While things have changed for ring slings in the regulatory sphere, all my custom-sewn slings have passed the sling standard, and the clearance section, having been sewn before the standard took effect, is exempt.
Current turnaround time: 2-3 business days (due to water sling BOGO 50% off sale)
Sources:
- Fabric.com: Service is fantastic, and shipping is very quick. They also have a newsletter with sales. A "Phoenix yard" is 37" instead of 36", so with each yard you buy, you actually get an extra inch. This adds up quickly if you buy in quantity! I generally buy only the sale/special items here, but have gotten some terrific deals. A number of the fashion fabrics are appropriate for slings, but some of the home dec fabrics are also lightweight enough for a sling, and are great for mei tais. They also have great prices on dupioni silk!
- Fabrics-Store.com: One-stop shop for linen and linen blends. Use lightweight or medium-weight linen for a single-layer sling; sheer for double layers. I'd recommend swatches if you are looking for an exact color match; otherwise, the on-screen swatches are decent.
- Denver Fabrics: Decent prices, and great selection, including stuff that's harder to find elsewhere. Very quick shipping.
- Fashion Fabrics Club: Great selection and prices. I mean, really fanastic selection. They have some of pretty much everything. Shipping isn't great, as they don't send any notification, and their warehouse seems rather slow; it usually takes at least 2 weeks to get an order from them.
- Wazoodle.com: Their selection varies from visit to visit, but the prices are fantastic, especially if you live in the US (Wazoodle is based in Canada). I bought a membership there and it quickly paid for itself, but even if you don't buy the membership, the prices are great. Service was also very quick, and the fabric was very high-quality.
- The Fabric Club: They were down for a while, but now they're back! Good prices, relatively quick shipping, wide variety of fabrics. I think they're probably a mill-end store, which means the selection changes regularly. However, I've had mixed experiences shopping there, so proceed with caution.
- JoAnn Fabrics: They have some selection online, but their descriptions are very vague and unhelpful. If you have a fabric store nearby, I would recommend going there in person and doing some browsing. JoAnn Fabrics now carries a limited selection of brocades and other luxury fabrics, but some are not suitable for baby slings. (I recently attempted to sew one of a silky brocade *print*, which they called a silk jacquard print, but the stitching was not at all secure due to the nature of the fabric.)
- Colores del Pueblo : A reliable source for Guatemalan fabric in many colors and patterns. These are not the same weight as the amazing, hand-woven fabric MayaWrap uses, but they're still quite pretty.
- A customer recommends Thai Silks -- their prices are on the higher side, but they have a fantastic (and I mean, thousands and thousands of silk solids and prints!) selection.
- eBay: If you search for the fabric you're looking for, you may find some great deals... or it may end up being more expensive than one of the places above. One never knows :) But eBay does occasionally have fabrics one can't find anywhere else, so it's probably worth a look.
