A Big List of Fabric Sellers in the UK

I'm leaving this here for the time being - but the most up to date version of this list can be found on my new blog at Very Berry Handmade.  Please come round and say hello. 

A couple of friends, who know about my fabric addiction, have recently asked me to send links to good online sellers.  It made me realise that when you're starting out with sewing, it's difficult to know what the best fabric places are - and of course there seems to be new places opening up all the time.  I've also seen lots of interesting sounding shops advertised recently in Sew Hip and Selvedge magazines that I'd love to investigate in the future (hope my other half isn't reading this...), so I'd make a big list of UK based fabric sellers who have a good selection of cottons for patchwork, dressmaking and accessory-making.  Feel free to get in touch and recommend others if you know of them - and if you've used any of the shops listed here and have feedback, then I'd love to hear from you - then I can update the list with your experiences.  Btw, the fabric images are for decoration only, and not an indication that they're available in the shops listed...
  

I've tried to limit this list to those shops with really good user interface, really good stock and/or unusual fabrics.  Some sites haven't made it because I'm not particularly into their fabrics or the website is just too dreadful to use.  Sites in bold are those that I've actually bought from myself.


Abakahn
Masses of 100% cotton to choose from - but mostly fairly traditional choices.  Huge variety of other craft and dressmaking fabrics available too.


African Fabric Shop
A fabulous shop with a lovely range of fabrics that could never be described a run of the mill. Gorgeous beads and some really good kits too. 


Backstitch
Not an enormous selection of fabric, but very well chosen (Kaffe Fassett, Valori Wells, Amy Butler etc.). There is a really excellent selection of patterns including Oliver + S and Colette.


Celtic Fusion Fabrics
Another very well  chosen range with some designers & manufacturers that you don't see everywhere else, such as Saffron Craig, Naomi Ito (Nano Iro fabrics) & Westfalenstoffe.  The pictures on the website are lovely, but I find the white on blue text a little difficult to read.


The Cloth Seller
The Cloth Seller specialises in organic and fair trade fabrics.  This is a revelation if you're used to the standard organic and fair trade fabrics that are out there...  They have cottons, jerseys, lawn and velvet & furnishing fabrics in stock, and manufacturers/designers include Westfalenstoffe, Daisy Janie (they are the UK distributor for Daisy Jainie) and Mod Green Pod.


Clothaholics.com
Kimono, Genshodo and indigo fabrics.


Cotton Patch
I really like Cotton Patch - because of their enormous range of fabric, notions, patchwork and quilting gadgets, books, patterns, fabric bundles & threads they are an essential destination for quilters in the UK.  You could spend hours (and a fortune!) on this website.  If you think you are going to be a regular, it is well worth joining one of their clubs which entitles you to discounts.  There are some downsides - if you order a 1/4 metre you seem to get a skinny quarter rather than a fat quarter, the site is a bit catalogue-ish (lots of long lists), and delivery can be slow unless you pay for the expensive Express option.


Croft Mill
Lots of fun fabrics from people who are clearly very enthusiastic about their work.  Really excellent prices too.


Ditto
A lovely range of dressmaking fabrics (and some cottons that would be great for patchwork and other sewing) at good prices.  You can order online but payment is taken over the phone.


Doughty's Online
A new site to me, but has a wonderful selection of fabric at some GREAT prices. A really big range of Kaffe Fassett (always a draw for me) & other Rowan designers, and some very tempting batiks too.  They also have lots of other fabrics, yarns, threads and craft materials. The website is also very easy to navigate, and they have a pricematch feature. I shall definitely be testing them out very soon.


Emma Garry Designs
Amy Butler, Heather Bailey and more.  Not masses to choose from, but some good stuff here.  There are also patterns, kits, and some beautiful handmade items.


The Eternal Maker
There are huge quantities of lovely fabrics here (lots & lots of gorgeous Kokka stuff for example), but it's quite to find them because the menus are quite hard to locate.  11/10 for stock, but it would be so fantastic if it was just a little bit easier to navigate the site.


Fancy Moon
A really excellent range of fabric - specialising in Alexander Henry amongst others.  You can browse by designer, manufacturer and theme, which makes finding what you want very easy.  The fabrics from the various designers are very well chosen. A real bonus is a big range of interior fabrics by Etsuko Furuya for Kokka. 


Fabric*Garden (on Ebay)
Nice selection, including some lovely Japanese fabrics such as Sunny Place and Kokka. Seller has a 100% feedback rating.


Fabric Inspirations
I love the range of fabrics here, but I have to say I find the menu options on the website very limiting (thematic search only, very useful in itself, but what if you are after a particular designer or colour?), so I find it rather frustrating.


Fabric Land
This website is a total blast from the past and exhausting to use, but the prices mean that it can't be left out.  No designer fabrics here, but lots of useful stuff at good prices (if you can find them...).


Fabric Rehab
Really lovely selection of more unusual contemporary fabrics, with the emphasis on retro and funky.  A deservedly popular site, with a great design, but I would love more non-thematic menu options for browsing.


Fabrics Plus
A selection from Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Heather Bailey, Dena Designs, Makower and Moda.


Gaga Fabrics 
Funky and retro fabrics with a lovely clear interface. Not a vast selection, but some very tempting things here, and the selection is a bit different.


Gone to Earth
I'm a regular at Gone to Earth - the customer service is second to none, and there is a very well chosen range of fabrics, patterns and notions which means that you're very likely to find almost everything  you want.  Delivery is always incredibly fast too.


Gossypium
Organic and fair trade fabric - not much choice at the moment but included because it's fair trade and organic.


Liberty
Lucky you if you can afford it!  But always worth a look for a bit of inspiration if nothing else.  The new season stuff at the moment is absolutely delicious.


LucyLovesFabric
Some of the standard designers here - Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, but also some really lovely vintage fabric finds.  Definitely worth a look.


Lymington Fabrics
They have a very good range including Moda and Freedom Fabric.  They have lots of fabric bundles, jelly rolls, charm packs on offer - which look fantastic. They also offer free delivery, which is always good.


MacCulloch & Wallis
Masses to choose from with the added bonus of huge quantities of gorgeous haberdashery.


Millie Moon
Not an enormous selection but some good fabrics including Amy Butler, Alexander Henry and Tilda.


Nerybeth Fabric and Crafts
Stocks Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett, Anna Maria Horner, Heather Bailey and Moda.  Seems to have a very good range - sells sewing accessories & patterns too so this is a bit of a one stop shop.


Patch Fabrics
Very nice site with a good selection of fabrics, including a fair few from Michael Miller.  I particularly like the lovely fabric bundles and inspiration packs. If you are nervous about choosing fabrics then bundles are a good way to find stuff that go together.

Quality Fabrics 4U (on Ebay)
This Ebay shop has one of the widest selections I have seen in this survey - majoring in Michael Miller and Alexander Henry, with some good prices too.


Quilters Cloth
A lovely site, with a really excellent menu to allow easy browsing.  There appears to be an absolutely excellent range here, including gorgeous batiks. They have some lovely fabric bundles too.


The Quilt Room
A strangely impersonal website, but there's some lovely fabrics here, including the gorgeous French General Rouenneries, and some lovely heritage and reproduction fabrics.


Ray Stitch
A really lovely new site with a gorgeous and very different selection of fabrics including Cloud 9, Kokka, and plain organic cottons.


Saints and Pinners
A very representative collection of all the current fave designers like Heather Bailey, Tanya Whelan, Amy Butler & Erin McMorris.  Very useful browsing menu too.


Seamstar
Another shop with a really imaginative selection of fabrics, including sproutdesign from Australia, Hoodie and Lauren & Jessie Jung.  They've got some really great free project patterns on the site too - very inspirational.


So there you go - hope you find it useful.

Christmas Stocking Prototype

I've been working hard on this prototype Christmas stocking today (with a little break when we had an unscheduled power cut!) and am now nearly done. As I've already mentioned I've got a commission from Celia to make stockings for her 2 lovely girls, and before I started cutting fabric and sewing applique I really wanted to have a go at making a trial version. I realised I was being handed the perfect opportunity to make stockings for my 2 lovely boys! I have been meaning to do this for 3 years now, and even have some fabric cut out ready to go, but they've never got finished in the Christmas rush. Poor things are always getting prototypes and rejected experiments (a misshapen owl and a turtle with no eyes are quite popular..) but this time I think they are going to pretty pleased, because this has gone really well. The main body of the stocking is lovely orange (Danny's favourite colour) corduroy which I got from Ditto Fabrics. It's the 1st time I've used this shop and I am very impressed with their selection - especially with the lovely corduroys in lots of beautiful colours - the staff were very friendly too. The fabric trim on the stocking cuff is Laurel Burch Bountiful Blessings Tress in Ivory (from a very helpful ebay retailer called Quilted Mouse Fabrics). All the applique is in 100% wool felt from my favourite Handmade Presents - not cheap, but in my opinion it's fantastic value because it's top quality. I'm pretty pleased with how it's all worked out - the only thing I'd change is the colour of thread I used for the name applique - it's too light I think. It's a bit of a work in progress photo because I haven't sewn the final seam - so you also get to see my workspace, and today's number 1 distraction - Selvedge magazine - which arrived this morning. As usual I'm totally gobsmacked by all the gorgeous work and photos of beautiful things. As someone else said - even the adverts are lovely to look at. I've already been through it twice and will have another browse tonight. It's such a treat to receive that it really was a no-brainer to fork out for a 3 year subscription recently.

Personalised Christmas stockings

I've so enjoyed making these stockings as a custom order. I was a bit concerned about how the heck I was going to fit the names on to there, because they're not huge things - but it worked out just fine! They are meant as tree decorations rather than to hang up for Father Christmas to fill, but there's certainly space in them for a little tiny gift or two. Please ignore the awful Xmas tree I've used for the photos - we found this tatty number in my dad's attic & we thought it would be good for our product photos. Maybe not!!

The stocking itself is handsewn together and the fur is also sewn on by hand because my sewing machine can't get into such small places! The applique is done with wonderful wonderful bondaweb and finished with hand blanket stitching round the edge. I do love to blanket stitch but I always forget how to start - have to get my book out and look it up every single time... Hopefully I'll get some more custom orders before Christmas and then I can practise a bit more.

I now have another two to make for two more little girls. I've had fun today chosing the coloured felt & floral fabric that I am going to use. I can't remember if I have mentioned where I buy my felt from before. They're called Handmade Presents & they have fantastic stuff - gorgeous colours and 100% wool so it is a dream to work with and doesn't have that sheen that you get with cheaper felt. One of the things they sell at their site are these absolutely gorgeous felt animals. Take a look at their fab stuff!

Colinette Yarns

I'm learning about new yarns all the time - it's so exciting, addictive & erm, well, purse-emptying. I am now in the terrifying position of having a quite wonderful wool shop just minutes away, and it's so much easier to buy stuff 'just in case' when you don't have to pay the postage... So it's always great when a custom order means that I can buy some yarn without having to feel guilty about it. A friend has asked for 3 custom knit scarves for Christmas gifts & I've had a lovely time suggesting some yarn options. I was looking for something that would knit up in a bumpy, slubby way, that was quite chunky & came in lots of lovely colours.

A quick trip to the shops established that the beautiful variegated colours & bumpy style of Colinette Prism & Colinette Grafitti fit the bill very well. The yarn pictured is Colinette Grafitti in Cezanne. Gorgeous to work with. There is something very inspiring about working with materials that are of such great quality. Colour is a big deal for me & I am very impressed by the strong, deep colours of the Colinette yarns.

Newport - a great find!

My friend Rachael told me about a good wool shop in Newport (that's the one in Shropshire, not Gwent) when she was visiting a while back. And although I have a fantastic yarn emporium on my doorstep (Knit 2 Together in Wolstanton), I thought I would check it out whilst on an enforced drive to Telford the other day.

And I've discovered that Newport is really lovely - just want you want from a little market town - lots of interesting idependent shops, cobbled streets, a gorgeous sandstone church & all round general picturesqueness. The wool shop - which is called The Wool Basket (can't find any internet presence) is on St Mary's Street. It has lovely stock - Debbie Bliss, Noro, Rowan, Louisa Harding amongst others. And joy of joys there was a 30% sale so I had to buy a couple of things didn't I??

What I was really surprised and pleased to discover is that there is also a newly opened shop called Zig Zag on the same street. It's a quilter's/sewers dream - lots of very very nice fabrics, embroidery threads & notions, and an exhibition space in the back. Unfortunately I didn't have time for more than a very cursory glance because I was in a hurry but I will definitely be back. Probably to buy some fabric for the Sassy Apron Swap - which frankly has me in a total puzzle at the moment. Hopefully inspiration will strike!

One more swap before Christmas..

I couldn't resist... And this time it is for ME! I am taking part in Sassy Apron Swap - Winter 2008 run by Lucy at Sassy Apron Swap. I haven't got a clue what I am going to make for my swap partner (good job I have got until Dec 1 to get it done & dusted) but I am very very excited about having a Christmassy themed apron all to myself! I love to cook (you can see some of our family recipes & foody experiments at our Seasonal Matters blog) Christmas cooking & baking is the highlight of the year for me, so having my own sassy apron to wear is just fantastic. Can you tell I am excited?

Haven't got much done today - got Lisa & Fischer's parcel in the post this am, have done a tiny bit of crochet & listed another lovely furry Xmas stocking on Etsy & as I haven't got a picture of an apron I'll post a picture of that instead! I want to make some bigger stockings - one each for the boys I think & maybe some for the shop too. I have discovered a wonderful new local shop - Abakhan - that is a an absolute treasure trove of fabric, yarn, trims & other bits of pieces. I could have spent hours there & no doubt will be back often, but all I bought was some ric rac & fake fur for the stockings. I have a hankering to make a Christmas stocking out of some tweedy fabric with a fake fur trim... I think it would be pleasingly 1930s...

I can't resist doing another swap...

I had such a good time doing my 1st two swaps that I couldn't help signing up for another one, run by Jill at Life With Nature Girl. It's a book swap for kids, which is great for my 2 because they love stories... At the moment their favourites are Oi Get Off Our Train by John Burnigham (always popular with adults and children in our house) and The Bear by Raymond Briggs (the 1st of many by Raymond Briggs I hope). I really enjoy selecting new books for them & I am really looking foward to picking something out for our swap partner. That is, of course, if we survive our camping holiday next week - it could be that we never escape the mud...

I've got loads of stuff on the go, craft-wise at them moment but not much finished. I realise that I am absolutely terrible at finishing stuff. I have a whole series of crochet animals which are just requiring some finishing touches - my boys have made up a chant: "a squirrel with no eyes, a frog with no eyes, an elephant with one eye, an octopus with 2 eyes" etc., etc. There's also 6 sets of hair clips requiring clips, a tiny little felt bunny that looks like it's been dismembered. Not to mention all the half done Xmas decorations that I was trying to get ahead with, hahaha.

As a result this blog post is extremely short on photos, so I thought I would include a pic of the amigurumi (there's that word again) frog I designed and made for Lottie as part of the Fairy Tale Swap. I am most pleased with him - although he does look rather drunk I think. I think what takes him out of the ordinary is the gorgeous Rowan Scottish Tweed Yarn in Lovat (what a gorgeous name...)that I used.

Oooh, and I found another local wool shop - hurrah! It's a teeny tiny little place called Dream Wools in Tunstall (ST6 6BD), but it is packed with all kinds of goodies - Debbie Bliss, Sirdar, etc. I got some of the softest yarn imaginable - a total impulse buy - some baby llama stuff called Miski. It is woven in Peru under the auspices of The Mirasol Project which supports communities there. So that helped me feel a little bit less guilty about something I really don't need. I also failed to ask for (or maybe keep) the receipt so I have to use it for something for myself... :) :)

Some UK based suppliers on Etsy - Part 1

People selling pretty things... mainly for sewing with

Etsy sure is big... I love it so, but sometimes I find it so overwhelming - all that inspiration - all that beautiful stuff - so little time - so little money. It's particularly frustrating if you want to find sellers based in the UK so you can cut down your postage costs. So I've been doing a bit of searching & trawling & here are some of the fabric/buttons/other fabricky stuff suppliers that I like the look of.

OOOh! Vin Papa is fab! What a really pleasing collection of vintage buttons! And there's something about buying buttons that makes you feel like you are actually spending your money on something really useful. The ones pictured are particularly smashing I think but there is masses to choos from.

Namolio - beautiful linen fabric, cord, ribbon & tape. Love the selection of colours available - this shop is impeccably tasteful.


Pink Pearls - some very interested bits & pieces - definitely my kind of taste when it comes to fabric (see lovely pictured tweed fabric).

Tiny Island has some (just a few) very pretty fat quarters.

Big Fish has some lovely collections of buttons & felt in great colours (althoughI prefer to work with felt with a higher wool content).

So there you go - I'm going to try & do more in this series soon but by golly it makes my brain hurt (& my wallet ache).

Sadly as at Dec 31 2009 Vin Papa is no longer trading.

Some vintage fabric/textile suppliers

Lots of linkies...

I want to record of a few of the vintage fabric & textile places I've been looking at on the old interweb...

The Airing Cupboard - vintage fabric shop on Ebay. Lots of William Morris, Sanderson, Liberty and Laura Ashley. A good retro section too.


Classic Modern - site selling 50s-70s textiles, lighting, ceramics etc. Lovely place to look for inspiration.

Country House Antique Textiles - some absolutely gorgeous fabrics some of them available in much larger quantities than is usual. The prices seem a bit steep (for me anyway) but the range is very good. Ooooh, and I have just seem some lovely vintage buttons & Scottie dog ribbon...

Rag Rescue - sell bags of smaller scraps of fabric & larger pieces. The sort of site that you might have to hunt around for a real gem, but the prices are good & there are very interesting haberdashery & embellishment sections.

Meggy Magpie Fabrics - another ebay shop. Not a huge selection at the moment but there are some bargains here & definitely someone with a good eye for stuff that will appeal. Some particularly fun 70s fabrics are currently listed (e.g. picture on the right).

Fancy Nancy Fabrics - an ebay shop with lots of super-trendy Japanese imports, gorgeous Christmas fabrics & well known designers. Helpfully the fabrics are organised by style & season as well as by designer/manufacturer.