Minerva Avis 1 085

No delivery.
Ordered fabric January 2026 to date still no fabric!
Still no delivery date either, beware of this company’s promises.
Used to be good but sadly no longer.

As a very loyal long term customer who has spent thousands at Minerva, attended in person events and been a craft club member, and someone that has regularly and consistently recommended Minerva to my followers and sewing pattern customers, I have really tried to put off leaving this review.

But the customer service, and service in general at Minerva over the last 12 months has been the worst I've ever experienced.

It's become an ongoing joke in my household, 'oh another email from Minerva, whats the issue this time'. And there is nearly always an issue. Either they don't actually have the fabric you've ordered, it's due to come in a months time even though it said in stock. Or it's available but only in small scraps. Or they send completely the wrong colour and then upon sending photos of the mistake, say they can't see the problem (I ordered beige and they sent purple).

The sheer number of issues is horrendous but the customer service makes it so much worse. There is rarely, if ever, an apology and they never go out of their way to make sure the customer isn't inconvenienced for their mistakes.

I can see from the reviews and from online forums that I'm not the only one that's absolutely fed up of Minerva. Please fix this issue before you lose all your customers. I want to shop at Minerva but you're making it really unpleasant to do so.

I'm a qualified dressmaker of over 30 years so know my fabric! I purchased a 'heavy suiting fabric' @ 200gsm but received a budget fabric @ 75gsm. Upon returning as 'incorrect item sent', they only refunded me for the fabric, not the postage which was £3.99, which is far too much for a small package which fits in the letter box! These companies get postage subsidised too!
When i rang to ask why I was not refunded the postage, I was told 'they were still investigating'. So why not wait until you've investigated? Then do the refund? They obviously had no intention of refunding the postage. They rang back saying the correct fabric was sent, but I received the cheap budget fabric
I've now opened a dispute with my bank. They've lost my custom! I hope it waa worth £3.99!

Being a self taught sewist of only 2 years this guide has been totally invaluable! I'm learning so much as I add the fabric swatches and its something I can keep coming back to for guidance . It marries up with the fabric masterclasses on YouTube as well so everything you need to know is right here. Fantastic!

Minerva's customer service is superb. This week they delivered to me a piece of fabric I needed to work on the following day. Within two hours of ordering I received the "despatched" email, and the fabric arrived the following morning. Last year for World Book Day I bought a length of fabric from Minerva to make my granddaughter a Milly Molly Mandy dress - pink and white stripes. This year she decided she wanted to be MMM again - but she has grown taller over the past year, so I needed more fabric - fast! I ordered on Monday and within two hours the fabric was despatched and I received it the following morning. Today, instead of her school uniform, my five-year-old granddaughter is wearing the Milly Molly Mandy dress again. Thanks, Minerva staff!

In reply: the staff via email were very polite however I think it’s the company policy not to expedite shipping when they make a mistake. My order has now been shipped after 11 days but only on a second class postage

Very poor service from this company, failed to let me know the fabric I had ordered was out of stock until I had received the other part of my order.

The company then proceeding on the phone to tell me the exact date when it was coming back in stock and when it does they wouldn’t expedite my shipping despite it being their fault.

The lady on the phone was also extremely rude and had no intention of helping me. I only wish I had read the reviews sooner

I’ve been a Minerva customer for many years and a Craft Club member, but my last two orders have experienced significant delays — neither of which involved POD fabric — and I wasn’t informed of any issues. Looking at other recent reviews, it seems this may be an ongoing problem.

Unfortunately, I won’t be renewing my Craft Club membership, and I’ll be reconsidering future orders.

My husband bought me the Minerva Fabric Guide as a birthday present and I am over the moon! It's a comprehensive guide to a whole range of fabrics that I didn't even realise I knew nothing about!
It tells you what fabrics are best for what sort of projects, a breakdown of how each fabric behaves and you also get a sample of each one. Each fabric has its own alphabetical feature page giving you an insight into each one. I actually glued each sample onto it's corresponding feature page. Be warned, if you want to remove them to test washing etc use PVA not super glue! I'm really grateful to Minerva for creating this guide, and it's going to save me a fortune in samples! Obviously, it doesn't have every fabric in it, there are literally thousands available, but it has already paid for itself in it's usefulness.

Completely misleading samples and dismissive customer service

I ordered a fabric sample from Minerva expecting to receive the fabric shown in the product listing. What arrived was completely different in appearance. Not a slight variation. A totally different sample.

When I contacted customer service, I was told that samples are only intended to show the feel of the fabric, not what it actually looks like. That explanation makes no sense. For anyone sewing or dressmaking, the visual element of fabric is fundamental. Colour, print and texture all matter when making a decision.

I paid for this sample, had to enter full card and personal details because there’s no quick checkout option like Apple Pay or PayPal, then received something unrelated to what I ordered. It was time-consuming and wasteful.

The most disappointing part was the response. There was no apology, no acknowledgement that the listing was misleading, just a very blasé tone and a passive “thanks for understanding.”

It also feels environmentally irresponsible to send out samples that don’t match what customers are actually considering buying.

I won’t be using Minerva again. My mum has worked in tailoring and dressmaking for over 50 years and warned me about them. I wish I’d listened.

EDIT FOLLOWING MINERVA’S RESPONSE: if I’m ordering a paint sample, I order it in the colour I want. I don’t just order it in any colour to ‘get a feel for what paint is like’! Dressmaking is exactly the same. We are not just looking at fabric feel, quality and weight, we want to see what the pattern will look like. It’s frankly absurd that you would send out a sample that does not show the colour and pattern - especially given the cost per metre. This is an absurd idea and I can see from the reviews that you’re getting that the launch of this idea has not been at all successful.

I have been using Minerva for the past four years, but over the last six months the customer service has declined significantly. Fabrics that are advertised with a 1–3 day handling time are now taking weeks to be dispatched.

I recently spoke with Gemma in the office in an attempt to resolve an order that was already a week late. Unfortunately, instead of receiving assistance, I was told I would need to pay additional fees to receive my fabric. This felt extremely unprofessional and disappointing.

Over the years, I have spent thousands with Minerva. However, their service appears to have changed, and they are now delaying full orders for weeks if an item is out of stock. This approach, combined with the recent customer service experience, has left me very dissatisfied.

While Minerva offers a great range of fabrics, delivery times are unreliable, and resolving issues is difficult unless you are willing to pay extra fees. Based on my recent experiences, I will be looking elsewhere for supplies in the future.

It is extremely rare for me to leave a negative review but I am so disappointed with my experience of Minerva.
I placed an order on 19th January for 3 different fabrics & 5 Gutermann threads. It was to be sent via Royal Mail 48 Hour service.

I received an email on 22nd January informing me that one of the fabrics is out of stock and is not due back in stock till "around March" and it would be sent when it arrives.

There was no indication on the website or at point of ordering that this fabric was out of stock or that there would be a delay in receiving it.

Two of the fabrics were despatched in separate parcels on 23rd Jan. On one of the despatch emails, it stated that the other, out of stock, fabric would be "due back in stock approximately 28th January 2026". I thought, great, it won't be as long a wait as their original email claiming it would be "around March".

On 4th Feb I had received no further communication and had never been informed about delivery of the Gutermann thread.

I emailed sales@minerva explaining the situation, and to ask why I had not received the Gutermann threads - they were to be sent via Royal Mail 48 hour service but it had been two weeks. I asked if they had been despatched and when I should expect to receive delivery. I explained the delay had negatively impacted my business.

I received a reply from Ryan, Sales Office Manager, who said:
"we are still awaiting the final on demand fabric coming into us. This should hopefully be landing any day now. With our on demand products we do advise the rest of the order will not be sent until all items have been received into us and we do advise to split these orders to avoid any delays."

1. Ryan did not apologise in any way

2. Ryan placed the blame on me, the customer, by saying "we do advise the rest of the order will not be sent until all items have been received into us and we do advise to split these orders to avoid any delays."

I was never, at any point, informed that the out of stock fabric would delay the rest of my order - or given the choice to split the order.

I replied to ask why the Gutermann threads had not been sent out with either of the other two fabrics on the same order, which had already been sent - separately. I noted that I had not received an apology. I asked for the remaining items to be cancelled and refunded. I asked for them to confirm the refund amount and date by which I should expect to receive the refund.

Ryan replied to confirm the cancellation and refund and noted that refunds can take up to 10 days to be processed, followed by: "I apologise for us not being able to get the items to you within the time frame you were working to on this occasion."

1. They did not answer my question, to confirm the refund amount

2. Their "apology" made me, the customer, feel like I was in the wrong - by being unrealistic in expecting to receive an item (which appeared to be in stock) within the delivery timeframe originally promised by them when I made the purchase.

I order fabric and thread from many different companies and - from other companies - I have always received my order as expected, within the expected timeframe. I have placed a few orders with Minerva now and they never arrive as quickly as they should, or as quickly as from other companies, but my experience this time was particularly disappointing. I will not be ordering from Minerva again.

I ordered around £120 fabric on 1 December, £64 of which was Print on Demand, the remainder was for fabric they had in stock. The following day I received a message saying it would all be despatched together in 3-6 weeks when the POD fabric was ready, unless I paid a £3.99 admin to have the 'in stock' fabric sent straight away. I wasn't impressed as the 'in stock' fabric was over £50 and eligible for free delivery but thought 3-6 weeks would be OK. Almost 8 weeks later on Saturday 24 January the POD arrived. On Monday 26 January, exactly 8 weeks after my order, the 'in stock' fabric arrived.
I emailed for an explanation and received a reply apologising for the slight delay between 2 deliveries - completely missing the point that it was all very much overdue and an 8 week wait for delivery of in stock fabric eligible for free delivery is really not acceptable.

I’m a fairly regular customer of Minerva Crafts. I especially love their Printed on Demand fabric despite there being a delay in dispatch because of the process of printing. It just means one has to order in plenty of time.

I saw some fabric which I thought might be a match for another Minerva POD fabric I had already bought but didn’t want to order a sample, wait for it and then have another wait if I decided to order so I asked if the fabric would match. The answer I received was immediate and gave me all the information I needed. The fabric was not a match, however despite that I really loved the fabric so decided I might buy it to use in the future. I bought some crepe back satin but also some stretch charmeuse in the same fabric to make a fascinator. The fabric arrived in separate parcels - the stretch stuff coming first.

I say this hand on heart, when I opened the parcel my breath was taken away. It is the most stunning fabric, such a rich deep colour. Absolutely beautiful.

As always, everything from the advice, the dispatch and the fabric is first class. I happily recommend Minerva for fabric needs

Absolutely shocking quality in what is meant to be a 1kg scrap bundle. Although they state you could get end of roll cuts, fabrics with tape or staples in what I wasn’t expecting was the actual white cut borders with lot information printed in blue across it and pieces with actual holes in the middle making the unusable. When attempting to resolve the issue they assured me this was normal and acceptable.

Sad to be writing this but this company has been a huge letdown and I will never use them again. I ordered two fabrics back in October, one a ‘print on demand’ and the other a deadstock. I was emailed to say there would be 3-6 week wait for the POD and if I wanted to have the other fabric urgently I could pay an extra £3.99 to have it sent separately. I said I could wait the 3-6 weeks and have both delivered together, no rush. Roll on 10 weeks, no fabrics, no contact. I chased and was told the POD was now ready and all would be sent out. Two weeks later I get an email saying that the deadstock fabric was no longer available in a 5 metre length but … wait for it … in 8 separate lengths which included one at 20cms and one at 10pms! Honestly, is this normal behaviour! When I complained saying this was unacceptable I was offered a 10% discount for the ‘unfortunate’ situation of being offered my 5 metres in 8 cut lengths. The fabric was on sale so I was paying £25 for the 5 metres of deadstock so the 10% discount was £2.50 for 8 small lengths of fabric! Not ethical in my books and no way to treat a good customer. If you want to order POD fabric plus other fabrics, do them separately … even though they do not state this anywhere … I personally won’t be buying from ever again. Too many other good fabric shops to use one like Minerva.

I’ve been a loyal customer of Minerva for many years and particularly like their exclusive fabrics. Unfortunately the change to Print on Demand for some fabrics has been a nightmare, with my current order still not received today (10th Jan) despite being ordered on the 29th September!!!! My previous POD order had a similar wait time. I’m not going to bother ordering any POD fabric in future it’s a joke. I see I’m not alone by other reviews… Such a shame, Minerva has always been my go to store for dressmaking fabric in the past.

* Edit I would like to point out most of my purchase was not made with money on a gift card and the next order had the same problem and whilst trying to spend the money refunded on the gift card I have had the wrong fabric sent with an incomplete order for the umpteenth time* They cannot completely fulfill orders due to a bad IT ordering system and poor stock management. Then when they fail they have the cheek to offer you scraps, 10cm, 20 cm lengths to add up to the partial fulfilment of metres long orders. Last time they offered me five length to total 2.5m when I ordered 3. Two other fabrics were incomplete. But surely they are offering you these scraps at a nominal rate? No they want you to pay the same amount for 10cm. Then if you have used a gift card as partial payment you bet they are refusing to refund you cash for their failure even though you spent more of your own money than the gift card and the refund is less than the cash you spent. Nope store credit so you can come back for more of the same and pay at least £50 to get your free delivery. In the past two years the company has lost all respect from me. I check emails and they have failed me many times in that 2 years. Minerva has set the bar so low it is at the earth’s core and they are currently trying to go through to the other side.

I’ve been a Minerva customer for a few years now since picking up sewing, and they are by far my favourite fabric company to buy from. They have a huge selection, and everything I’ve purchased has always been great quality. The posts of people’s makes are incredibly helpful when shopping online, as you can get an accurate idea of what the finished product might look like. Their customer service has always been excellent for me, with rare issues usually resolved same day. I’ve found their dispatch and delivery to be very quick, even living somewhere which often has extended delivery times. Overall I would 100% recommend Minerva!

Yes, Minerva prices can seem a bit high on certain items. However, for basic supplies, for their exclusives and specials, for their huge range in one place, and for their outstanding customer service, I've found them to be very good value.

I've had technical issues with my email - I don't receive Minerva's automated invoices, updates, or tracking numbers. However, it turns out manually generated emails are fine. So I've spent a fair bit of time chasing orders. Although the whole team seem great, one service rep in particular - Mitch - not only noticed there was an issue with a recent order, they also realised I probably hadn't been notified. Thanks to them forwarding the details, I was able to address the update & will now receive my items.