Here is where I went in Singapore
I always look forward to fabric shopping Singapore when I am overseas. The chance of finding the piece of fabric or button that nobody else has is enticing. My Singapore fabric shopping trip held the promise of great shopping, but sometimes truth and reality are metres apart.
After conducting though researched prior to my arrival I armed myself with a map, bag load of cash and my credit cards and headed to China town.
Peoples Park
First day of fabricshopping Singapore. The first floor of the People’s Park Food Centre, Chinatown. It was 11am when my feet hit the stores, with drink in hand, I parked my husband on a chair close to the conveniences in the 39c heat and ran first with a view to buy, only to find to closed It was a trading day so I forged ahead to the next store.
I was looking for Denim and not really sure what else just looking for whatever caught my eye. It’s not always a good idea shopping for fabric when you aren’t really sure what you’re going to make as you can tend to buy fabric that will sit in your stash forever.
Finally I found a store with some nice Japanese cotton (pictures below) but when I looked closer I realised that I had seen this at a lower price in the Kimono house in Melbourne.
There were many stores here in the People’s Park food centre I was hoping to find some really different buttons but also failed in this mission. The button selection was very average.
Arab Street
I returned to my husband pulled his chain and headed to Arab St, which at first glance seemed more promising, 90% of the shops in this quirky little street sold fabric, I was just a little excited.
Of course there was someone at the front of every store trying to coax you in and buy, Hello, Hello, You look lovely today, want lace, Linen Silk come in and look at my store.
So in I went, they want you to buy so the service is wonderful especially if you are a westerner. Paying you compliments and asking about where you are from. Finding out that I taught sewing was of great interest to them as they have online stores so I was showered with their business cards.
I did buy a few pieces of Austrian Linen and a piece of Linen look fabric which was around the same as what I would pay back home, but I did like it and knew that I would not find this in Melbourne.
Buttons are not sold in Arab Street I was told to go to a place called the Textile Centre which was a short walk from away.
The Textile Centre
Filled with excitement and a not so excited husband I headed to the Textile Centre. So still on the hunt for buttons. The Textile Centre was 4 floors of fabric and haberdashery, I did not bother looking at the fabric here as I had not been impressed with the fabric that I had seen so far in Singapore.
Finally SUCCESS on the ground floor, where I found a button shop. Inside I didn’t seem to find anything that caught my eye but my husband sniffed out some real treasures. Not everyone puts the emphasis on finding the right button for a garment but I think it can be the one thing that makes that garment POP.
Conclusion
We had a great day together and a visit to the Jumbo Seafood restaurant on the Singapore River which was the perfect ending to our day. All in all I loved Fabric shopping Singapore and will return but, I do believe that Hong Kong is a far better place to shop for fabric
I will be taking my 4th fabric shopping trip to Hong Kong in not so distant future – so why don’t you join me and I will show you the best places to shop for all your fabric and sewing needs. Have some fun shopping for fabric, haberdashery, hand bags, shoes and so much more.
Always remeber to take the Project Sewing Planner with you when shopping for Fabric
