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A typical scenario: A small miscalculation and there is not quite enough fabric to finish your dress or quilt or coat or ? Calling the fabric store can be frustrating because they are out of that specific fabric…. This story is all too familiar! In 1996 Fabrics.net would help find fabric for people who emailed or called but when the calls and emails numbered between 50-100 a day, we had to find another way to help find fabric. The FabricFinder was our answer and has helped people for several years. It is a free service for our web visitors.
To answer a few of your past questions about locating missing fabric, calling the fabric manufacturer does not help. First it is difficult to find a phone number or email address for the manufacturer, second they have no idea where a specific fabric is sold at the retail level. Manufacturers produce thousands of yards of fabric a day. Reps are sales people who sell either directly to fabric stores or to wholesalers who then sell to retail stores. Jobbers buy large lots of fabric from various sources, stores going out of business, garment manufacturers who have excess fabric, etc. Calling or emailing each of the above people can take a LOT of time and energy! Personally I would rather spend my time sewing or knitting or Pinning on Pinterest.
Another resource for finding missing fabric is Missing Fabrics.com Their service is free but they do ask for small donations.
Findmyfabric.com is a fairly new web site and is still in Beta testing. Here you can search for fabric either by name or by photo.

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If all else fails, Spoonflower.com will custom print on a variety of natural fabrics. I love this company even though I have not ordered from them yet. You send them a design, they will even print a swatch for a small fee. There is no minimum order and the cost of a yard of custom printed fabric starts at $15.75.
I hope this information helps find your missing fabric! Sorry but I have no solution for the missing socks that seem to be lost in the dryer, though. Please email me if there are other web sites or other venues you have used to help find missing fabrics.
Enjoy!
Judith
Judith@fabrics.net