Ribbon Skirt Fabric Kits in Canada: Where to Find Everything You Need to Honour the Tradition

This isn’t a neutral guide. I have opinions about where to buy ribbon skirt fabric in Calgary and why it matters, and you’re getting those alongside the practical information. Where to find ribbon skirt fabric kits in Calgary and across Alberta. Less hunting, more sewing.

What Is a Ribbon Skirt and Why the Fabric Matters

I saw a woman last spring wearing a ribbon skirt with runners and a hoodie, buying groceries, completely unbothered. That would not have been possible for most of my mother’s lifetime. Ribbon skirts were banned under the Indian Act. People burned them. The fact that she can wear one to the store on a Tuesday without thinking twice about it, that took generations to get back.

So I get impatient when people treat ribbon skirt fabric kits like a craft supply question. It’s not just that. What you make this skirt from is a decision. The print, the colours, whose hands designed it, whose community it represents. That’s all part of what the skirt says when you walk into a room wearing it.

In 2024, Anita Cardinal, a Woodland Cree First Nation lawyer from Alberta, wore her ribbon skirt to her call to the bar. She made a point about who gets to take up space in those rooms, and the fabric was part of how she made it. Rainy Chief Trading Post in Calgary carries Indigenous-designed prints rooted in First Nations artistic traditions. Walk in, find your fabric, talk to people who understand what these skirts are actually for.

What to Look For in Ribbon Skirt Fabric Kits

Most people pick fabric because it looks good. I’ve done it. Pretty is real. But a ribbon skirt is not a throw pillow, and if you’re going to put the time into making one, the design should mean something to you, not just sit nicely against your complexion in the store lighting.

A solid ribbon skirt fabric kit needs base fabric, ribbons in more than one width, elastic, and ideally bias tape and thread. Rainy Chief Trading Post carries 49Dzine fabric, which uses cotton poplin as the base. It holds colour after washing, which only matters until you’ve watched a beautiful print go flat and chalky after three washes. You’re wearing this to ceremony. It needs to last.

On ribbons: narrower near the waist so the fabric curves properly, wider near the hem for weight and movement. The 1.5-inch satin is what most makers use. 49Dzine also prints Indigenous designs directly onto their satin ribbon. The ribbon itself carries the design rather than just sitting on top of it.

Why Shop for Ribbon Skirt Fabric in Person at Rainy Chief Trading Post

There is something a website cannot replicate. Walking into Rainy Chief Trading Post and finding a print that speaks to you. Picking up the fabric and feeling the weight of it. Talking to someone who knows the difference between a print that’s culturally grounded and one that just looks the part. You leave with something better than what you came for.

Calgary has a strong Indigenous sewing community and Rainy Chief Trading Post serves that community directly. The store carries 49Dzine designs that reflect the nations of this region, not stock patterns pulled from a generic catalogue. That distinction matters when you’re making something that represents who you are.

Can’t make it to the store? Order from rctradingpost.com or visit 49Dzine.com for Canada and US shipping. But if you’re in Calgary, come in. That’s where the real conversations happen.

What’s in a Ribbon Skirt Fabric Kit at Rainy Chief Trading Post

Rainy Chief Trading Post carries 49Dzine ribbon skirt kits with fabric, satin ribbon, and elastic, already coordinated. No second-guessing. You open it and start cutting.

The store also carries 49Dzine satin ribbon with Indigenous designs printed directly on it. Most suppliers don’t stock this. It means the ribbon itself carries the story, not just the fabric underneath.

Before you buy, settle your cut. An A-line is slimmer and more structured, better for ceremony. A box cut has more room and moves better for dancing. The yardage differs. Decide first, then ask in store for help with the right amount.

Craft Making Experience Classes and Community at Rainy Chief Trading Post

49Dzine runs Craft Making Experience classes and Rainy Chief Trading Post is connected to that same community of makers. If you’re in Calgary and want to learn alongside other Indigenous women, ask in store about upcoming workshops and events.

Learning in community is different from watching a tutorial alone at home. You pick up things you don’t even know you’re picking up. Colour protocol. How experienced makers approach a new print. Why certain choices matter in certain contexts. That knowledge doesn’t come in a kit insert.

Friendship Centres in Calgary also run ribbon skirt workshops, especially before National Ribbon Skirt Day on January 4th. Call yours and ask what’s on.

Regional Sourcing Tips for Calgary and Southern Alberta

Calgary: Rainy Chief Trading Post at rctradingpost.com is your best in-person option for Indigenous-designed ribbon skirt fabric kits.

Edmonton: 49Dzine Edmonton carries the same fabric line at their Edmonton storefront. See 49dzineedmonton.com.

Smaller Alberta Communities: Order from rctradingpost.com or 49Dzine.com. Co-order with other makers to split shipping.

Fabricland: Not my first recommendation, but available across the province for base fabric. Pair it with 49Dzine ribbon for a better result.

Your Skirt, Your Story

Pick fabric that means something. A skirt made from something that matters to you will feel different to wear.

Rainy Chief Trading Post is in Calgary and online at rctradingpost.com. Come in if you can.

This tradition came back from a lot. Your skirt is part of how it keeps coming back.