Woah! I’m Australian- and I want Stephanie’s list!

I’m newly returned to sewing after 20 years (babies, kids, work - finally have a little breathing room) and am struggling to come to grips with the question of where to buy fabric and notions - the sewing world has changed! (Sadly my overlocker exasperates me as much as ever).

I really love your emails - you answer things very thoroughly and obviously put a lot of thought into it.

- Marg

Hi Marg,

I’m pleased to hear you enjoyed the post about online fabric retailers in the US and Canada. I am very happy to share with you a list of retailers here in Australia! I hope some of these are new to you and you can find some lovely fabric for your next sewing project.

I have some fantastic Australian pattern stockists that I'd love to share with you. I reached out to some of them and asked for them to give us an idea of the fabrics they specialise in!

MAAIDESIGN

MaaiDesign is a family-owned, online fabric store based in Victoria, Australia. We specialise in high-quality, modern dressmaking fabrics for those who love to sew fabulous clothes. Our swoonworthy designer collection includes fabric brands like Atelier Brunette, Art Gallery Fabrics, See You At Six, Nani Iro, Lady McElroy, Mind The Maker and more.

Because high-quality basics are hard to find, we have a large range of solid colours in different fabrics to mix and match with our designer collection. Matching sewing threads can be added with just a click of a button, and with our expanding range of sewing patterns you can find everything you need all in one place.

Happy customers are a top priority so we work hard to offer personal customer service and an easy to browse website. New fabrics are released almost every week, so sign up to our newsletter here to be in the know (as some sell out fast).

Find out more:
www.maaidesign.com.au

The drapery

The Drapery is a real, bricks-and-mortar fabric shop in Adelaide, South Australia - and an online store, too! We specialise in natural fabrics, particularly more sustainable fibres like linen, hemp, wool and organic cotton, plus independent designer patterns and high quality notions. Hand-crafting and sewing are an antidote to a throwaway society, and we believe in using beautiful materials that will last!

Some of our quality, natural fabrics for everyday wear include washed linens from Lithuania, selvedge and organic denims from Japan and Italy and a wide range of modern Japanese fabrics including double gauze by Nani Iro.

Find out more:
www.thedrapery.com.au

pattern scissors frock

Pattern Scissors Frock is an Australian online independent fabric store that specialises in quality modern apparel fabrics with a focus on natural and sustainable fibres that will be launching in late December 2020. We stock a beautiful range of independent patterns and fabrics including lyocell, linen, hemp, cotton and knits. Many of the fabrics we have chosen meet global textile standards or certifications.

At Pattern Scissors frock we hope to inspire others to sew, create and feel great in what they wear with beautiful modern fabrics and indie patterns.

Find out more:
www.patternscissorsfrock.com.au

Minerva’s bower

We are Kylie Crowe and Clare Sanders and our store is Minerva’s Bower, located in Katoomba Blue Mountains NSW.

We have a dressmaking fabric focus and specialise in natural fibres with attention given to appropriate fabrics for our cooler weather. We also aim to be able to tell the story of all of our fabrics so that we are able to provide our customers with as much information as possible.

We stock a wide range of natural fibres; cotton, linen, wool and leather as well as a wide variety of man made natural fibres such as Tencel, Lyocell and viscose. All of these are available online.

In store we have a constantly changing selection of fine vintage fabrics. To complement our fabrics we stock independent Australasian patterns, a wide range of haberdashery, including vintage trims and hard to find notions.

Find out more:
www.minervasbower.com.au

house of cloth

House of Cloth was established in 2010 in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. We hold a unique place in Bendigo as the only independent fabric store providing fabrics for the home sewist.

House of Cloth is a destination point for anyone looking for high quality fabrics. We are committed to maintaining a strong focus on natural fibre fabrics. We have a diverse range of fabrics across cotton, linen, wool and silk, including suiting fabrics, lawn, voiles, coatings, to name a few. New fabrics arrive throughout the year, especially around autumn/winter and spring/summer.

We have diversified our products to include boutique knitting yarns, knitting accessories, patterns from independent designers, a small range of haberdashery, and Bernina sewing machines and accessories. We are also committed to assisting people to find new homes for their vintage/retro fabric collections.

Find out more:
www.houseofcloth.com.au/

fibresmith

Fibresmith is a boutique space dedicated to quality, natural cloth yarn and fibre craft supplies in Melbourne’s Inner West, founded by Maze & Vale designer, Leslie Keating.

“Fibresmith lived in my head for over three years, a little dream of a beautiful shop filled with gorgeous, natural fibre yarn and cloth in modern, graphic prints. Trained as a graphic designer with a life long love of craft, I was naturally drawn to simple, graphic patterns and colour combinations, especially muted, impure or ‘different’ shades. In 2011, I began playing around with block printing on fabric, first with simple shapes and then moving into carving my own stamps and eventually discovered and fell in love with screen printing as a way to cover larger areas of cloth. I enjoyed designing and printing cloth so much that I began selling it, creating a small business called Maze & Vale. Maze & Vale was the most excellent and flexible outlet for my creativity with two small children and over the years, gave me great insight into customers’ wants and needs for modern and interesting textiles. In 2017 that I firmly made the decision to open Fibresmith, to focus on sourcing beautiful, natural fibre cloth and yarn and high quality tools and supplies for sewing, needlecraft, knitting and crochet.”

Find out more:
www.fibresmith.com.au

Some other stores you may like to checkout:

resources mentioned in this issue

Online retailers in the US and Canada. Post can be found here.
A list of In the Folds pattern stockists can be found here.

P.S. Would you like to know what the Q & A series is all about? This page tells you a little bit more about the motive behind the series. Past issues from the Q & A series can be found here.

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