How to Buy Fabric for Decorating Your Parties

The most cost efficient and effective way to decorate for your parties is fabric. Yes, I said fabric. You can use large pieces of fabric for different elements. You can change the set up of the room by hanging long pieces of fabric for dividers. Fabric is cheap. You can purchase it buy the yard for $1 to $2/yard. Fabric comes in different weights, designs, and colors so the possibilities are endless. One good trick is to buy a few yards of red velvet fabric and cut it into a long narrow carpet. Tape it down to the ground and now you have a “Red Carpet” for your cocktail party. You can reuse this carpet for all of your cocktail parties. 

You should know a little bit of lingo and tricks before you buy fabric. Most of the inexpensive and stretchy fabric that is easy to use is called “poplin.” So be sure to ask for that. You can usually find poplin for $1 per yard. Velvet, spandex, and other heavier fabrics will be a bit more expensive. Always buy in large quantities and in a variety of colors. For example, do not buy one yard of this and one yard of that. Buy 8 or 15 yards, and you will usually get a better deal. 

The fabric stores are usually in the downtown area of an urban city. If your campus is not located near a big city, then I suggest making an occasional trip to purchase your decorations. There are many fabric stores located next to each other in the same area. This allows you to haggle a bit. You will not find fabric for less than $1 per yard. For most fabric you will be paying about $2 per yard, unless it’s really cheap and ugly fabric. In the downtown area there might be a wholesale decorations place. These places serve professional party and event planners. You can usually find inexpensive trinkets and other things to decorate your party. This would be the place to find your paper lanterns for your Sake Bomb themed party.

You can also go to Michael’s, which is a chain of arts and crafts stores. You can also go to a similar store to Michael’s in your area. They also have little trinkets and such. There is also the online option of www.fabric.com. Click here to look at their Clearance Section
for cheap fabric. This site services party planners, and they have a wide selection. The only problem with going online is that you can’t get any last minute decorations.