Any suggestions of where to buy fabric in London?

[ilovegreenbeans]

I'd like to make more clothes for dd who is 1, but am totally stumped as to where to find fabric I like!
I live in Central East London, and don't have a car. All of the fabric shops nearby sell "Asian woman" fabric- totally unsuitable for a baby!
I have had a look on ebay and online, but haven't come up with much.
I tend to get a lot of her dresses and tops from baby Zara, to give you an idea of what I like.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

John Lewis on Oxford Street and McCulloch & Wallis on Dering Street both sell fabric, although they can be a bit pricey. For cheaper stuff, head down to Berwick Street - there are about 4 or 5 shops down there selling fabric. Some are a bit specialist (i.e. silks, tailoring fabrics) but there are a couple of good cheap ones too.

There used to be a great one on Berwick St called Borovicks - don't know if it is still there.

Have you tried street markets? Some of them have some decent fabric stalls. Your local council will be able to tell you where the markets are and what stalls they have.

If not, jump on a train at Liverpool St and head out to Romford or Walthamstow - they have lots of fabric stalls in their markets.

The Cloth House on Berwick Street has lovely stuff - nice linens and prints for summer. I tend to buy most of my fabric online from the US. It's cheaper there, and there's a greater choice, although with the postage costs it works out about the same as UK prices. Liberty prints can be 20 quid a metre! Some online shop names to google: reprodepot, volksfaden, kitty-craft, cia's palette. Etsy has some stuff, too.

My SIL (who makes clothes professionally) recommends Berwick Street for good-quality stuff for special occasions and Goldhawk Road for everyday/cheaper stuff.

I got the fabric for my bridesmaids' dresses at Borovicks, Kathy... [

liberty [sigh] (although is often cheaper on ebay)

Borovicks is great. I used to source fabric for my previous job and it was always my first port of call - the staff are incredibly helpful if you can just grab someone and ask. McCulloch and Wallis lovely but much pricier. Also, try the Asian shops - many have a bigger variety inside than you'll see outside. A1 Fabrics in Shepherds Bush in particular has a huge range. Also Southall and Tooting both have a wide range of lovely cheap fabrics in various shops. Think about dye, too. You can get huge bolts of plain cotton lawn for v cheap money on eBay etc and a bit of machine dye (about a fiver a packet) means you could have a whole range of plain bright colours to choose from.

walthamstow market tends to sell more cottons etc in the spring/summer. A lot of the stalls sell mainly synthetics for the Asian customer but not exclusively.

There is a good one at the StJames st end that sells lovely stuff cheap. There are about 4 shops along the market and several stalls. Dont go on Monday, its not open anymore.

Bovericks is wonderful but quite dear IMO, ditto JL.

There is a Rolls and Rems in Holloway (and a stall across the road in the market) and one in Edmonton Green (havent been for a while so check first).

Really nice, contempory fabric tends to be pricey but you dont need much for kids clothing.

You can buy on ebay too. Check that they are selling yards/metres and not 'fat quarters'.

Good luck.

Wow, thanks so much for all the replies!

I never seem to find anything I like at JL. I will check out Borovicks next time I venture out that way.

Watney market has a stall where I've found a couple of plain summery cottons, but that's after a lot of visits!

I do love Liberty prints, but they're very dear

Thanks again

ilovegreenbeans, i found a shop that sells liberty prints cheap here

I'd go back to the sari shops. The sari shops near here sell a wide range of fabrics - not just gold-embroidered silks - and the prices are amazing. DD was a beautiful bridesmaid in a dress I made from gorgeous fabric from a sari shop.

Warthog, that site is amazing - it's half price. Are they remnants, then?

Try fabrics galore in battersea - they often have mini boden fabric, and prices are really good.

I noticed that John Lewis have started stocking Amy Butler fabric if you like that kind of thing. They are very gorgeous.

(See www.amybutlerdesign.com/products/)

I also try US websites that ship. I used buyfabricsonline.com/ for material for my son's curtains. it all came very quickly adn worked out cheaper and nicer than anything I could get here. The Juicy Jungle range is cute for little ones and is about $8 a yard. (Do be aware that the widths are different from UK ones)

I don't know of anywhere to buy dress fabric but if you are ever looking for furnishing fabric www.oliosh.co.uk is brilliant, I recovered my sofa for £30 with fabric from there.

My sister is a fashion designer and she often goes to mcculloch and wallis and the soho stores, but she really recommends the shepherds bush /goldhawk road stores that a few of the previous posters have also mentioned if you can be bothered to trek across town! They are cheaper and if you search through stuff you can often find some really nice discontinued fabrics from more expensive suppliers. I bought all the fabric for my bridesmaids' dresses there (quite a few years ago now....). Have to go and check out the website Warthog is recommending now!

How funny, just clicked on the link and - the website Warthog is recommending is a shop literally three minutes from where i live! i can pop in and see what they have if anyone wants me to...