I have a lot of fabric. I have so much fabric that it's starting to get out of control. I sew around 30 yards a month, but the stack keeps growing, mostly because there is so much great stuff out there that it's hard not to want to have it all. Especially, when every cut of fabric is a potential future skirt, bag or dress. I swear to myself that I'm going to use it all eventually, but I think I'm going to be one of those old ladies who die and leave behind a house where three of the rooms are filled with fabric and the garage is stuffed with buttons and zippers. That actually sounds kind of nice just thinking about it.



Most of my current stash came from my last trip to Japan, a country that appreciates natural fibers and quirky patterns. I have little bits of these fabrics in a notebook that a carry around for color matching. I like to flip through it if I'm bored and think about all of the stuff I'll be able to make. I'll be posting bits of this collection to make an online version, breaking them up by origin so that anyone reading these posts will be able to find some for themselves.

First up is Tomato Nippori.































A review of Tomato Nippori (from one of my Metafilter posts):
I think Tomato is the supreme master of fabric stores in Tokyo. It has the best selection and the best prices for Tokyo. There are a few separate store fronts, so it's best to look around before buying. One shop functions as a giant discount bin, and ohmygoodness, it has great stuff for as little as 100 yen per meter. Just be careful to note that Tomato is cash only.

The main building has multiple stories and even and entire floor for knits! Knits, the bastard stepchild of American Fabric stores! Seriously, I can never find patterned knits or anything above t-shirt quality, but this store has an entire floor dedicated to this stuff. In the two weeks since I've been home I made three knit dresses just because I was so happy with the selection.

Anyway, there are lots of fantastic cotton prints that can be found on three separate floors and on the first floor there is almost an entire wall of chirimen by the meter.

Labels: fabric, sewing

posted by Alison 2/07/2009 02:33:00 PM : (0) comments : splink