Where do you source your natural-material threads and fabrics?

I love, love, love that the Textile PEP badges require using all natural materials. But, it's hard finding good sewing thread (at least it is for me!)

I inherited a bunch of thread from my mom and grandma (so many colors to match all the clothes I need to darn or things I need to sew!)....only to realize that all those spools are polyester thread. I have a some funky thicker cotton thread that come wrapped around little cotton tubes, so at least I do have some natural fibre threads....but they're all thick!

I asked at my local craft/fabric store to see if they had any silk thread. They had none!

I went looking on etsy for good silk thread, and I got utterly confused and had no idea what to buy. I tried to find linen thread with the same results.

Surely I'm not the only one that's wondering where/how to find good natural-material sewing thread. It's expensive and I don't want to buy the wrong stuff!

So, I thought I'd reach out to people and ask where they get their sewing thread (please post links if you can!), and other natural materials for projects too!

Thanks!!!

The fabric section of Walmart carries cotton quilting thread of 1000m. Usually on the lower rack with only a few basic colors. Same things are sold at Joann but at a higher price.
If not available locally, Wawak.com has good selections of cotton and silk threads with reasonable prices.
Or look up craigslist, ebay or etsy, sometimes people are selling bundles of threads cheaply. Just beware of older threads in dark colors, they tend to deteriorate faster then those in light colors.

Thank you! Would you be able to point me to a good silk "all-purpose" sewing thread on wawack? They seem to have Tex 75 buttonhole thread and Tex 30 buttonhole thread, and I can't figure out the difference. Thanks!

Tex30 means 1000m of thread weights 30g. The higher the number, the thicker is the thread.
Tex30 is typical for sewing machine, it should be suitable for hand sewing too.

Maybe your thicker cotton threads are for embroidery or buttonhole so they are heavier.

I attached the table of compatible fabric weight, thread weight and needles here taken from amefird.com. hope it helps.

Okay, so this thread isn't exactly what I thought it was, but long-term, maybe this is helpful.

Once I get my food growing systems sorted, one of the things I want to start doing is processing nettles for fiber, since they grow readily in these parts. Nettles were one of the most common fibers used in Europe prior to the popularizing of flax/linen.

If you check Youtube, Sally Pointer has a lot of great videos on processing nettles and other natural fibers. The fineness of the thread comes down mostly to how thoroughly it's processed.

Of course, this isn't helpful for any projects you're trying to do right now, but if you're thinking long-term about sourcing natural fibers...

https://organiccottonplus.com/collections/quilting-thread

This might be what you're looking for? They've got all sorts of stuff

There is a shop of natural linen fabric.  Can be ordered in different lengths.  Email them www.fabric1yard.com