Minerva Anmeldelser 1.085

It has been an excellent year discovering Minerva Exclusive patterns! In the past I have had disasters in attempting to make dresses and trousers, that I cannot believe how easy the patterns are to follow, with full instructions if needed, and how well the items fit. It is easy to make adjustments to sleeve length, neckline or to add pockets, etc. and, if in doubt, there is always a video or two to assist. Also, it’s great to see what other makers have made and which type of fabric they have used for best effect.

The fabric choice is extensive and Minerva Exclusive and Core ranges are all good quality fabrics. Of course, the Print-on-Demand fabrics take longer to arrive so it is best to be prepared and plan ahead if choosing these. They are well worth the wait and look superb!

A big thank you to customer service for answering my queries promptly!

Despite the popularity of programmes such as the Sewing Bee, it is still difficult to find a shop to purchase sewing items. My nearest one is nearly an hours drive away. And, of course, it is impossible for any small independent retailer to stock a vast range of fabric. This is where an online fabric supplier pays dividends.
I have been using Minerva for some years now, and couldn't be happier. The consistent quality of the fabric, friendly and helpful customer service team, the informative and entertaining tutorials, sew-alongs, and the friendly sewing community, full of tips and encouragement, are what make Minerva stand out amongst all the other websites that are available.
It is important to read their terms and conditions when making a purchase. It was a while before I realised that I could return fabric or faulty items. A print on demand material had a fault line in the pattern, and I had no problems returning it. Unfortunately I had to wait a while for another piece to be printed, but thankfully it didn't cause me any problems.
Their Core Range of fabric is excellent, and their end of line, deadstock and/or sale items I feel are excellent value, especially if you're wanting some economical fabric to make a toile, or you want to try a different type of fabric, without a high price tag.
Their print on demand (POD) fabric range of colours, designs and fabrics are, I think, one of the best available on-line. They may not be the cheapest, but you have a vast palette of options available, which I think is worth paying for. The only drawback with the POD fabric is the wait time, which does seem to have increased in recent months. No doubt they are at the mercy of their suppliers, and shipping times are notoriously hard to predict.
If I'm making something special and I'm selecting from the POD fabric, I'm just making sure I give a wider time frame for the order.
I still take pleasure in finding a fabric shop when out and about on holiday, and getting a chance to 'see and feel' before purchasing. However, the bulk of my purchases now come from Minerva. An on-line supplier I know I can trust.

I have been shopping with Minerva for well over 20 years. My recent experience was for an order of their Print on Demand fabric. I was aware of an extended wait time of 14-42 days when I placed my order on 5 October but I had to wait 10 weeks for my fabric (finally received 13 December) with no updates from Minerva regarding delays or progress of my order. Absolutely appalling service and its such a shame as the fabrics they offer in their POD service are amazing. That being said, one of the fabrics I ordered didn't not match what I had expected in terms of colour. I ordered it expecting a black background and it's come through as a charcol grey. Again disappointing. Apparently it is only certain base cloths that are experiencing extended delays but this latest experience has put me off ordering any more and they're not cheap either - £23.99 for viscose twill - and they don't offer their standard viscose twill - only the ECO VERO which is more expensive! I can't fault the staff though, every time I emailed to chase them, they were apologetic and it is quite clear that the printing is done overseas so has to make it here in a container ship I guess but even so, it's definitely putting me off buying anything else in this range. Come on Minerva - sort your suppliers out. It is not good enough to wait 10 weeks for an order with silence on your part.

They're a fair bit more expensive than most other sewing shop options. I don't ever buy fabric here for this reason but sometimes I can't find haberdashery items I need anywhere else as they do have a very big catalogue. The website stating "in stock" is quite unreliable, on several occasions I've ordered something marked as in stock only for it to not show up until weeks later because it in fact wasn't in stock. It's good in a pinch but with the pricing, won't ever be my go-to.

I have recently taken up sewing and Minerva was recommended to me. Minerva has become my go to company for essential supplies and excellent fabrics. I cannot fault the service or the beautiful range of fabrics and patterns. The new content and inspiration from other sewers is proving essential to me as a novice. Thank you.

I ordered plush fabrics in five different colours on the 11th of November, and four were delivered relatively quickly. However, I was told that two were out of stock and the estimated date of restock was the 2nd of December. I was disappointed as I was hoping to use the fabric to make Christmas presents, but that would still hopefully be possible. I received an email on the 3rd of December saying that one of the two fabrics has been dispatched, but now the estimated restock date for the remaining one is the 23rd of December! I went on the Minerva website to look at the remaining fabric to attempt to colour match it with a different fabric somewhere else perhaps, it comes up as “back in stock and able to be ordered.” I’m very disappointed with this experience and won’t be ordering again.

I have bought numerous fabrics and patterns from Minerva and have never been disappointed. The service is always prompt and the fabric true to the online description. Also their U Tube videos on fabric, pattern choices and sewing techniques are amazing. I am new to sewing and have learnt so much from the videos.

My order on 15 9.25 included sample fabrics and a pattern. I was informed that the samples would take 3-4 weeks and I have still not received them. That is now nearly 3 months although I am told they are on their way. I contacted Minerva after 4 weeks as nothing had been received by then but I was not permitted to cancel the order. I have still not received the dress pattern.

Ordered some very basic items - calico, zip, etc and because it was urgent (I needed it in three days!) I paid the extra for expedited delivery. I had noticed that some items said a longer time period was required for delivery, but assumed that expedited delivery would mean that this wouldn’t apply because surely you would state underneath that express delivery does not apply! Anyway, part of my order - a zip - was expedited but considering that I had ordered on a Sunday so they had clear working days to process the order, it still took them two day to process my zip - I had an email on Tuesday at 4pm saying the order had been processed! IM STILL WAITING FOR THE OTHER PART OF MY ORDER AND ITS NOW FRIDAY! RUBBISH! I WILL NOT USE MINERVA EVER AGAIN AS THEY ARE ALWAYS LATE.

I ordered some fabric which I washed, I then discovered it had numerous faults in. I contacted customer service. Because I had washed it I was not allowed to return it. I think this is really shoddy and I will not be ordering from them again

Minerva is such a great website- lots of fabric choices and lots of helpful information. I’m a regular customer and have never been disappointed.

(Edited 25th November 2025. It’s now arrived after 10 weeks. Whilst very frustrating I am pleased I hung on and didn’t cancel the order. It’s lovely material and worth waiting for but I would still advise that you don’t order POD fabric if you want it for a specific occasion.)
Whilst I really like the concept of POD fabric the experience of receiving the fabric is disappointing. I ordered two POD fabrics on 14th September and there is still no indication of when it might be despatched. It is currently 9 weeks since I placed the order. I have been told on several occasions that it is due but nothing materialises. After many years of excellent service from Minerva, I am now reluctantly looking to purchase from other sites as there is now no way that you can rely on getting your order in time for special occasions.

I love the variety of satin options, the communication from the company is fantastic! Excellent quality fabrics

My only complaint is the rise in postage price, i usually need the 1-2 day working delivery option which is now priced at £7.99 which does put me off, i will still purchase fabrics when needed but i do tend to shop around now for a cheaper option as i need to purchase so often and for me personally i am unable to order in large quantities as i order my fabrics as my customer orders come through.

Overall i do highly recommend Minerva and the quality is excellent with so much variety, just the postage and slight increase in fabric prices have recently put me off 🙂

I’d give no stars if I could, I’ve been a loyal customer for a while and spend 100s of pound with them. Placed an order for fabric on the 23rd September chased 8 times still no answer on where the fabric is. As a ‘gesture’ of goodwill (gee thanks) they sent the remainder of the order at no more postage cost (wow I’m so thankful SIX weeks later) and two item are missing.Mitch PROMISED to get back to me about the Issues over the print on demand fabric yesterday and guess what… nothing Their customer is absolutely pitiful. Hang your heads in shame you money grabbing clowns. AVOID this company at all costs. Go to Fabric Godmother instead.

13th Nov still no fabric just called them and its another few weeks. Shocking service

15th Dec gave up and cancelled the order

BEWARE if buying from overseas. I have an order in my cart valued at £91.72 GBP exc. shipping. When I try to check out, a pop-up informs me to "switch the currency to USD (not my currency) in order to dispatch to New Zealand". I did this, and the value of my cart is now USD$152.62, which when converted back to GBP using several different banks' conversion tools, comes out at around £113.04 GBP - an increase of 24% and an ENORMOUS £21.32 GBP more than someone living in the UK or paying in GB Pounds would pay for the same items. Don't take my word for it, check it yourself.
I contacted them again this week to ask if I could pay for my order in British Pounds, and this is the reply I received this morning: "Thank you for contacting Minerva. I am terribly sorry we are no longer able to do this. Only orders for UK customers can go through in GBP."

This also happened a few weeks ago, but I didn't realise until after I had paid for my order. I contacted the company and their reply was "We are aware of this problem and we're doing our best to get it sorted for all our customers as soon as we can" but this contradicts the reply I received today.

I am living in NZ and always use local currency to buy anything from overseas, in this case GBP. I feel what they are doing is very unfair, forcing me to use USD (not even New Zealand Dollars) and incurring a ridiculous 24% increase in the cost of my goods for paying in USD when I am happy to pay in GBP at no expense to them. This is not fair OR transparent. This company has a fixed rate international shipping fee and I feel they are using the currency conversion system to make up the actual cost of international shipping. I have reported this to the Citizens Advice Bureau who inform me they are passing this on to Trading Standards UK.

I placed an order for a 330 gsm fushia ponte fabric. It showed 4.4 m left in stock. I purchased 4 m

The fabric I received was definitely not a 330 gsm ponte. They sent me a lighter weight. I notified them immediately and they would do absolutely nothing. All they said was if I didn't like it I could return it at my expense. The cost to return from Canada to England is astronomical. Funny thing if they sent me the correct fabric why is their website still showing 4.4m left in stock 3 months later??? It should have no stock if they sent the correct fabric to begin with.

They sent me 2 separate cuts instead of 1. One cut has black marks on it and is faded in spots as if it were in a full sun window.

Definitely would not order from this company ever again and this should be a warning to anyone thinking of ordering from this company.

Not reputable at all.

My first purchase was straight forward, I ordered the white Dalmatian velboa faux fur fabric, it arrived quickly and the quality was beautiful. My second purchase wasn’t as straight forward I ordered the brown velboa faux fur fabric but received an email saying it was discontinued and could not be delivered in one piece. I could have it in two pieces or a full refund. I really wanted this particular fabric and asked what lengths they had, the staff at Minerva particularly Gemma were exceptionally helpful and answered all my questions, I ended up buying an extra 2 metres of fabric and once my order was sorted out it arrive quickly. I will definitely be ordering again.

Absolutely dreadful experience. I ordered £50 worth of fabric (2 pieces) from Minerva. Unfortunately I did not check the lengths they sent prior to washing. It wasn't until I came to laying out my pattern pieces that it became clear both pieces were 10cm short and I did not have enough fabric to make my garments. I emailed customer service and was questioned on the photo saying the fabric 'does appear to be over at each side of your ruler, and it is bowed in the middle, so from the images seen it looks to be the correct length'. This was not the case, it certainy wasn't over to make up the missing 10cm. I was told for definite the second piece was non-refundable as it had been cut (in half in a single straight line) as per their t&cs.

I then had a call with a manager who essentially told me the same. All the fabric was non-refundable as it had been washed and cut (only one piece was cut) and kept referring back to the t&cs. I was told they were unable to verify it was too short as it had been washed. I would have been happy to send it back but was told no 'because it has been washed'. The only 'goodwill' guesture I was offered was a 10% discount. As if I would be spending my money here again?! I understand not returning the fabric if I had changed my mind but it was their mistake which they have absolutely refused to aknowledge.

Please PLEASE do your research before shopping here. There are far more pleasant, reasonable, ungreedy businesses to buy your fabric from.

I am really impressed at the excellent customer services and products I have always received from Minerva. I have shopped with them for quite a few years now. I can honestly say that they go over and above to make their customers happy too, which is not necessarily true of every company. This is why I keep returning to them for most of my sewing requirements.
They reply very promptly to any enquiries about orders or products on offer, and have been very reassuring and helpful when I have placed orders but then needed to make changes. The one time I bought a faulty piece of fabric and hadn't cut into it, they refunded it straight away on receipt.
They also offer many great deals and a huge range of different products which they will ship world-wide. They even offer postage at cheap or free rates to anywhere in the world, dependent on a minimum spend which is a very reasonable amount. Many charge postage rates no matter how much you buy, and some charge by weight, so if you buy more, it costs you more on postage. Minerva have set rates for shipping, which is yet another plus, in my opinion.
Recently, I decided to make a sweatshirt jacket for one of my granddaughters who had just started at university and felt a little bit homesick. I had consulted her and she had agreed enthusiastically, before I realised that the fabric I wanted to use was nowhere near enough! Eeek! I had even bought and cut out the pattern before measuring the fabric and offering to make it up for her, which was rather short -sighted of me, I know.
I needed to buy an extra metre of a fabric like the one bought earlier to complete this project, and the lady from customer services was so kind about it all! She offered to go on a search to see if she could ID/match the photos I sent, and even sent me the firm's official address so I could send them a snippet of my fabric, if they were able to source a similar piece, just to be certain it was a perfect match.
In the end that wasn't an option, as that particular fabric had all sold out. I should have known that really, because my piece was just one of 5 from a lucky dip (5 metre) bag of knitted fabrics, and the deal is that you buy blind, but get better value if you don't mind what you get. Some of the pieces are ends of rolls, which is a great deal at the vastly-reduced price, but that often means they might be smaller than the 2 metres I needed for this project. The piece I have is just over 1 metre, so too small for an adult garment, but will make a great sweater dress for one of my smaller granddaughters.
In that respect, the knitted fabric lucky dip bags are excellent value, if anyone is thinking about those, while I am on the subject. It certainly won't be my last lucky dip bag of these lovely fabric pieces, and if you fancy treating yourself, I can recommend these. It's just so exciting to see what you've got in the package, and they're all really useful types of knits, I would say. The colours are mixed and so are the thicknesses and fibre blends, so they're great for firing the imagination if you're suffering from "sewists block", as many may do from time to time.
I hadn't really had a lot of hope that they could match the piece I had, but bless them - they tried, and what more could anyone ask?
In the process of this query, I spent some time looking at other knit fabrics just in case, and I found a very similar knitted polyester fleece at a very reasonable price and in a range of lovely colours, so I will place an order for some of that (at least, 2 metres this time), and hopefully my older granddaughter will love her new jacket for the winter! Happy customer here!
Thank you so much, Minerva - I'm a big fan!!!

I had a question to ask the team. This was handled quickly and I was directed to the product most suited to my needs.