Brexi bonus - fabric cost

Not uk but wish.com is very cheap especially for pre cut patchwork. They pester you with ads though which is annoying.

wish.com is appalling quality though. Did anyone else hear the discussion on R4 this morning with Katherine Hammet? It seems the Brexit bonus is hitting the fashion industry as well, not just the fishing community.

Doesn't Wish.com send from Germany? I don't know why but I thought it was a Chinese company using Germany as a trading base. As I say though, I don't know how I got that opinion. I imagine it will not be long before it gets caught up in this if that's the case.

It's not just the prices going up, it's the lack of deliveries. It is becoming hard to get quite a lot of sewing related items. I heard the Today discussion and I can only imagine the cost of clothing itself will go up in price. But these things were always going to happen weren't they?

I think wish.com are Chinese business. Their prices would indicate such.

Definitely Chinese. I had a parcel from Wuhan and I was nervous about opening it when everyone was talking about the origins of the virus !

Merchant & Mills in Rye, East Sussex.
Stone Fabrics in Totnes, Devon

My favourite was myfabric.uk. They ship from Germany all over Europe, and they still send to the UK, with very clear instructions about delivery & tax costs, so worth looking at.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'popular' so I'm putting my stalwarts below (and others might be interested)

For really cheap & cheerful (although their website has become a bit more sober) I recommend fabricland.
I also like montreux fabrics.
Stone has some nice fabrics, bit variable on price
For good fabrics that are reasonable value but not cheap: dragonfly
Bit more upmarket: fabric godmother
A limited but beautiful range of ethically traded fabrics: offset warehouse
English Couture company has a small but really nice range

I'd also suggest joining thesewingplaceorg if you haven't already and ask on there.

and also, MacCulloch & Wallis Limited in London.

I like Sewing Studio who are based in Cornwall;Fabrics Galore, London; Bright Quilting - Wales ; Lady Sew and Sew not sure where but U.K. I do try to buy from smaller businesses.

I use Sew Scrumptious, they sell a lot by British designers.

www.sewscrumptious.co.uk/our-story/

I realised when I searched a few of these links (thank you grans, always good to find new fabric stores!) that OP hadn't said what she mainly wanted the fabric for.
The sites I recommended are mostly for dressmaking fabric. And yes, I use McCulloch and Wallis. That reminds me that most of the Soho shops that I loved to browse in happier times have all gone to Wembley but have a good on-line store:
www.theberwickstreetclothshop.com/

It's interesting to see that some on this thread are obviously dressmakers. It's really good to see fabric not sold by the quarter metre!

I'm just getting back to dress making (it should have happened a year ago but I had a new flat to sort out, a bit against the odds ). I'd love to hear what sort of thing you make.

Abakan fabrics in Mostyn, North Wales sell a huge range of fabrics and other craft materials and they do sell online as well as having a large physical shop when they can open again. Not too sure where it comes from as I am a knitter not a sewer, but it might be worth a look.

Thinking of the price of fabric, you might be interested in this from an article in the New Stateman written by someone who went back to dressmaking during this year of CV.

I certainly don’t make my own clothes because it’s cheaper than buying them. My most recently completed piece – a boxy, short-sleeved shirt of the kind you’d be likely to find in Cos – cost £17.50 for the pattern, £44.25 for the materials (a navy Japanese seersucker, buttons, thread) and eight hours of labour: at the London living wage, £86.80. All in, that’s £148.55 for a single shirt. (Only good lingerie, it turns out, is cheaper to make than to buy.) These calculations make me horrified that I ever thought £40 was a fair price for a dress.

I think we may be finding the "off the peg" fashion catching up with what we can make. My daughter is tall and the shop she used to get her PJs from has closed. She can buy some on line - at £125 a pair! Mum is now making PJs for her.

efabrics have proven reliable and inexpensive. Depends what you want though. Search “fabrics uk”....

I've had lovely stuff from myfabrics, but I think they have stopped sending to the UK. Mcculloch and Wallis are rather pricey. I bought some nice wool for a jacket from Stitch in South Woodford. If you want beautiful material for a jacket, Linton tweed in Carlisle are fantastic, British made, they are used by designers like Chanel.

Thanks all. Really useful info. Yes it’s for dressmaking. Am finding I have both time and inclination after many years of not bothering. I’ll have a look at those you’ve given. Thanks again.

I love Abakans. I could spend days wandering around their Manchester store. It's a must visit when I go to see my daughter. Between the two of us, and my granddaughter now, we've spent quite a lot over the years. Fabric, wood, crafts... Orders over £50 are free delivery. Under that it's £3.50 royal mail lst class.
www.abakhan.co.uk/

For dressmaking I often use Minerva, based in Lancashire I think. Midland Textiles is good too. Ebay isn't a bad bet for decent fabric at reasonable prices.

It is hard to get past fat quarters sometimes when looking for fabric.

Oh and Empress Mills for Jerseys, fleece etc.

Goodness, I just checked with myfabrics and they have indeed currently suspended deliveries to the UK. My apologies for misleading.

I think that piece from the NS is interesting, but doesn't look at dress making as most of us usually do it.
Patterns get re-used (and used to draft others)
Remnants get used in all sorts of ways, including facings.
I don't know how much fabric was used, but it sounds as if she paid £15-20 a metre. I can and do pay that for very good fabric, but only for special pieces. And I have only twice in a lifetime of dress making, actually bought buttons!
No, I don't dressmake to save money, I do it because I like it and I like the results. But it doesn't hurt to be reminded of how much clothes really do cost.

Sew Scrumptious have patterns for children’s clothing and the sell some beautiful Liberty prints. They do sell a lot of FQs for crafters but they also sell by the metre.

"I think that piece from the NS is interesting, but doesn't look at dress making as most of us usually do it."

I agree Nannarose. It will be interesting to see how many people decide to take it up dressmaking if the shop prices start being affected. The writer of the article said she hadn't bought anything off the peg for the last year.

The only pieces of clothing I buy regularly are bras, socks & tights. I used to buy the occasional Tshirt or leggings, but have worked hard to master sewing with knit fabrics, and now make my own.

Just before Brexit I bought a huge bundle of organic knits from activefabrics in Germany for £42. I'm about half way through it, and have 2 camisoles, and a pair each of jogging bottoms, shorts (for my knee replacement) and leggings. About 4 left-over pieces have been gifted to a sewer in our village who makes leggings for her daughter.

Out of interest, the original patterns for the camisole and leggings those would probably have cost about £30 in total - for those who are astonished - that is because I buy PDFs and get the main pattern printed up by my local print shop at about £6 per A0 sheet. This means they keep very well and I draft from them. The basic trousers pattern I have had for years (haven't a clue what it cost) and I drafted the joggers by blending it with the leggings.

For those who are interested, Michell Pye at English Couture Company does bra-making courses. I've never done one because I spend enough time in my sewing room already! I buy very good bras when they are in the sales - usually slightly odd colours - but I make knickers to match / mix.
She also does courses on drafting patterns.

I recommend thesewingplace.org as a forum