Designer Fabrics

Designer fabrics is my go-​to mostly because of the location, but they also do tend to have what I’m looking for most of the time for reasonable prices. If you want a staff member to help you make decisions and show you around, you’re probably best somewhere else, but I appreciate being left alone to touch fabrics.
Their best selection is in home décor fabrics and cotton shirting, everything else can be a bit hit or miss. I mostly sew apparel and find their selection of knits isn’t that great.
They have an excellent trims & notions section with every width & colour of bias tape, elastic, ribbon, and more, as well as a decent button selection, and any notions you might need.

As a very inexperienced sewer, I was very hesitant about going out and buying fabric. The staff at Designer Fabrics were welcoming and extremely helpful. I was able to quickly find and choose a few different fabrics for a project. The selection in this location is almost overwhelming. With their help I am sure you will be able to plan any project you desire. Thanks Designer Fabrics!

I have never encountered such horrible service. The staff are unfriendly and rude. It was my first time in the store and was not sure how to go about buying fabric. When I asked questions they were beyond rude and extremely condescending. I will honestly never return to this store! Instead we drove further down queen street (queen and Agusta) and found two other fabric stores where I was able to buy my fabric while also receiving exceptional service. (I bought 1yard of fabric $ 3 and at Designer Fabrics it as $ 19.99/ yard for the exact same fabric) I would not recommend this store to anyone at all!!!

Sat. July 19,2014 My first time there… As i entered, I realised it was overwhelming so turned to the blonde at the front desk and politely., asked «is there someone to help me?».With the tone of someone speaking to child. she says «well.all those people walking around can…» Normally, this would be enough for me to leave but i had come all the way from misssissauga so, off i went… up stairs, where i encountered the rude blonde lady’s equally condescending goateed ‘brother’ who acted as if i were disturbing his day. I left empty handed, having come to purchase fabric for 6 bridesmaid dresses… this place is in a less than favourable area of queen st west… at least the drunks languishing beside the building were friendly… albeit too much so… Never again!

The staff here has been rude, dismissive and far from helpful every time I have been in. I have only returned because of convenience of location. Thankfully I have found an online supplier now so I don’t need to return to Designer Fabrics. I usually would prefer to support a local business but the staff is just so incredibly rude I don’t ever want to give them my business again.

Being there once a week, at least, and knowing most of the staff personally by now, I have to say, they are professional, knowledgable and love their work.
The fabrics are abundant and well chosen.
Wonderful experience, great destination

The Good: A BIG selection of fabrics to choose from and organized so well with smaller sections of each print hanging on hangers for people to go through. They have a large selection of discounted fabrics too so if you’re looking to just do something fun and simple, there will definitely be a something for you.
There’s also the option to take home a piece of the fabric (just need to leave a «rental fee» which will be given back to you when it’s returned) to take home and compare colors to your interior.
Their selection has more high quality fabric from all around the world.
Quick service. It was a Monday and it was fairly busy, but I didn’t have to wait for someone to assist me.
The Bad: If you have a generic print that you’re looking for, it may be worth it to compare prices at other fabric stores because it may make the difference of $ 5 per yard if the other place is on sale.
While there is a large selection, it may also feel overwhelming, leaving you unsure of what to get. So have in mind at least the color and a budget to work with before entering the store.
The Overall: Convenient enough to get to by street car and lots of street parking and a parking lot across the store. 2 floors AND a section for leather. I can’t imagine not finding at least ONE thing you’d want to leave with.
Revisit: Definitely. Need to take some measurements for the pillows on my sofa! It’s fun just to see what new fabrics are in their discount section.

Aside from my half-​hour wait for them to find a bolt of fabric I wanted to order, the service was pretty good.
Having never ordered from this store before, I was a little confused of the procedures as there are many desks & sales people spread throughout the store. But once you find someone who is free to assist, you’re in pretty good hands (for the most part).
They have a lot of nice fabrics but unfortunately you have to dig to find them. However, for the prices you pay, I say it’s worth the time to spend an afternoon looking for what you want.
Atmosphere and cleanliness is a whole other thing… keep your hand sanitizer ready :)

I waited twenty minutes for them to find the right colour of fleece (and yes, I know, it’s a big store, so I wasn’t that concerned) only to find out that in order to get it, I had to buy half the roll, because it was on clearance.
Maybe I shouldn’t have looked here for crafting purposes…

I finally checked this place out and was blown away. It’s enormous and a little intimidating at first – there are thousands of swatches (I’m used to looking at bolts of fabric) and dozens of staff. I assumed that since there were swatches on display that most of their stuff would need to be ordered. Turns out, the swatches virtually all represent in-​stock fabric. This news almost brought a tear to my eye. In my two hours there I probably spoke to five or six of the staff and they were universally friendly and knowledgeable.
The place also has a really nice buzz. There were lots of designers there, talking about client projects in private homes and on movie sets. The customers and the staff seems to know each other and there was lots of good chit chat, sewing-​related and otherwise. There are well-​placed tables and chairs where you can leave your swatches while you browse, then come back to sit down and calculate yardages.
There was a wide range of fabric qualities/​prices and I agree with other reviewers that their prices do seem to be lower than other fabric stores in the city. Part and parcel of this is a no return policy, a ½ yard minimum and some restrictions about how much they will leave on a bolt. Also, they don’t allow returns of any kind, not just cut fabric.
It’s just the kind of independent retailer that makes me bemoan the encroachment of big chains. Based on my experience, though, these guys will be around for a long time.

Designer Fabrics located in Parkdale offers a huge variety of fashion, home décor, and outdoor fabrics. Prices are very reasonable and appear to be somewhat below market value. Pricing depends on the quality and size of fabric that you are selecting. I ventured to Designer Fabrics to select an outdoor pattern to recover my vintage wrought iron patio set. They had a decent selection of outdoor fabric that was anti-​microbial and weather proof. I was pleasantly surprised at how low the cost was for the product. The staff was polite and courteous. I would definitely try Designer Fabrics first before other competitors. There are so many options; you are surely to find something that suits your taste here.
I recommend Designer Fabrics!

The bottom floor of this store is mostly upholstery and home décor fabrics, and related accessories such as curtain rods, curtain tie-​backs, and other sewing notions. The second floor is a wonderful selection of the garment fabric — from simple cotton to embroidered brocades.
This is one of a few places in Toronto you can buy PVC fabrics (aka vegan-​leather) but the selection varies from time to time.
If I’m looking for a unique fabric and the generic stuff at Fabricland isn’t working for me, I come here to have a look because chances are I’ll find what I’m looking for here.

Designer Fabrics has a wide selection of nice, imported fabrics at pretty good prices – think of it as a more artsy-​fartsy version of Fabricland. The blend of value and chic means that people come not only from Parkdale, but from all over the west end (and sometimes from ever farther afield) to shop here.
Designer Fabrics also sells a lot of good fabric-​related accessories. For example, they carry things like curtain rods and rod caps that are a lot classier and better made than much of the home décor hardware you might find at places like Home Depot and Rona.