I buy almost all of my material as remnants. Remnants are ends of bolts, last year s low sellers or seasonal prints. They are generously reduced in price and usually in a good sized length. You usually have to buy the whole piece and look it over carefully for imperfections. Another favorite place for fabric is the bed and bath sections of area department stores.
Flat sheets are durable, preshrunk and come in a variety of colors and prints.
Pillowcases make excellent starters for coordinating throw pillows. Choose fabrics that have easily defined patterns such as, stripes, checks rows of hearts or flowers. No worries about straight lines of stitching when you use these as guides for sewing hems, seams and ironing. When you purchase thread, always buy two spools of the same color. Use one spool on your machine and the other for bobbin thread.