I’m baaaaaaaack! It seems like a lifetime ago I was packing up my sewing chattels in South London. The last few months have been a whirlwind, to say the least. New home, new job, new life! I couldn’t imagine sewing even a few weeks ago but a few fabric shopping expeditions and the arrival of my sewing machine last week have seen the return of my sew-jo! I have enjoyed taking a break from sewing as it had become a little too all-consuming. That said, I’ve got a few nice new pieces that I can’t wait to get started on.
I wanted to share a few of my fabric shop finds. I’m slowly finding my way round my new neighbourhood and have been totally reliant on you fellow bloggers to point me in the right direction. So it’s only right that I do the same.
My first outing took me to the fabric shops of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which seem to be clustered around one area of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman (Jalan TAR). The big stores were Gulati’s Silk House (162, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, City Centre, 50100 Kuala Lumpur, tel +60326983901), Euro Moda (126, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, City Centre, 50100 Kuala Lumpur, tel+60326940805), and Harisons (229-235, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, City Centre, 50100 Kuala Lumpur).It would also be worth checking out Jakel Mall: an entire fabric mall-sized shop, with everything from local polyesters and batiks to European linens.
Taste’s a subjective thing, isn’t it? I didn’t manage to part with any of my Ringgits. I found a lot of brightly colored synthetics that wouldn’t help me to keep my cool in the tropics. There were one or two reasonable cottons in the more expensive shops but nothing to write home about. I’ve since heard that there are other places for sewists in the know and have made my first trip to the legendary Australian craft superstore, Spotlight (Ampang Point mall, 2nd floor, Jalan Mamanda 3, 68000 Ampang, Selangor, and now there’s a new Spotlight in MyTown shopping mall, Cheras, which is better organised). Next on the itinerary was a very quick stop in Bangkok. In my one spare hour I headed straight for China World Mall: three floors of fabric heaven located in the Pahurat neighbourhood, on the fringes of Chinatown. Jill at bbkquilt.com talks about Kimono House (2nd floor) being an amazing place to find high quality cottons. She wasn’t wrong! I nearly hyperventilated when I saw Cotton & Steel fabrics on sale (approx USD 2 per metre)!
I bought some lovely fabrics here, including some shibori dyed cotton, and am dreaming about when I can next get to Bangkok. China World Mall is well worth a visit, particularly when speed is of the essence and it’s too hot to pound the pavements.
My last field report is from Hong Kong, where I’ve fabric shopped before. All signs point to Sham Shui Po according to Google. This is Hong Kong’s garment district, raved about by bloggers the world over. In previous visits I was never sure I’d found the exact block on Ki Lung Street as all I came across were wholesale shops with samples on display, and nothing like the frenzy of fabric buying that other bloggers write about.
This time I found Traveller’s Yarn’s post about shopping for fabric in Sham Shui Po and made a beeline for Moon Yue Piece Goods (125-127 Yu Chau Street). O.M.G. What can I say? This place was exactly as described. He sells end-of-bolt fabrics from high end designers and stocks mainly silks. So the big question for me is what am I going to make with 6 yards of Shanghai Tang silk??
Helloooooo! Glad you’re back, you’ve been missed! Your fabric shopping is a stark contrast to me wandering round John Lewis! I think you should make a jumpsuit with your silk then you won’t feel too left out of the Jumping into June antics 😃
LikeLiked by 1 person
To be honest, I’m terrified of sewing with it! I got 2 different lots of Shanghai Tang silk plus some black sandwashed silk that was about £3.50 a metre!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No need to be scared, especially at that price! When I went on my recent course just a few things to remember – a fine sharp needle (a blue janome one if you’ve got one is good too) and take lots of care cutting out especially making sure it’s cut out on the grain. Rip the fabric to get a square edge. good luck and have fun!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My tiny local market stall has nothing on these shopping trips! 😍
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh I don’t know! A good local stall saves a lot of legwork and probably cuts out a lot of tat too!
LikeLike
Unfortunately my local stall leaves a lot to be desired most of the time, but sometimes you can pick up some real gems 🙂
LikeLike
Glad to see you’re back & now have your sewing machine to hand! Silk?! Would be a bit awed by it, too, and wish you much success with it! xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. I need to go back to the textbook for the silks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thimberlina had a great post about her silk blouse course & experience with it. Hope you can find what you need on-line & can enjoy that fabric!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am so jealous! To walk into such large fabric stores and be able to touch everything! Have fun with your fabric!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I found Sham Shui Po a little overwhelming to be honest! I was done in under an hour!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can only imagine!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, fab! Glad you’ve re found your sewing mojo again, will look forward to seeing what you come up with for these…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow- I had no idea they had Cotton & Steel at Kimono House! I guess it’s been a while since I popped by there. Grabbing my walking shoes and heading out now 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
They had so many lovely C&S fabrics including the mustang one that I love but probably wouldn’t wear. Sorry to have missed you. It was a short-notice flying visit and all your posts suggested you were in the U.S. at the time. Would love to up next time.
LikeLike
Wow!!! Glad you are back! Looks like you are going to get lots of amazing sewing makes!!! Yes, jumpingintojune could be extended! I think we all have the jumpsuit bug!!!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I am sorely tempted!! You’ve all been making such lovely things during my sabbatical that I don’t know what to sew first!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow amazing shopping! Good to hear you are back sewing. Enjoy the silk.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmm, I went to china world (2 yrs ago now though) but I didn’t find much fabric at all, certainly didn’t find kimono house – maybe I wasn’t in the right place?! Hope to get back to BKK one day ;o)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hate it when that happens. I found the same on my first fabric spree in HK. Definitely worth a return trip to BKK.
LikeLiked by 1 person