Terry Fabric Stores

What Fabric Stores Sell as Terry Cloth

In a retail fabric store, terry cloth usually means cotton or cotton-blend toweling sold by the yard or meter from a bolt, in white and in colors, at widths suited to towels and apparel. Some stores file it with household and toweling fabrics, others with apparel fabrics, and French terry for sweatshirts and joggers may sit in a completely different aisle with the knits, so asking staff for both is worthwhile. Its sewing uses cover a wide range: towels and luxurious robes, bath mittens, reusable diapers, stuffed toys and bed linens, and then on into rompers, sundresses, sweat suits, loungewear, activewear and even sweatbands. Few fabrics move so easily between bathroom, nursery and wardrobe.

Stores may also stock toweling in pre-cut or specialty forms: striped kitchen toweling woven to towel width, double-sided bath toweling, terry-backed waterproof fabrics for nursery and care uses, and microfiber terry for cleaning. Each behaves differently at the sewing machine and in the wash. Before buying, unroll a length if you can, look at both faces, and check whether the loops are even, whether the ground weave feels firm, and whether the cloth recovers after you scrunch it in your hand. Terry should feel resilient and thirsty, not papery or limp, and the cut edge should not shed loops excessively when handled.

Choosing the Right Terry for a Sewing Project

Match the cloth to the job before falling for a color. For bath towels, washcloths and bath mats, choose absorbent cotton terry with loops on both sides and enough weight to feel substantial without taking forever to dry. For a robe or cover-up, a slightly lighter terry or a terry with one velour face drapes better and feels elegant, while still drying the wearer. For baby bibs, hooded towels and diaper sewing, softness and washability lead, and many makers back terry with a smooth cotton print so the gentle side sits against the skin and the absorbent side does the work. For sweatbands, spa headbands and small accessories, narrow remnants and lighter toweling are often plenty.

Quantity and shrinkage catch out more projects than pattern choice does. Cotton terry can shrink noticeably, so pre-wash it in the way the finished item will be washed, and buy a little extra length for that shrinkage and for matching or hemming. Check the usable width after allowing for any woven border or uneven edge, especially when cutting large bath sheets or robe panels. If you are buying online, order a swatch for any project where hand and absorbency truly matter, read the fiber and weight details rather than the photograph, and confirm whether the price is per yard, per meter or per pre-cut piece before comparing two stores.

Sewing and Caring for Terry at Home

Terry is friendly to sew, with a few habits that make it easier. Use a longer stitch, support the fabric so its weight does not drag, and expect lint in the machine, which should be cleaned out after a terry project. Loops can catch on pins and presser feet, so test on a scrap, finish raw edges that will be exposed to repeated washing, and bind or hem towel edges firmly because the cut loops will otherwise work loose over time. A walking foot helps when terry is layered with quilting cotton or waterproof backing, as in bibs and changing mats. None of this needs specialist machinery; it needs patience, sharp scissors and a vacuum for the inevitable fluff.

Finished terry projects follow the same care rules as bought towels. Wash without fabric softener if absorbency matters, shake items out so loops stand up, and dry them thoroughly to keep them fresh. Homemade reusable cloths, wipes and diapers benefit from a hot, thorough wash routine suited to their use. One pleasure of sewing with terry is repair: a worn towel can become washcloths, a robe can donate its good sections to bath mittens, and scraps make excellent cleaning cloths. The fabric keeps earning its keep long after the first project, which is part of why fabric stores keep it as a permanent staple rather than a seasonal novelty.

Using the Retailer Listings Below

Two retailers are listed below. Fabric.com offers soft terry cloth for everything from towels and robes to loungewear and activewear, with an emphasis on comfort.

Retail ranges and web addresses change over time, so treat the listings as trusted starting points and verify current stock, width, fiber and shipping terms on the retailer's own site before ordering. If you need trade quantities rather than sewing lengths, step up to the wholesalers page in this section; if you are choosing fabric for a product line, the mills page explains production.

Terry Cloth Retailers in This Directory

Two terry cloth retailers are listed below, each with a short note on what it sells.