I recently bought a 1960's dining room set that had been recovered in a hideous early 90's fruit and leaves upholstery. In an effort to be true to the period, I set out on a quest to find vintage fabric. Two of my favorite options were Ebay sellers peaceandjoy and fabriczoo. They offer modern and mid century modern colors and styles that really suited my needs. I think they would suit yours as well.

I recently took on a reupholstery project and used Winter Beach Modern (http://winterbeachmodern.com/). They have a resources page with ideas and they were really helpful. The store has some fabrics made from recycled fibers. My fabric came in at less than $10/yard. Best part for an online store--they'll send you swatches for free.

My advice, swatch swatch SWATCH! upholstery fabric can be really expensive and nothing is worse than spending hard earned $$ on cr@p. I happen to have just purchased some fantastic fabric from Crate and Barrel. It was on sale, and realtively cheap and big bonus they swatched for free! :)

Try looking for vintage tablecloths and curtains too... I've been on a reupholstery kick lately (chair, loveseat, ottoman, and sofa...whew!), and been hunting down fabric bargains. I've found a beautiful pair of curtains at the thrift store, but it wasn't enough fabric (this was for the sofa...and I needed 15 yards...).

J & O Fabrics has a midcentury section, Modern-fabrics.com has an awesome selection (http://www.modern-fabrics.com/store/store.php?pg1-cid48.html), but you can just google mid century fabric and find a bunch. A lot are pricey, but considering you'd need so little, it may be worth it.

Note: Make sure you get a good staple gun or you'll be hammering all your staples in. I can't remember the name, but I got one at Home Depot for about $20 that's awesome...read the reviews!

Good Luck!

Miles at Winterbeachmodern is great to work with. I've also bought a lot of fabric over the years from peaceandjoy on Ebay and can vouch for her service. Another good source on ebay is

http://stores.ebay.com/GORDOF-TEXTILES

Avoid ebay listings that don't give the manufacturer of the fabric. There are lots of poorer quality fabrics on ebay that are legitimately labeled mid-century modern in style and that might look good in the photos, but in person they aren't something you'd want. Always ask for a swatch if you're not sure. Some sellers charge a dollar or two but it's worth it.

There are tons of good Knoll fabrics available on Ebay but some are pretty office-y in feel though they might look great in the photos.

If you (or anyone reading) are anywhere near LeMoyne, PA (near York), check out PA Fabric Outlet. They have tons of Knoll and other good quality fabrics appropriate for MCM projects. I especially love their remnant bins with 1-2 yard pieces for $2 each!

I second ebay. I've purchased Henry Miller fabrics that are totally mid-century, commercial grade, and well priced because the bolts are too small for industrial use -- but perfectly suited for a home project like this.

I just recently took on the same project. I bought fabric from a local store (which also sells fabric online www.craftyplanet.com) in Minneapolis. It was super easy and not so scary. The good thing about this kind of upholstery is that it's easy to change, so if you don't like it in a few years or the fabric wears, just change it out!

I recently did the same thing and bought Knoll fabric from http://www.modern-fabrics.com

(If by chance you like the Beaumont pattern, I accidentally ordered double the amount I needed to cover 6 similarly sized chairs...!)

Amy Butler has some nice mid century-ish fabrics that have a great weight to them. I just used one of her more Art Deco fabrics to recover a bench seat and am really pleased with the look and feel of the fabric. http://driedfigsandwoodenspools.blogspot.com/2010/01/bench-or-adventures-in-sewing-with.html

Also you might look through the hancocks of paducah website (not regular Hancocks, this one is different) they tend to have a pretty wide selection of upholstery weight fabric. And if you are looking for something kind of wild, you'd be surprised at what IKEA has.Although I think you said you were in a small town so you may not have access to them...

What kind of look are you going for?

I'm guessing that you're going to be using these a lot and are going to want some durable upholstery, yeah?

We have TONS of totally amazing wholesalers we work with that have great fabrics in budget friendly prices. Sometimes I just like combing through the books and imagining what I would use that pattern for...

That looks just like a set that my fav consignment shop had (Joz in Tulsa)... it definitely needed some new upholstery, as well!

Go on ebay and find vintage "bark cloth", it will look fantastic and is from that era. joanne

Thank you so much for your help. I've already found several great fabrics from your suggestions! Now the hard part is going to be choosing one.

Urbanmidwest, it IS the set from Joz in Tulsa. :)

-Brittany

Brittany dear, I have got just one word for you!
Spoonflower.com

OH MY! Thank you, Anastasia, for recommending Spoonflower.com!!!

I happened upon this place that sells vintage fabrics for upholstery (and other things) while visiting San Francisco, and they have a website as well: http://www.urbanburp.com/.

Gorgeous, one-of-a-kind fabrics, and totally affordable. Can't recommend it more highly--I bought a few fabric squares to frame, and love them!

Etsy!
that's where I got this fabric for my chairs:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29253368

I think I searched in supplies for upholstery fabric.

You can get some real deals from www.iluvfabrix.com

I just reupholstered my Knoll sofa with a forest green wool from Lee Jofa, and I paid a little over $10 per yard. If you're into an authentic mid century look, maybe go for some of the other suggestions here. I felt an accent pillow would be quite enough pattern, and I will plug my favorite ebay seller here:

pat pend pillows -- They're gorgeous!

I want to add my voice to the chorus of recommendations for Modern-Fabrics.com. Great selection, GREAT customer service, and great prices.

http://www.modern-fabrics.com

Mid-C Frank- what are henry miller fabrics? never heard of that.

lee jofa for $10 a yard???? that is a major score!

look at drapery panels, tablecloths, and shower curtains in your local stores as they offer a lot of yardage for not much money, and Target often has really cute stuff. You can then cut them and use to reupholster the chairs.

Doing business with Contemporary Cloth is worse than doing business with online scammers. They're impossible to get in touch with, and instead of taking responsibility for sending me the wrong sample, they tried to insist on me sending the wrong fabric sample back, at my expense, and then sending me HALF of the correct fabric that I already paid for. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were joking with the last 2 requests. Good thing I paid with paypal. I wouldn't trust these people with my credit card information. Good luck ordering through them, I'd advise you against it.