Fabrics: Where to buy?

 In you are just beginning your sewing adventure you would probably like to know where you could buy nice fabrics and trimmings. And if you are already on the sewing scene you may want to expand on you fabrics or haberdashery store list. Here I'd like to share the shops that I have visited, my experiences of them and also stores I know of, which may be of use to you. 

GOLDHAWK ROAD

Goldhawk road shops are usually my first shopping destination. They have a good range of fabrics, from good quality wools and silks to their synthetic alternatives. In the recent years they have expanded on printed fabrics and jersey as well as some really unusual ones in the attempt to appeal to the forward thinking fashion students. The prices are reasonable, although I found that recently they are going up, although you can always strike a bargain. I have definitely learned a lot of my bargaining skills there.

A1 - Good all around choice
Classic Textiles - Great choice of plain and printed silks and printed cottons downstairs and wools upstairs.
A-Z - Really nice linens and raw silk and bargain calico 
UK textiles - Great all around choice, especially good choice of silk and jersey, but can be quite pricey

BERWICK STREET

There are many fabric stores on Berwick street, specialising in different type of fabrics. The range is really nice and the quality is too, although the price tag is to match: most fabrics are really pricey. Although it is always worth a visit if you are looking for something really interesting to be your inspiration or for certain unusual colours. I think it's always nice to get small amount of expensive fabric and combine it with a cheaper one to balance the price and design. 

The shops that I like the most are:

Cloth House 

This store is truly special. It has a vintage rustic style to it and the fabric follow the style. They specialise in cotton, linen, wool and jersey and have an amazing range for those types of fabric. They can be very pricey, but the quality and designs of the fabrics are superb. They also have an online store

Broadwisk Silks

This shop specialises in silk and have a beautiful range. They also do couture beaded and feathered fabrics. If I was after silk, especially for a special occasion, that would be my first search destination. Pricey as can be, but if you balance plains and unusual fabrics and don't go to drapy in your design you can really find a gem there. I have bought fabrics from there for a mid length cocktail dress, it ended up costing £65. For pain taffeta top mixed with a stripe-weave unusual beautiful silk for the skirt it really is not that bad, since retail stores sell synthetic dresses for that price. 

Kleins 

This Haberdashery and trimmings store is a really good one. They have a great selection of zips of all types, even really rare ones like open end invisible. They have really smooth chunky zips from Japan that work beautifully as a feature at the back of your dress or skirt. They have nice choice of metal ware and fastenings. Beware though there may be long waits to be served!

OTHER CENTRAL LONDON STORES

John Lewis

I really love John Lewis, especially for upholstery fabrics, of which they have a beautiful selection. When it comes to dressmaking, they are also quite good, although the selection is not as broad as some other stores. They do haberdashery and trimmings too, which is quite handy. So when you visit one of their big stores like the one on Oxford Street or Peter Jones, you have a possibility to look for quite a few things all in one store. 

McCulluch an Wallis  

This store is probably my favourite. It has quite a balanced range as well as a really nice style of browsing. You can go through hangers of swatches rather than rolls of fabrics, as well as being able to cut up to 5 swatches, which is always helpful. I personally love their wools and the bargain basket also gets my attention. The store is also a winner for me because it has a big haberdashery section with one of the best choices of trimmings in London. They have lost of bindings, ribbons, fastenings, buttons, leather trims, feather trims, zips.. you name it!
The only downfall I would say would be the waiting time to be served. I think once I have spent 45 min for my turn! They also have a really good on line store

Joel and Sons  

This store is an Aladdin's cave! They have SO many fabrics there! They specialise in silk, wool, bridal and couture fabrics, all the fabrics are of the highest quality. The stuff is incredibly nice and allow quite a few swatches. If you are looking for an expectational fabric for a special occasion, this store is worth a visit. 

ON-LINE FABRIC STORES

Recently I have been too busy to go fabric shopping and this is how I discovered all those lovely on-line fabric stores. For a long time I have been avoiding them, I though that it would be hard to tell the quality of the fabric without having touched it and when it  arrives it would be all wrong. I was surprised to find out that the photographs on the websites are very good, as well as the description and many shops provide swatches too, which is incredibly helpful! Now looking for fabrics on line has become one of those addictive hobbies of mine : )

Stone Fabrics

This store has a great selection for me. They do cottons and jersey of all weights and their prints are wonderful. I was also pleased to find that they have quite a few printed jerseys, which is hard to come across. I have ordered swatches from there before and purchased fabrics. I was incredibly pleased with the quality and the service.

Dragonfly Fabrics

I came across this store looking for boiled wool of which they have an amazing selection. They also have a good selection of jerseys, including bamboo jersey, which is quite rare.  The other fabrics they have look nice and quality and I can always find something interesting. I have ordered swatches from them and they've been really helpful and have sent me very large ones, so that was really nice.

Other stores I look through but have never purchased:

Truro Fabrics

This store is my recently discovered gem, they have a great selection, including Liberty Cotton. They also provide swatches.

Croft Mill

A heritage fabric supply with their own unique selection.

My Fabrics

Quite a large store with pages of fabric listing, enough choice to keep you looking for days.


Below is a list of fabric and speciality stores which you may find helpful. It was given to me when I was at university and once in a while I still refer to it, it is a great sewing shop directory!

The stores I have talked about are only some of the ones out there. There are many that I haven't been to yet. Do you have favourite stores where you live?