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Large pieces of fabric: where to get?


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I'm looking for material to use for backdrops in my photography. I know there are some sources for large remanants of commercial stuff... but I can't seem to find them. Theatrical or other types would be cool too. Anything really...

Anybody know good sources for this sort of stuff in the Detroit area?

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I'm looking for material to use for backdrops in my photography.  I know there are some sources for large remanants of commercial stuff... but I can't seem to find it.  Theatrical or other types would be cool too.  Anything really... 

Anybody know good sources for this sort of stuff in the Detroit area?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, run passsed one of our many morbidly obese citizens and just tear yourself a swath of their dress off as you go by. ;)

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bulk fabric happens to be a specialty of mine ;) however i'm not entirely sure my advice would work out extremely well for you depending on how perfectly fluid and together your background needs to appear...

look for sales at joann's and buy a couple yards ( you may want to look at the tag and make sure it's 60" not 48" or something, that will be the wider fabric) and if its not wide enough you can sew two pieces together (or have someone possibly more sewing-machine inclined do it for you).

two problems

-- the small line in the middle may be unfavorable to you for your backdrops depending on the pattern/type of fabric

-- this could get expensive for you depending on how good of a sale you find... i can email you a coupon of mine i'm not gonna use that'll get u 40% off if u think this'll still work out for you

but googling "theater supplies" might just be your best bet

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bulk fabric happens to be a specialty of mine ;)  however i'm not entirely sure my advice would work out extremely well for you depending on how perfectly fluid and together your background needs to appear...

look for sales at joann's and buy a couple yards  ( you may want to look at the tag and make sure it's 60" not 48" or something, that will be the wider fabric) and if its not wide enough you can sew two pieces together (or have someone possibly more sewing-machine inclined do it for you).

two problems

-- the small line in the middle may be unfavorable to you for your backdrops depending on the pattern/type of fabric

-- this could get expensive for you depending on how good of a sale you find... i can email you a coupon of mine i'm not gonna use that'll get u 40% off if u think this'll still work out for you

but googling "theater supplies" might just be your best bet

There might be times when stuff like you're talking about will work, but I'm pretty sure I need much larger pieces, which is why I'm trying to find commercial stuff. I had thought about theater supplies... I'll give that a try too. Thanks!!

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Two thoughts.

What about bed sheets, or blankets???? Some of those have neat textures and such.

Another is JoAnn fabrics does sell fabric in large pieces. It's usually on big rolls towards the back of the stores. I don't know if that's for all of them. But the few that I've been too had them. Some of them were very neat looking.

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Guest Megalicious

Try Freecycle.org, they always have a bunch of wierd shit ... perhaps youll run into someone with a bunch of material =) .. just a thought =)

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I would get king-sized white or pale colored sheets from Homegoods bargain isle...then dye them using dyes from this place: Dharma Trading Company

Make sure you use the proper dye for the fabric type...acid dyes for silk/wool/synthetics, and fiber-reactive for plant fibers.

Also might use: pale blankets from goodwill etc. They will take lots more dye to color (depending on shade) but are great for making color reflection panels on a budget (yellow/gold takes little dye as does green shades...red, black take double/triple strength etc)

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I would get king-sized white or pale colored sheets from Homegoods bargain isle...then dye them using dyes from this place: Dharma Trading Company

Make sure you use the proper dye for the fabric type...acid dyes for silk/wool/synthetics, and fiber-reactive for plant fibers.

Also might use: pale blankets from goodwill etc. They will take lots more dye to color (depending on shade) but are great for making color reflection panels on a budget (yellow/gold takes little dye as does green shades...red, black take double/triple strength etc)

And what I want are reds and blacks... :whistling

I'll look for less messy alternatives first Holli... but thanks for the idea!!

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It's clearance season everywhere and by going to shops like Walmart or Meijer you could logically catch some steals while you drop in for groceries or whatnot. Take a look at the sheets/curtains to see what they're clearencing. (man I feel like a spelling moron tonight)

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And what I want are reds and blacks...  :whistling

I'll look for less messy alternatives first Holli... but thanks for the idea!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You can dye them in the washer and then clean the washer by running it empty with a cup of bleach and warm water after you are done. I've used this method tons of times with great results.

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http://www.backdropsource.com/search.asp?m...CFRY1WAodEDFGBA

^ like almost everyhting on this page is less then $100

http://www.betterphoto.com/exploring/MakingBackDrops.asp

http://homepage.mac.com/geerlingguy/jeffsc...reenscreen.html

http://www.yellowpages.com/sp/yellowpages/...requestid=64425

^ my best advice would be to call the places listed here and simply ask them if they carry fabric XX wide.

see i knew ya neded that shade i had

:wink

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