I've been buying fabric downtown Los Angeles for decades, but a few years ago I found fabulous quality canvas by the yard at *Blick! It is exactly what I've been buying downtown, but at Blick I get more selection (weight and width), at a better price! I haven't tried their linen yet, but I'm ready to buy some asap!
In this photo, from l to r: I like the 12 ounce canvas for big sturdy bags, backpacks and satchels; and the 10 ounce canvas is great for small coin purses and zipper pouches. The green and teal zipper pouch is gesso'd and painted, then I impatiently waited 24 hours before cutting and sewing. The top-right corner is a tote bag I made with my daughter's artwork; she painted an English phone booth on the canvas--no gesso needed.
I use canvas for many different things, most often for interfacing. I need a strong interior for soft silk purses I make, so having two different weights of canvas on hand give me the structure I need. I don't use regular interfacing for structure because it can bubble, or separate from the outside fabric. I use the canvas backing, and fuse the outer fabric--whether it be silk, soft t-shirt knit, or delicate vintage textiles, directly together. I use a product called Heat n' Bond Lite which I get at JoAnn's. So, fusing these together, now I easily make structured projects from many fabrics that were otherwise too soft.
You could get a similar sturdiness by just flat-lining your fabric with the same canvas, but I like to fuse mine permanently. In my next blog entry, I will show how I fuse the two fabrics together to make nice sturdy purses and bags using this great canvas and the fusible bond product I like.
*Click on the link, scroll down and click on 'canvas rolls', then scroll and click on 'unprimed canvas by the yard' to get the selection of weight and width available. I am an affiliate, so I get a small percentage of purchases through this link, at no cost to you!
Or click on the logo below and have fun shopping for anything art at Blick!