Recommended Suppliers for Make Your Own Gear (MYOG) Fabrics and Hardware
Here is a non-exhaustive list of suppliers of quality outdoor fabrics and hardware to help you get started with your MYOG Tutorials/Prickly Gorse sewing guides. Don’t forget that sometimes your local fabric market can sometimes have general use outdoor fabric to get you started!
Need some information about fabrics? See my Fabrics 101 page
Any missing suppliers? Drop me a message!
Always remember that you don’t need the newest expensive HyperLite(TM)(C)(TM)(TM) fabrics to make awesome stuff. There are still tons of basic nylon backpacks from the 80’s in use. Good design and appropriate fabric choices for the intended usage are more important than paying an extra £50 to save 50 grams (unless of course, maximum weight savings is your goal!).
Some links may be referral links, which helps me earn the tiniest amount of commission to support this website at no cost to yourself. All suppliers here are well known to the community.
United Kingdom
I have purchased from nearly all of these, so these notes are from personal experience on quality
Profabrics (Biggest range currently in the UK)
Make Your Own Gear UK (New, very promising startup)
Contact Left (Nylon webbing, high quality buckles, military XPAC)
Tough Fabrics (Interesting mix of clearance fabrics. Good meshes)
Henge Hammocks (Some interesting buckles)
Tech Textiles (Meshes, spacer mesh)
Web Fittings (Good variety of unbranded buckles, other hardware, cord. Their webbing is polypropylene, buy nylon webbing instead from Profabrics, MYOGUK or Contact Left instead)
Pennine Outdoors (Not much here that isn’t already at Profabrics)
EU Fabrics (Birmingham. Good mix of generic ripstops, waxed cottons, general clothing fabrics. Have a in-person shop)
Ashton Fabrics (Derby. Again, good mix of generic ripstops, 600D polyester, clothing fabrics. Have a in-person shop)
Polyprops (EVA foam for straps, sit pads, hip belts)
Pannier hardware: sjscycles, Decathlon
Ace Supplies. I believe this company is where Pennine Outdoors and Profabrics source their buckles. Wholesaler, so minimum order of 100 per buckle.
Sometimes worth checking your local fabric shops and market stalls. My local market has 600D PVC coated polyester for only £5 a metre, ripstop and some other outdoor fabrics. Not the fanciest stuff, but more than strong enough to make some cool bags!
Ordering from the EU – unfortunately due to brexit there is now a £135 (~€160) minimum order + import tax if you want to order from the excellent stores our EU friends have. Expect import fees of around 25% of the total order value.
March 2024: I’ve been told Adventure Expert will now ship orders less than £135 to the UK, other EU sellers still have the £135 min order
Ordering from the USA – no minimum order, but expect total fees to be around 25% on top of the order total, plus £30-£50 shipping.
UK Custom Printed fabrics
maake (I like their Tentex fabric. It’s somewhere between 210D and 420D nylon in strength and texture from my unscientific testing. Decent thickness of PU coating. Good print quality that resists abrasion, expensive)
Flamingo Fabrics (their canvas is feels like a general 600D polyester. Decent print quality that resists abrasion fairly well, thin PU coating, lower cost)
Contrado Have some waterproof canvas options, but you’re probably better off going for the maake Tentex instead for the same price
United States of America
Ripstop by the Roll (Custom printed fabrics, good variety of technical fabrics and hardware)
Rocky Woods (Excellent for the newest trending ultralight fabrics, and splatter cordura <3)
European Union
Adventure Expert (Slovenia – amazing range of fabrics and hardware)
Extrem Textil (Germany – amazing range of fabrics and hardware)
tacticaltrim.de (Germany)
Active Fabrics/Aktivstoffe (Germany, also sell to UK)
Ripstop.pl (Poland)
Orkan Tactical (Poland)
Shelby Outdoor (Finland)
Thelin Outdoor (Sweden)
Canada
Discovery Fabrics (mostly clothing fabrics)
Australia
Elsewhere
Your local eBay, physical shops and markets can have some gems, but also a load of lower quality stuff. You can make awesome gear without the hyped up fancy fabrics though!
Aliexpress, but can be a long wait for delivery and a gamble sometimes on quality
