Where can I find good quality fabrics for sewing in in the UK?

December 23, 2019 7:04 AM

I am learning to make my own clothes. One thing I am struggling with is where to source fabrics. Please share with me your top places for ordering fabric from!
posted by Nilehorse to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (8 answers total)

Etsy is surprisingly good.
posted by Grunyon at 7:11 AM on December 23, 2019

John Lewis stores have nice fabric selections in the haberdashery department.
posted by dayintoday at 8:18 AM on December 23, 2019

I'm not in the UK but there's a pattern/sewing magazine called Seamwork and they have discount deals with different fabric retailers--that list there will show you which of those are in the UK. All of them would carry fabric appropriate for making apparel!
posted by foxfirefey at 9:21 AM on December 23, 2019

In Birmingham, the Fancy Silk Store is pretty popular with fashion students.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 10:09 AM on December 23, 2019

Best answer: I have had good experiences buying fabric from Raystitch, Sew Me Sunshine, Cloth House, Like Sew Amazing, and the New Craft House - they’re all nice indie shops, lovely people, all orderable online and I think mostly have real life shops as well if you want to look in person.
posted by conkystconk at 10:45 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]

Do you live in a town with a periodic market? Most of these have fabric stalls, often run by Pakistani people. They usually stock a range of dress fabric in cotton, viscose and polyester, but better still, they might know where else in town you can go for a wider variety such as silks, laces, upholstery fabric etc. And if you have an Asian area in your town there is bound to be a selection of beautiful and fancy fabric shops there. Exploring is half of the fun.
posted by glasseyes at 11:57 AM on December 23, 2019

In fact, looking at previous answers, and looking at its website, The Fancy Silk Store in Birmingham is almost certainly bound to be Asian owned. Bristol is similar. So if you live in a town with a large Asian population one of the best ways to find a source of all sorts of fabric is to go for a walk in an Asian shopping area and if you find an interesting shop ask the owner for recommendations of what fabric to use for your various projects. They are experts.
posted by glasseyes at 12:05 PM on December 23, 2019

Best answer: I asked a couple of friends who said:

I buy mine from Merchant and Mills and sometimes from RayStitch or Cloth House. Depends on the aesthetic they’re after tbh. The Fabric Store Online is in NZ but they have nice stuff worth shipping over.

And:

If they’re in to more girly twee fabrics then Sew Over It is good. And if they want cheap but of variable quality (you get what you pay for though, the value is good), but reliable shipping etc, then Minerva Crafts is great.
posted by fabius at 2:31 PM on December 23, 2019