Zelma's Attic

Every bolt has a story before it becomes yours.

Hand-picked Ankara, kente-style weave, adire and mudcloth, sourced bolt by bolt for quilters, garment makers and anyone who works with their hands. Rich color, real texture, ready for your next project.

Browse the fabrics Shop the notions

Started in a spare room. Still run that way.

Fabric, sorted by tradition, not by trend

Every length is cut from stock we've handled ourselves — checked for weight, hand and colorfastness before it ever reaches a shelf.

Close-up of Ankara wax print fabric in gold, brown, cream and rust tones

Ankara wax print

Bold, waxed cotton with a crisp hand — holds a crease and takes color like nothing else. Best for garments, bags and quilt tops that need punch.

From $14 / yard
Close-up of colorful kente-style woven fabric in red, gold, green and black geometric blocks

Kente-style weave

Color-blocked strip-weave cotton inspired by traditional Akan cloth. Heavier weight, holds structure well in garments and home pieces.

From $22 / yard
Folded stack of resist-dyed adire fabric in teal and indigo blue tones

Adire indigo

Resist-dyed cotton, hand-tied and dipped so no two bolts match exactly. Soft hand, gets better with every wash.

From $18 / yard
A stack of folded mudcloth (bogolan) fabric in black, cream and brown geometric patterns

Mudcloth (bogolan)

Hand-loomed cotton dyed with fermented mud and plant tannin. Nubby texture, earthy palette — built for structure, not drape.

From $20 / yard

Kitenge

Lightweight, brightly printed cotton with a soft drape. A favorite for headwraps, linings and quilt backing.

From $12 / yard

Notions to finish what the fabric started

Buttons, trims and beads picked to match the fabrics above — small enough to order alongside your cut, sturdy enough to hand down.

Cowrie shell buttons

Natural shells, drilled and ready to stitch. Sold in sets of ten.

$6 / set

Raffia trim & tassels

Natural raffia fringe by the yard, plus ready-made tassels.

From $4
Pile of natural striped wooden beads

Brass & wood beads

Mixed sets for trim, jewelry and embellishment work.

From $8
Assorted round wooden buttons in various sizes and finishes

Wooden toggle buttons

Hand-carved, sold individually or in sets of five.

From $2
Cones of colorful serger thread in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, white and black

Embroidery threads

Hand-dyed cotton floss in market-inspired colorways.

$3 / skein

Batik wax blocks

Beeswax and resin blend, sized for resist-dye projects.

$9

From a spare room to a full attic

Zelma started buying fabric on trips home — more than she could ever sew herself. Bolts piled up in the spare room, then the hall closet, then the actual attic, until friends started asking to come look through it.

Twenty years on, the attic is a proper shop, but it still runs the way it started: fabric chosen one bolt at a time, from mills and dyers we've bought from for years, sold in cuts small enough for a single project.

A woman in traditional African dress and headwrap sewing at a serger machine, surrounded by shelves of colorful bolt fabric

"I ordered adire for one quilt back and ended up building the whole top around it. The indigo doesn't photograph the same as it looks in your hands."

RO Renee O., quilter

Come look through the attic

Most fabric photographs differently than it feels — come see the weight and color in person, or write ahead and we'll pull a few options for you.

Address
118 Maple Row, Durham, NC
Hours
Wed–Sat, 10am–5pm. Also by appointment — just ask.
Email
hello@zelmasattic.com

New bolts, first look

About once a month, no more — new stock, restocks, and the odd remnant sale.