I have wrote a few blogs about buying fabric and craft supplies before, mostly concentrating in the Sham Shui Po area of Hong Kong. In today’s blog I am going to list shops and websites in Hong Kong that stock an Aladin’s cave of beautiful fabrics, waiting to be discovered. I haven’t been able to visit all of them but hopefully one day I will, before I move back to the UK.
For those that haven’t seen my other blogs about buying fabrics in Hong Kong I will be repeating them here at the end so you don’t have to skip over or go searching for it. I have a lot of request for places that sell nice fabric in Hong Kong and not the usual market stall cheap stuff. Well, I actually find more nice fabrics from visiting these stalls because they always rotate their stock and you don’t always get the same stuff every week. I believe in fate to bring me nice fabrics! I sometimes find it very intimidating going into shops, especially Hong Kong, where the sales person is very pushy or when there are no prices and you feel like you are being ripped off. I like to take my time to look at stuff.
So, if you are bored of your usually fabric shops have a look here and hopefully I have managed to introduce you to some new places!
Ann-made 俄羅私制房. I came across this artist when I visited a crafters fair in Hong Kong. She specialises in her cute Russian doll mascots and accessories but on the side she stocks cute zakka fabrics. I find these fabrics suitable for my Blythe’s outfits as they are in small pieces, the prints are small and the quality is very nice. The price is a little expensive for roughly 50x35cm pieces from around $20-$50+ but I haven’t seen any of this type of fabric around in Hong Kong. The artist is based in Japan but she will send orders by post.
Liberty 日本布材料雜貨代購. I love the fabric from this place. Mostly imported from Korea, Japan and all over the world. Only recently in June 2-17 that they started selling Liberty of London Tana Lawn Fabric. I think this is the only place that stock this. I haven’t seen any around Hong Kong. If you really want to get your hands on this fabric I recommend you to mail order it from U.K. Click here to check out where you can buy this fabric and get value for your money. I have tried contacting them to see if I can get my hands on some nice fabric but unfortunately they don’t accept Paypal and they only post to you.
Anna fabric 安娜屋日本布料銷售及代購. Specialises in cute Japanese, Korean and American printed fabrics. Mainly for suitable for crafts and great for furnishing or tableware. Some fabrics are nice for making certain items of clothing or childrenswear. They stock a good selection of sewing notions and haberdashery items. There’s also a selection of craft and sewing books available.
Wool Workshop 羊工房編織車縫手作教室. More than just a wool/yarn shop. They have a huge selection of craft books, sewing notions, haberdashery and fabrics. Located in Tseun Mun it is a bit out of the way unless you are planning to have some workshops with them.
Wool Workshop 羊工房編織車縫手作教室屯門屯喜路2號栢麗廣場18樓16室, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong.
Shun Cheong Piece Good Co. 信昌布行. Located in Sham Shui Po you can always pop by just to have a smooch at what they have in stock. They have a lot of cute cartoon mascot fabrics. There’s also a few shops in SSP that set these types of prints but at least you can see them online before popping out to search for it.
Modes4U. I came across this shop by accident. They look like a toy shop but they stock a lot of imported fabrics from the US and around the world. The selection is vast and you will be spending ages just looking through them all. I just love to buy fabric that have various prints that run across the whole fabric. You can choose which strip you want to use to makes dolls clothing without having to buy metres and meters of additional fabrics.
Click here for their website to see their products. You won’t be disappointed by the selection.
KawaiiFabric and Modes4U are owned by the same person. There are plenty of dress and craft fabrics to choose from. Whatever your taste is, they are bound to stock something you will like. This site is mainly focusing at the fabric and sewing side compared to the above site. If you are in Hong Kong and searching for something different or more toward the western taste, then look no further.
Click here for their website.
Needlework Club. They stock sewing notions, sewing materials and books. If you are after quilting, patchwork, knitting, crochet, embroidery, dressmaking, beading, needle felting doll making then look no further. They stock Japanese and American fabric. Looking on their website you might not see much under the category but their Facebook page seems more updated
Forest Fabric. A lot of imported Japanese and Korean fabrics available here. It is only a small shop but they seems to have a lot of stuff crammed in one place. They even have fabrics sold in Log-On by the brand Daily Like. The pre-packed fabric bundles are around $8 cheaper than Log-On. I was glad I didn’t buy from Log-On because I could buy more fabric by the metre than pre-cut quarter bundles. Be very careful as most of the prices are per 1/2 yard or metre.
Log-On, Popular, and Commercial Press all have a fabric and craft department.
Popular and Commercial Press are more like stationery stores. Their fabrics are mini rolls of canvas or cotton fabric of Sanrio or San-X mascot characters. You do get some floral and plain fabrics if there are any left. Their stock is quite limited and sometimes out of stock for a while.
Log-On is more of a department store, part of City Super if I am correct. They have fabrics in bundles of pre-cut quarters. Cute complimentary printed fabrics matched with plain fabrics but I find them quite expensive.
Log-On and Commercial press have A4 sheets of fabric with sticky backing, great for covering books. A bit expensive if I remember correctly but you can find bargains when they have a sale.
Hawkers Bazaar. If you have the time you could spend hours in here. Not the most prettiest fabric shop in the world but there are treasures to be found. Hawkers Bazaar was set up around 30 years ago. If you are lucky it might still be there when you visit. It was suppose to be disposed of and made room for housing many years ago. You can find all most every type of fabric in here. Definitely bargains compare to the prices you pay on the island. At first you will be in shock by the look of the place, the roof, then even more shocked by the amount of fabric is in there, aisles upon aisles of it! It is not just odd end of bolts, there’s designer material at bargain prices. I even bought some fabric from here that is current stock, sold in a shop in the UK! Please beware, this fabric place may not be around after 2017 due to redevelopment for housing.
Ki Lung Street fabric stalls. When I first came here I didn’t find the fabric stalls where everyone was talking about. I thought the stalls were shut so I went home! Nobody mentioned you had to walk all the way until you get to Shek Kip Mei Street and Wong Chuk Street to actually get to the action. Here you can buy all sorts of fabrics if you are prepared to rummage and look at the piles upon piles of fabric. You can’t expect to find everything you want without searching. It is more of what you can find. If you want more of a specific fabric then prepared to go to the next 4 streets. They are the manufacturers. You need to go in to see what they have and order a minimum of 5 yards/meters in some places. The samples outside the shops are free but some places are stingy and only give you want you ask for. Prices are roughly $5 per yard/metre depending on the fabric and you save $5-$10 per yard/metre if you order above a certain amount.
Yu Chau, Wong Chuk, Shek Kip Mei and Maple Street are the streets to pick up fabric samples and order fabrics.
TenOneTenThree is located in Sham Shui Po just behind the fabric stalls of Ki Lung Street. If you want a Qipao/Chipao or Cheong Sam made then Henry Tsang is the master to talk to. He is more flexible with his designs and can work with the material you provide or fabrics from his collection. His designs has a modern twist compare to the old masters. Henry also uses the art of using paste in making fully traditional qipaos when required. Otherwise you can always pop in to buy some his beautiful fabrics imported from around Asia. Prices starts from $59 per yard. For the nicer fabric, prices starts around $125 per yard.
Li Yuen Street West. If I can remember correctly there should be at least 2 shops here. I came here around 2008, and found a shop that sold nice genuine Hello Kitty fabric as well as dress fabric. I remember there is an upholstery/sofa/carpet store called Flourish at no.21.
Western Market is located at 323 Des Voeux Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. It is famous for its fabrics. On the entire first floor you will find the fabric vendors. A lot of people recommend this place to tourist because of the air-conditioning and the cleanliness of the place unlike Hawkers Bazaar. I guess some tourist probably wouldn’t dream about setting foot in Hawkers Bazaar in Sham Shui Po. Definitely not recommended during the hot summer months anyway! Although the fabrics there were very nice and if you are looking for 100% silk fabric then look no further. They will even burn test it for you. If you have time you might just find what you want.
The first time I came here I didn’t buy any fabrics that’s because I didn’t want to impulse buy and the fabrics didn’t look cheap. I could have been ripped off since I haven’t done any research on prices in Sham Shui Po yet. I also found it very intimidating. Everywhere I went vendors will either watch me like a hawk or were pestering me to buy from them. I am used to the western way of shopping. I like to take my time. I just had a quick look around and dashed downstairs where I spent a lot of money on haberdashery and craft tools. Unfortunately the second time I came here the haberdashery shop had already closed down.
Luohu Commercial City (Lo Wu Shopping Plaza)
Not quite Hong Kong but over the border in China in Shenzhen, Luohu Commercial City (Lo Wu Shopping Plaza). You need a visa to get over there. Catch the KCR to Lo Wu Station. Go through all the checks until you get over to the other side. Head over to Luohu Commercial City (Lo Wu Shopping Plaza). Hopefully you don’t get enticed by the dodgy locals trying to sell you fakes and counterfeit goods. Sometimes they will take you to some shady building and in an apartment block to show you their extensive collection. When you get there it might be a tiny room that’s already packed with other tourists. The scary bit is when they lock you in and hopefully persuade you to buy something!
By the way, you might have to find your own way back to where they picked you up if you do manage to get out without buying anything, which could be 15-20 minutes walk! Let’s not go there. That was around 17 years ago when I first went over the border to China. I was too naive and didn’t know how dangerous it was. Luckily I wasn’t in Shenzhen on my own at the time. Now a days fakes are being clamped down and I haven’t been over for over 10 years.
Anyway, back to Luohu Commercial City (Lo Wu Shopping Plaza). You need to go to the top floor. There the entire floor is full of fabric and tailors. Please be aware that not all vendors speak English and if you do have anything made it may not turn out as you have imagined. I’ve heard stories where people hand over a printed fabric to have a it copied. The garment ended up coming back with the print upside-down! I bought my bias binding from here. It was the first time I have seen bias binding sold in a roll and nitwit its edges ironed. Very useful even though I make my own anyway. I also bought my Chinese Wedding Kwun Kwa fabric from here. The prices are reasonable but bring a local or friend in case you are scared of being ripped off.
Thanks Pui Chan Gardiner for letting me use your pictures!
Also they are there to make you feel safe and less intimidated. There’s all sorts of fabrics to be found if you have the time to look. I usually don’t look for too long unless I was interested otherwise I have people on me left, right and centre!
If you are going to be shopping around Sham Shui Po you might want to download this map: My Ultimate Shopping Map SSP
So there you have it. I hope I have introduced you to some new shopping places for fabric. More excuses to start another fabric stash!
See you in my next blog.
Shan x