Where to find fabrics and haberdashery in London?
If you are looking for retailers to buy fabrics and haberdashery from - read on. I am sharing my findings - stores that I bought from or the ones I admire.
Seeing and touching fabrics before you order is essential, that is why brick-and-mortar stores are so amazing.
Simply Fabrics Brixton is a nice one, well actually, they have two stores that are based in Brixton. One of them is dedicated to fabrics (some of them are dead-stock) the other shop mainly offers haberdashery, a selection of fusing materials, linings, some cottons. This is quite a small store, and if I am looking for something specific I might not find it there. Simply Fabrics is my destination when I do not necessarily have a project in mind. In the past, I bought J.W. Anderson, Gucci left-over fabrics, also some beautiful British wools, cotton fabrics, buttons and fusings.
Goldbrick Fabrics on Goldhawk Road has a wide selection of various fabrics - silks, cottons, bridal, seriously - they have a lot to offer. The sales team are very helpful, and I am quite impressed with the options available at their store.
Misan West is another shop on Goldhawk Road that I can recommend. Besides fabrics, they have a small haberdashery section.
Rainbow Fabrics in Kilburn. This store is awkwardly situated in the Kilburn market. They have a selection of fabrics, they also offer some dead-stock rolls from fashion manufacturers. I come here to buy haberdashery, for example, threads, and elastic bands, some time ago I also bought polyester lining that was cheap and basic but good and sturdy.
Cloth House stores. I keep checking their online store which offers very beautiful natural fabrics, and block prints. Once I used their cotton/wool corduroy fabric and I was impressed by the quality of it. I think these fabrics are great for timeless designs and garments you intend to value for life.
Liberty London and online store. I am pretty sure I should not even include them in my list. They are too well known and really do not need more exposure. But I must say, people love their prints. Their Tana Lawn cotton collections are very popular and loved. This is a great fabric for summer dresses or tops.
Buying fabrics and haberdashery online is a good option if you have the time and patience to order samples first. I keep looking at materials online wanting to buy them all. Once I made the mistake of ordering 3 metres of fabric that was not as expected, unfortunately, that piece is just taking up space as I never found a use for it.
Merchant and Mills is another retailer with a beautiful selection of natural fabrics that I check out from time to time online. The presentation of materials on their website is quite exceptional and helpful - you can see how the fabric looks draped over its roll, which is useful when considering material properties and suitability for the particular project.
Organic Textile Company offers a range for someone who wants organic or more responsibly made materials. Finding and ordering swatches is very easy. As should be expected, some fabrics only come in black and white but I keep seeing new additions to the shop that come in wider colour variations.
Fabworks online store. I wanted to include Fabworks in my list because I keep eyeing their Heart of Huddersfield wool collection. Also, they have a range of jacquard linings for those who are looking for fun and exciting lining fabrics.
Jaycotts is my absolute favourite sewing supply and haberdashery store online. Great customer service and very quick delivery. I have bought everything from a cone of thread to a Janome sewing machine. Great retailer to get basics such as zippers, threads, and sewing machine needles. This is the store that I can highly recommend, as I trust them and have been ordering since I started my sewing business.
The Button Shed is a great website if you are looking for buttons! I bought some lovely metal buttons once and I loved the service.
Morplan on Great Titchfield St is where I get my pattern-cutting paper. During a lockdown I ordered the roll online, unfortunately, it took a long time from the order until I received it so I would advise others to think twice before buying something that is currently out of stock.
Surely this is a small list, but I hope that someone can find it useful. Knowing where and what to get takes time, every shop is different, some are great for quality fabrics, and special designer left-over materials, while others are easy to reach for a cone of matching thread. #sewingtips #slowfashionmovement #deadstockfabrics