrics.
The layout seems really simple and easy to use but I'd like to see the price per meter more easily.
At the moment the stock all feels very summery and as the nights are drawing in I'd love to see more wools and jeans fabrics to keep me going through the winter.

scantypants said...

The site design and functionality is great, but I agree with some of the other comments that a ruler or some sort of size reference in the photo would be helpful to visualize the scale of the print. Also, a photo of the fabric bunched up or twisted to give a sense of the drape would be awesome.

Lyndelou said...

Nice website - easy to navigate. One thing I would like to see on it is some scale for the print fabrics - to have a photo of a ruler along one edge would be ideal.

Blanka said...

Thank you for the giveaway!

The shop is really amazing. Maybe there could be more sewing pattern in stock. If some dressmaker want to buy a dress pattern, he/she would appreciate if he/she could buy a fabric from the same shop...

I will welcome some affiliate programe too to get some benefits putting an advert at my blog.

Maybe some special offers - for example packages with theme - package of three christmas fabrics, or package of british-look fabrics... :)

Blanka said...

And I've forgotten... I've written a post about this giveaway on my blog -

http://osullivansgirl.blogspot.com/2011/09/dragonfly-fabrics-giveaway-at-house-of.html

Trudie said...

The site is well designed and easy to navigate, and I must commend you on not having to make too many clicks to buy something - some sites have you click link after link, and I get tired before getting to checkout! I like the logo very much too.

I would like to see a wishlist option, so that I can save items I like for future purchases.


It would also be wonderful if you arranged for some credits system for fabric samples, so that you pay for the samples, but build up points that can be credited against a future purchase.

I would also like to see threads being stocked, and colour matched to the fabrics, so that you can purchase the right shade of thread with the fabric.

Finally, it would be nice to have a blog linked to the shop. In my own experience as an online shop, customers are more likely to shop and return if there is a personal presence with the website.

K2 said...

Very pretty fabrics and a nice selection. I noticed there doesn't seem to be a search function.

Crystal said...

Great giveaway!

I agree that the site looks very nice and is easy to navigate. Great thumbnails and knowing the price without having to click through would be great. I don't think they would lose sales or customers this way. People are more likely to shop if they can do so quickly.

Melissa said...

As others have said, it is a lovely site to navigate, very clear and the photos of the fabrics are great.

I would like to see a few more funky fabrics (my initial reaction is that most of the fabrics are fairly pastel in tone. Haberdashery would be good, as I do like a one-stop shop wherever possible (I'm thinking threads to match and maybe a selection of zips). A wider range of independent patterns would be the icing on the cake.

Veronica said...

The site is clear, love the whitespace (it's the worst when fabric sites have coloured or pattern backgrounds, very hard to compare the colours of the fabric on show) and the range of materials look great. Having Colette Patterns and other patterns is great too.

xoxo

DIYWannabe said...

Excellent main page with most pertinent info one click away. Also appreciate the added descriptive text for the different weights of cotton. Whenever you can help the customer imagine the "feel" of the material the more likely a sale. Also think you are onto some thing by making the consumer click thru for the price. This will be something to watch, though, as the general consumer might disagree.

Good luck with your new enterprise!

nickandkatherine said...

Thank you for the crafting tutorials - especially the fabric flower. I love to learn how to make new things. Keep up the great work, your pages are an inspiration.

javede said...

I like that if you chose a category that all the fabrics in it are displayed and I find the photos have just the right size-not too small but not too big either.
I would like it very much if the size of design elements on a fabric would be noted on the description, like what size are the mushrooms on this fabric:
http://www.dragonflyfabrics.co.uk/fabrics-by-designer/hilco-children/jerseys/product-604.php

Jacqui said...

Very pretty site, looks good even on a tiny iPhone screen! I actually didn't notice the prices were only on the fabric page until I read some of the comments, but I can see it would be important to some customers. One thing I'd like, as an international customer, is a bit more vlarification on the shipping - is it really just £9 no matter how much you order? Great if so and you should make it more of a selling pojnt! I also like shipping/returns information to be clearly labelled in its own section so I don't have to hunting for it as it's often a major deciding factor for placing an order or not. The fabric pictures look really good - the higher the quality the better! The one thing I'd like, and lots of places don't do it, is more over-all photos of fabrics with very large prints.

Gill said...

A great selection of 'different' fabrics (I haven't heard of Dragonfly before!) rather pricey but I like the idea of being able to buy from 0.3m upwards. I would like to be able to see the price of each fabric without having to click on every one

ali4579@gmail.com said...

Love the website! Just gorgeous and easy to navigate.

My suggestion would be to include a link somewhere on the page that says "shipping" The only place I could find one was from the home page, but if you didn't enter the site at that page you couldn't find it

(I later found it under terms and conditions but I wouldn't ahve thought to look for it there).

Love the uncomplicated shipping options, being from Australia that is usually the thing that makes me decides whether or not to deal with a company....

kbenco said...

The site looks good, very clean and easy to navigate, with lots of tempting fabrics, but in my opinion, is missing any sort of gauge as to the size of the print on the fabrics - a ruler on the photo would be good. Also I am a bit confused about the standard shipping - does this include international? I would have to send an email about this before being confident in placing an order.

Kestrel said...

The layout of the site is good, and intuitive and the pictures are good, although more of them could do with a tape measure included for scale. Great selection of lovely fabrics though!
It's also handy to be able to search by colour and pattern, though there are not so many fabrics on the site at the minute that this is a huge issue. I would also have liked an easy way to see postage costs, if the order was under £30.

wendy said...

Lovely fabrics, any of which I would love on my stash. The only point I would make is that the site is titled 'designer dressmaking fabric' but I would say most of the fabric is kids or quilting fabric. Like mothers mentioned I would love to see some more 'grown up' fabric.

Also happy to see the postage to Europe is reasonable.

Alessa said...

The design of the site is lovely and I like that the fabric thumbnails are nice and big. I think it would be cool if the fabrics were searchable by color and print (flowers, stripes, polka dots, plaids etc.). I love that they send fabric swatches! Personally, I would like some more knit fabrics, especially in prints and bolder colors, and maybe some double knits?

Lisa said...

Great giveaway!

The website has a nice and clean layout. The size of the photos is good, and I like the organic category. I would also like to be able to sort by colour and price. And I agree that the 'more lovely things' products are not really in line with the rest of the fabrics.

Amber Elayne said...

The website is nice and clean and the menu is easy to use. I think some categories would really benefit from more variety but my big thing when ordering material is that with patterned material, I feel that a swatch doesn't help me with perspective, even with a ruler. One of the swatches showed it as a garment on a person and that was great! Even draped on a mannequin would help! Thanks!!

Mara Donofrio said...

The cleanliness of the website is so nice. I like that you can shop by fabric content and I am so excited that they have organic cotton. I would love to see them offer printed silks - they are so hard to find. It would be great if you could search by color/pattern, and if the grey font was a little bit darker that would be nice. It's so nice that the pricing is by meter - it would also be helpful if there was listed the USD price - having to go to the £ to $ converter whenever I see a UK fabric I like gets a little tedious. The pictures are fantastic quality and I like that the thumbnails are an accurate representation of a large area of fabric. :)

Dichohecho said...

The website is nice to look out, pretty without being overly busy. I like the square photos on the front page which are links to different categories, they're easier to look at than a wall of text.
It'd be good to have some sort of indication of the size of patterns, maybe a ruler photographed alongside the fabric, or just a scale up the side of the photo.

I've put a link in my most recent blog post here: http://52weeksof.blogspot.com/2011/09/revision-stations.html
I think that's it? I should be contactable via my blogger profile, should I be lucky enough to win :)
Sarah
P.S. I found you via Karen at didyoumakethat

Kirsty said...

Hello,

I've popped on over from Karen's Blog (Aka Did You Make That) and I have to say this is such a fantastic way for the new site to get constructive feedback.

First impressions are that the front page seems to be a little cluttered for me. The left hand toolbar maybe needs to be just the titles and then it expands to the sub-pages. Other than that I'm not sure but something is just not quite the wow! factor.
Personally I like to order samples when I'm buying fabric online and I think that the method for doing this is a bit long-winded and it would probably put me off buying anything. Maybe a "Order Sample" button on each page and then everything can be done through the basket and make life easier for customer and staff, I also like the idea of a loyalty bonus if you buy that item after ordering the sample.
I'm agreeing with other comments regarding a price with the thumbnail, I tend to get bored if I have to do a lot of clicking to find the price and then more to get back to where I was originally.
Other than that the site is easy to use and there are plenty of descriptions for the fabric (Love the option to order in 10cm increments!), washing instructions, size of the picture (although not in all the descriptions and a scale in the picture would also be handy), width of the bolt and even a recommendation for its use, the pictures are great size and quality

Oops bit of a longer reply than I was intending, hope it's useful to them

Kirsty
(blogged about here The Reel McCoy

Debi said...

What a fantastic giveaway and I am very excited to learn about this new fabric website! huzzah! Here are my website related comments:
1. I really like the homepage--I always like having the option of either clicking on an image or going to the standard side bar; 2. I really like having all the fabrics listed by type (as opposed to only designer); 3. I noticed that it says to click on the thumbnail to enlarge the photo and that didn't seem to work (in the wool section--I didn't try the other sections). I think that would be an important option; 4) I would also love to see a short description of what bio Linen is...I went to the section but it didn't contain any extra information to help me decide if I should buy that!
Great job! Thanks for the generous giveaway--I really hope I win as I'd love to get at some of the colette patterns and the fabrics look divine!

CamberwellGal said...

There are some very lovely fabrics here - I'm particularly liking the 'bio linens' - beautiful colours and textiles (although I'm not quite sure about the enzymes used to soften the fabric; I guess I clicked on that page thinking that 'bio' might mean organic/environmentally friendly production - something that's definitely an issue for cotton - v nice organic cotton btw!)

Back to the subject in hand. The general layout is fairly clear which is nice. I'd have liked there to be some sense of relative scale in the image; e.g. a ruler, a coin etc. This would give a sense of the size of the motif on a print for instance.

Would it also be possible to have a close up (as shown) and something further back? This way it would be possible to get a sense of how a print repeats (this is really hard to tell on something like the 'Maybe Sixpence Voile'). If draped, it would also give a sense of the fall of the fabric too; Emma Onesock's site does this, which I find very useful.

Nice stuff though!

travelling_soo said...

I'm probably not going to exolain all this terribly well so bear with me (and feel free to follow up with me if you would like). One of my bugbears on websites and especially fabric websites is having to do a lot of drill-downs to see the info I need - in this regard, the dragonfly fabrics website is pretty good but I would appreciate being able to see the price of fabrics when I am looking ata selection of things. I always have a price ceiling in mind so there is no point me looking at a fabric over this no matter how lovely it is and after a while I get tired of having to click into lots of fabrics to see whether I can afford them or not and just give up looking. (You could just copy the layout in the 'special offers' section)

I know that for each fabric, it tells you the size of the fabric in the picture, however, I would still appreciate having a tape measure included in the bottom of the picture as this makes it easier to visualize.

I would like to see some stretch wovens and some silks on here if possible.

It would be nice to be able to sort by pattern (like polka dots or stripes etc) or by colour.

Other than that I really like the site - I love its clean and stylish design, the good selection of fabric and the easy to navigate layout - I shall definitely be returning!

Unknown said...

The website it clear, but I'd love to see more knit and jersey fabrics. Great job!

Jane said...

It's a good looking site and easy to navigate around. I like the fact that it's relatively uncluttered and that the pictures are all very clear.

I'm relatively new to dress making and find it quite difficult to tell which fabrics are suitable for which patterns so some guidance here would be welcomed. For example I have a pattern which calls for 2-way stretch knit, but I am not sure which of the knits on your site would fit this description, or what makes jersey fabrics different from knits.

Also I would like to see a wider selection - for example more wool fabrics and possibly some silks. It would also be useful if you could offer zips, thread, muslin/calico and lining fabric. Buying on line is convenient but not if you need to go to the shops to complete your purchases.

I hope this helps, J

RebeccaHoward said...

Well, well. Amazing what a giveaway does to the number of comments! The site looks great with some terrific looking fabrics. However, I would like to see a ruler/tape measure included with the fabric picture so one has a clearer idea of the size of the stripes or patterns on the fabric. I love Collette patterns and this would give me an opportunity to try your fabric. Thanks, Rebecca

Magpie Mimi said...

This looks like a really lovely fabric shop and have spotted a few things that I would give a happy home to! The only thing I'd say is that it took me a while to find out where the postage/shipping rates were and on the contact page the security code part doesn't have an option for people who are visually impaired like most verification/security things do.

Unknown said...

Love the fabrics at Dragonfly! The website is well organized and easy to navigate and the swatches are big enough to see plenty of detail. Might be nice if they put in a note about the origins of the bio linens and organic cotton. I hope they get in a bigger selection of knits and wool fabric! Sadly shipping to Canada is a bit pricy.
-Erin

Claire said...

Thanks for the giveaway! I like the main page, but if would be helpful to have a search bar at the top. Sorry if this has been suggested already! Lots of comments to read.

Geri said...

I agree with many of the comments above -- great site, easy to navigate and great photos of the fabric. Obviously aiming towards the upper end of the market (designer fabrics and prices which reflect that). For me I'm much more likely to a) buy online and b) pay a bit more, for fabric that I can't get elsewhere easily -- for example blends like silk-linens, coloured and printed wools (of various kinds and blends -- its incredibly hard to find non-boring wool) and actually often stretch wovens. I think by diversifying their fabric options a little more, they will get more custom from those who might regularly buy at the, ahem, lower end of the market!

House of Pinheiro said...

User friendly layout, with easy to search categories. Really like the option for shipping samples at a reasonable cost. Free shipping above 30is good too.

jadestar said...

What a lovely site. I found lots of gorgeous fabric, although a little out of my price range at the moment.
Site is very clean and easy to navigate. Would be nice to have prices so you don't have to click on the images.

threadless said...

What a beatiful site, love both the format and the fabric, more plain materials, knits, wools and corduroys would be good at this time of year but as a new site getting feedback in an innovative form like this will help you decide where to invest next.
Some indication of fabric handling could be useful on the description.
Only negative point was the cost, with so mny people watching the pennies a budget range might be a good seller.

The Long & Winding Bobbin said...

Wow, pretty website. I like that all of the fabrics are easy to find and the pictures are all lovely. It would however be nice to see the prices whilst browsing.
Thanks for the fantastic giveaway :-)
-Renay

Clare said...

The website looks lovely - very attractive design. The fabrics are generally a bit above my price range, though - I would consider them if I were to treat myself. I really like that the prices listed are per metre (rather than half metre as many sites selling this kind of designer fabric do).

My only suggested change would be that I'd like to be able to see the prices of the fabrics when I'm looking at the list of thumbnails, rather than having to go to each individual fabric's page.

What a great giveaway - thank you for offering it :)

Suzanne said...

Wonderfully set up for online shopping. Only thing I would like to see,( and rarely does any online sites have this feature anylonger), I would like to see a phone number posted that if I needed I could talk to a real person..not just e-mail.

Steph said...

I think the site looks very neat, and very easy to navigate. I like that the swatches have big previews. I think it might be useful to have an FAQ page, i.e. delivery and returns information etc. It also might be helpful to separate sewing patterns by designer.

Henria O. said...

I love the design of the website and the ease of navigation. I did notice that the pattern selection could be expanded. Also they might attempt to carry some newer lines from the fabric designers. Thanks for the giveaway!

Henria O. said...

Blogged here: http://sazzyfrazz.blogspot.com/2011/09/house-of-marmalade-dragonfly-fabrics.html

shivani said...

lovely site and beautiful selection of fabrics. I especially like how there's an option to see cottons by weight. However, it would be really useful to have a link to shipping/delivery information - I had to hunt around for that. Also, "More lovely things" isn't v helpful for browsing. Also, some of the links are in sentence case (eg About us) and others in title case (eg Contact Us) - it's always best to pick one style over the other.
Perhaps stocking more independent pattern designers (eg Sewaholic, Jamie Christina). Also, for fabrics that are recommended for clothesmaking, it's really useful to get an idea of drape and scale of the print - so perhaps a photo of the fabric draped over a dressmaker's dummy?

I'll be treating myself to some flannel for winter pajamas!

mooncalf said...

Very nice shop!

I particularly love the range of Westfalenstoffe fabrics. I love these.

It is hard to think of an improvement to be honest. I suppose that it would be nice to see more wool fabrics as the cold weather approaches...

It might be nice to know if it were possible to buy fat quarters as well as metreage.

DilEmma said...

The website is lovely and clear and the patterns and fabric available are gorgeous, if slightly out of
My
Budget... I'm a student! But as soon as I can afford to
Ill be making my
First purchase!

Lucy said...

I agree with a lot of the above!

Particularly nice to see that you stock the Ottobre kids magazines - how about the womens ones too?

I think my favourite point from above (well, I'm not going to come up with anything else original after 68 comments, am I?!) was g's: you're most likely to capture the market of people who wouldn't normally spend that much money if you can offer 'special fabrics' that are hard to find elsewhere in the UK. Stretch wovens, wool jersey, double knits, silk-cotton blends, silk jersey and nice sweater knits are all examples that spring to mind.

Melissa said...

I found both you and Dragonfly Fabrics quite randomly, and I have a bit of a girl-crush on you both now. That dotty ribbon is perfectly adorable, and would make a fantastic embellishment for any outfit. :)

Abby said...

What a lovely website! The photos are beautiful, as are the products. I love being able to search for fabrics by type, and it would be nice if I could search by color as well. It would also be really helpful if there was a button to convert the currency (Pepperberry does this). I'm so glad to have found Dragonfly Fabrics here!

Florence Knapp (Flossie Teacakes) said...

Oh goodness! I hadn't seen this website until you and another reader mentioned it to me this afternoon and it's lovely! Thank you so much for alerting me to it (and their cord), Julia.

So here are my thoughts:

The website is beautiful - fresh and clean and the fabric range is unusual - there's only a little overlap with other online sellers, which us wonderful. I love the range of dressmaking fabric that they are stocking and their jersey section is swoonworthy! I love so many of them, although they seem a little on the expensive side.

In terms of what other fabrics I'd like to see - more grown-up/plain needlecord fabrics for dressmaking. Perhaps some heavier, winter dressmaking fabrics too - such as drill, cord and some cotton/wool mixes.

The other fabric that I don't tend to see offered in other fabric shops are sari fabrics - they're beautiful and they're not something that I've seen other sewing bloggers experimenting with...perhaps because they don't seem too widely available within regular sewing supply shops?

Florence x

Isisjem said...

Generally I like this website - like some others have said it would be good to have the price more obvious without having to click on individual pages. It's good to see such a good range of substrates. I think it would also be really useful to be able to have care instructions/whether prewashing is essential/expected shrinkage etc. If you're using certain fabric types for the first time you might not be aware of this and that knowledge might effect how much you order. It would be lovely to see the website branch out into threads, interfacing, zips etc - in other words all the items you'd need if you bought any of the patterns and decided to make. Otherwise someone might just by the pattern and fabric elsewhere where they can pick up thread etc at the same time.

Florence Knapp (Flossie Teacakes) said...

Hello again, Julia. I've just added a mention onto the end of my earlier post here: http://flossieteacakes.blogspot.com/2011/09/ladleful-of-links.html

x

Unknown said...

I love this website and particularly like the fact that there are more dress making fabrics rather than a huge amount of quilting fabrics. Love love love the flannel brushed cotton fabric - sooo nice to see something different. Also, excited, as I am going to some sewing classes run by Mrs Dragonfly next week, hurrah! Sharon

bprinz said...

looks very modern and clear. I ecpecially love the bio linen selection!

Love to Stitch said...

I really love the website, and I don't actually think anything needs to be changed. Although I don't particularly like having to click so much to get to fabrics and prices...but that might just be me!

verykerryberry said...

I found this site last week and bookmarked it then- excellent selection of knits and jerseys. What I like most is being able to see all fabrics in one section on the one page rather than 6 at a time. Found it a great website

memmens said...

I like the feel of the site, it's easy to navigate, quick to load (sometimes fabric websites take a while to load a fabric photo). I also like the fact that there are fabrics there I've not seen elsewhere in the UK.
There is no design board which I have found useful on other sites so you can look at fabrics next to each other.

.x.Helen.x. said...

The site design is clean and doesn't distract from the products. I like the fact they sell fabric I don't see everywhere in the UK. The Dena designs panels are particularly interesting.

It's been said already but I would also like to see prices before clicking through to the page for that individual product.

The Coffee Lady said...

Ooh. Fabrics and patterns. I must admit I'd like more patterns, because that's the first place I clicked. But it is all very easy to navigate, and there are some utterly gorgeous fabrics.

Saffi said...

I like the layout, but agree that it would be useful to see prices without clicking through to the fabric. It looks like a good online shop, and I've added it to my favourites.

Mrs G said...

What a lovely site! Such joy to find dressmaking fabrics. Prices are probably out of my range (apart from the payday splurge) but I can imagine that I will still visit and buy a few special pieces. The site is well laid out and as someone said before, the thumbnails are of a good size to see the pattern and colours clearly.

I would ideally like to see some more mid-range dressmaking fabrics (up to £10 a mtr) but its a great start. So chuffed to see a big range of AMH fabrics, these are getting hard to find.

Anonymous said...

All the fabrics shown are very tasteful and it's apparent they are high quality. The website runs fast as well. Possiblities for enhancement? I wouldn't mind seeing more fabrics with adult designs in certain fabric categories (i.e. corduroy). Also, Collette patterns are the best! How about including other independent pattern companies, like Sewaholic Patterns? It is a beautifully constructed website and I am glad to know it is out there!

Claire said...

The website is generally really nice looking and easy to navigate. The pictures are big and clear which is great. The only criticism I can think of is that a lot of the fabric is quite pricey, and also I'd love it to give me some ideas of what kind of garment could be made with the fabric, As a newbie to sewing the hardest thing for me is matching fabric to pattern.

Rebecca said...

Please enter me in this great giveaway!

The layout is very easy to navigate. The swatches are great. My only pet-peeve is there are no prices listed unless you click on the fabric swatch. Its a big disappointment when you hope for one price and see a higher price when you click the swatch.

rofishman gmail com

The undomesticated scientist said...

hi,
i pootled about the site. prehaps its just me but i found the ribbons being on a stark white back ground very hard on the eye, although the green lacey one is loverly it felt abit lost on the white. Being rubbish i have nothing to suggest to remedy this though! fingers crossed.

Anonymous said...

I'm very excited about this new site; I'd love to do more dressmaking but have struggled to find the 'right' fabric for projects in the past.

I'd love to see a 'search by colour' feature and a 'view all fabrics at once' feature.

I hope that there will be even more fabrics on sale soon!

Anonymous said...

I love the look of the fabric selection. There seem to be plenty of fabrics I haven't seen elsewhere which really appeals to me. On the site layout, the list on the left is quite long and the first  few times I browsed I missed the things at the bottom because I didn't see past the fabrics listed by designer (I'd say that part is too long). 

Kate said...

I do like the layout of the website, it's easy to find things. The pictures are also a great size. One thing I do like to see whaen buying online is a description of the 'hand' of the fabric and what it might be good for. It gives me a better idea of what I'm looking at, and means I can avoid quilting type cottons for dressmaking purposes.

Lovely design though - I will be back!

Liz said...

I love the clean layout and the organization. One suggestion would be to have all sale merchandise browsable by clicking on "sale" somewhere in the navigation bar.

eemoody77 at gmail dot com

WandaFish said...

Nice clear, easy to navigate site. As others have said, I like to see the price at a glance, which is the case in the special offer section.
I love the corduroy prints in particular and the stripy jerseys. Great range of AMH flannels too!
Although a dressmaking fabric site, many of the fabrics (eg. Westfalenstoffe) are great for quilting and small projects so it would be nice to be able to buy fat quarters.
I'll definitely be bookmarking the site :)
Thanks for the fabulous giveaway, although I'm probably a little late to be entered for that.

JuliaB said...

blog entry for the number generator ; The Reel McCoy

ginny farquhar said...

a great giveaway Julia. Have Rtweeted it too.
i think the website looks great. Really easy to navigate and I especially like the variety of Courdory and the inclusion of organic fabrics. Like the jersey selection too.
Also i have never heard of bio linen... interesting! I shall definately book mark this and tell our students x
lots of love
Ginny x
sweetmyrtle

Martha O. said...

I love the fact that you ship to several countries, including the U.S.! Thank you, for that. I found the list of designer by fabric a little long (and perhaps a little confusing?) in its current position. Having a list of all your product categories immediately viewable on the sidebar seems more desirable. I thought you could either make the list collapsable or move it to the end of the sidebar.

Your stock so many interesting and attractive fabrics and ribbons--things that I have yet to see elsewhere. And that makes your site a "must see" for me.

Martha O. said...

I love the fact that you ship to several countries, including the U.S.! Thank you, for that. I found the list of designer by fabric a little long (and perhaps a little confusing?) in its current position. Having a list of all your product categories immediately viewable on the sidebar seems more desirable. I thought you could either make the list collapsable or move it to the end of the sidebar.

Your stock so many interesting and attractive fabrics and ribbons--things that I have yet to see elsewhere. And that makes your site a "must see" for me.
http://putthatinyourblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/giveaway-dragonfly-fabrics.html

Mairi dhubh said...

The website was easy to navigate and the fabric designs were lovely - a good combination of a "vintage" look with new and fresh.

Laura said...

I think the top banner should be clickable and take you to the home page. That's what a lot of users expect nowadays.