Reviews

Fabric Friday Review: Higgs & Higgs Fabric

Jess1 Comment

It’s been a few years since I’ve written a fabric shop review as frankly I ran out of fabric space so I had to start sewing the fabric from the shops I’d been reviewing. It’s a nice problem to have but not one that is easy to blog about I’ll be honest. However when Higgs & Higgs asked me if I’d like to review their online shop I jumped at the chance because I adore their fabrics! Every single show I go to that Higgs & Higgs is at, I end up buying something. It’s like a compulsion. Their stalls are always beautifully laid out and they always have a good selection of cosy knit fabrics (my winter kryptonite) so honestly it’s a foregone conclusion. What I’m slightly ashamed to say is that I didn’t know they had a website! So lets talk core details:

Higgs & Higgs

  • Online Shop / Physical Shop / Both
  • Web Link: https://higgsandhiggs.com
  • Core Purpose: Dressmaking, Upholstery, Haberdashery
  • Unit of Sale For Fabric: 0.5m / 1m / 2m / custom amount

Now let’s get the difficult bit out of the way, yes Higgs & Higgs have asked me to review them and they have sent me some fabric of my choosing. However*, as always all views are my own. Whether I’m sent fabric or a sewing machine to review I will always be 100% honest. I also do freelance website improvement reviews for fabric shops that are not published on here so you’d best believe I will always be honest about my experience. So ‘how will this review work if you’ve already been sent the fabric?’ I hear you cry, well it’s going to work like this. I get to pick the fabric so it will be the standard approach I take to web fabric shopping. I will go through the whole website, try to find fabrics I want, go through the selection to put them in my basket to see how that works, I will report on pricing, delivery, etc as normal, and then once they send me the fabric I’ll report on delivery, quality, packaging etc. So basically, I’ll do what I always do, it’s just on this occasion very kindly Higgs + Higgs will have gifted me the fabric.

Fabric Types

Higgs + Higgs stock a brilliant range of fabrics for dressmaking, upholstery, and quilting, plus they stock bias-binding and haberdashery so they make a great one stop shop. In terms of price the most affordable fabrics are as you would expect the cottons at £6.99pm with the upper end at £27/28pm for wools. In terms of fabric shops generally I would say they are middle ground in terms of affordability across their range of fabrics and we should also note that the quality of the fabric is reflected in the price.

This time I had a specific project in mind so choosing my fabric was really challenging because there are so many good autumnal fabrics. You all know I love a knit but on the other hand I’ve been wanting a white/cream denim midi skirt as a transitional piece. So my core choices were either the Luxe Faux Angora Cable Knit in Black or the Snow White 7oz Stretch Denim. In the end I decided as we are heading into Autumn/Winter I wanted to go cosy and chose the Black Luxe Faux Angora Cable Knit to make something I could wear in the office or at home. Although on this occasion my fabric was gifted I did see the payment process through to give it a test. Overall its what you’d expect from a payment system, I like that it’s integrated with Apple Pay for a speedier checkout, and unlike a lot of other websites the discount code box is obvious and the interface is clean and simple to use.

Overall the fabric buying process is very smooth. I like the standard measurements of 0.5m, 1m, 2m, as well as a custom option for the length you would like. The minimum is 0.5m but you can buy fabric 10cm at a time. There are a nice selection of capsule wardrobe patterns and a well-stocked haberdashery. In terms of delivery it’s £3.50 for orders under £50 and free delivery over £50 and it’s a pretty speedy 2-3 day. Not the most expensive delivery, particularly post-covid where I know courier prices have skyrocketed, but worth bearing in mind. My fabric arrived in less than 48 hours, it was well packaged, and arrived in great condition. Given the breadth of fabrics I’d recommend getting your moneys worth on free delivery and buying your bulkier autumnal and winter fabrics in one session.

Website Design & Functionality

The website is easy to use, the refresh and page load rate is really good. Why does this matter? Because when you have 15 tabs open of different fabrics it means that website still loads quickly which makes fabric shopping that bit easier. The only slight irritation I would note is that the side menu isn’t optimised which would be a good thing to fix to make navigation even easier. There are a couple of broken links but that is fairly common for websites with a high number of fabric types that change regularly. However that being said, I really like the search functionality from the top bar and its clear that effort has been put into the web design to ensure its easy to browse the full catalogue of fabrics while also being able to break down into sub-genres of fabric type and even patterned or plain within those typologies. They stock so many types of fabric that being able to search in this detail is a godsend.

When scrolling for fabric, you can filter by price or popularity which is helpful. I also love the detail on every listing with fabric information, good photo quality – and yes I partially wanted to get black fabric to see how the photo matched the reality – this is a review after all. Each fabric landing page has suggestions for what you could use it to make and there are not only detailed fabric composition stats but there are also washing instructions which is brilliant and greatly appreciated. Particularly for this upcoming project as I’ll be working with a faux Angora knit that I do not want to ruin it by accident!

So you guys know the score or you will in a second! Let’s do the round-up.

Review Score:

  • Range of Fabrics: 9
  • Cost: 7
  • Delivery (Speed/Cost): 7
  • Ease of use: 8
  • Ease of payment: 9

Total Average Score: 8/10

Overall I am impressed with Higgs & Higgs, they are an excellent one stop shop and I look forward to visiting them in person next time I’m over that way. I like the range of fabrics, I particularly like their new quilted fabrics which would make an amazing Pogonip Pullover or a Megan Nielsen Hovea Coat, and I love the amount of effort they put into telling you about each fabric. Head over to their website to have a nosy at their stock and if you are ever at one of the sewing shows look them up and see for yourself! I never leave without at least one new knitted fabric.

Making the Most of New Year Sewing Deals: My Top Tips

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Hello and happy new year everybody! I will be writing a proper blog to kick off the year but by popular request here are the links to and accompanying commentary on my top Christmas sewing gifts and New Year sale picks!

To find out more catch-up with me over on YouTube and get some ideas for next Christmas as well as a few bargains for yourself in the New Year sales. (There are a couple of affiliate links in this blog that support my content creation but all opinions are my own).

Top 5 Sewing Gifts That Will Delight Any Seamstress

Prym Magnetic Needle Holder – One of my favourite little sewing gadgets and storage mechanisms on the market currently is the Prym Magnetic Needle Holder (I’m sure other brands are available!). Brilliant for storage and safety, this needle holder is made like a lipstick that can be raised or lowered to access your needles .

Fiskar Amplify Shears – The best scissors I’ve ever owned! If I could become sewing santa for one night, I would gift absolutely everybody a pair of these scissors. My Grandma bought them for me for Christmas in 2020 and I’ve literally never had to sharpen them, I’ve never found any fabric they can’t cut, and I’ve used them every single day since I first unwrapped them.

Prym Magnetic Wrist Pin Holder – Possibly the most high traffic item in my sewing room except my sewing machine is my magnetic wrist pin cushion. I love that it is easy to use on my sewing machine or while I’m crawling around the floor cutting fabric or hemming skirts.

Guterman Thread Bible – there isn’t a sewist in the world who doesn’t want or need more thread so the Gutermann thread bible is always a well-received gift. Mine was originally given to me by Singer Outlet and it’s been a god send. Although there is only one thread of each colour, there are a total of 42 different colours represented plus a chart so you can remember which colour is which and buy more. I’ve found it to be a fantastic addition to the sewing room, particularly for colour matching new fabrics or in a pinch if I’ve forgotten to buy thread for a project!

For my fifth gift category I’ve added some of my favourite sewing books which I either own or have bought for others and would 100% recommend for beginners and experienced sewers alike!

Big Ticket Items

Singer Heavy Duty HD 6705C – You guys know that I love my Singer Heavy Duty machine, so much so that I filmed a review vlog all about it! This time of year is ideal to grab yourself a new sewing machine or overlocker for half the normal price. This is the season where sewing machine manufacturers bring out the new models of their machines which means the old ones are normally reduced to clear. Personally I love my Singer HD6705C but there are plenty of brilliant machines out there! Check out Singer Outlet for some brilliant deals and John Lewis is great this time of year as well for some heft machine discounts.

Oliso Smart Iron – This iron has made such a difference to my sewing journey. The ceramic plate is so gentle on my fabrics, the steam distribution is phenomenal, and I LOVE the adorable little feet that mean you can leave it face down without the iron coming into contact with the ironing board or your fabric. Plus after testing a number of different irons I can confirm that this one has the best water filling mechanism. The only wish I have is that they would come out with a cordless version!

High Definition Serious Light (affiliate link / ad) – I have used my High Definition Table Light pretty much daily for the past two years. It is my core companion for unpicking, hand-sewing, working with dark fabrics, threading needles, and colour matching my threads and notions. So I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending it! The High Definition light has a flexible neck, adjustable beam width, adjustable light intensity, plus the heavy base means that it is nice and stable even when my sewing machine is vibrating the desk! The Serious Light Daylight Wavelength Technology doesn’t only light up your fabric but replicates the daylight spectrum as closely as possible to show true colour. Head to the website and use code ‘SR470’ to get yourself £100 off the High Definition Light + FREE Delivery!

Product Review: Are Serious Lights Any Good For Sewing?

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Hello folks! It’s been quite some time since I’ve done a blog like this but after using my Serious Light for nearly two years, it felt like it was about time for a product review. Just to note that I have been asked to write a blog post but as always all views are my own. 

Personally I use the High Definition Table Light and I also use the Compact Light. The High Definition lives on my desk to help with all sewing and writing, and the Compact moves around the house with me for fabric cutting, ironing, and hand-sewing if I fancy doing that in the living room or somewhere else. In this review however I’m going to be focusing on the High Definition Light that is the main one I use. 

What Do You Need To Sew?

Sewing is one of those hobbies that lends itself to the gimmick, to the extra toys and equipment that looks super cute in your sewing room but doesn’t actually help you sew. When you first start sewing  it can be absolutely impossible to know what you need. For myself I would argue that there are some non-negotiable basics; a sewing machine for one, but also scissors, thread, and a quick-unpick.

However what we don’t often consider is where we sew. Some sewists will have a stunning sewing and craft room decked out with every sewing gadget under the sun, their fabric carefully catalogued and their patterns arranged, every single bit of the space designed to support them to sew. Other sewists (read; most of us) have to make do with a corner of a room, or a temporary spot on the dining room table that means we have to set-up and dismantle every time we sew. This means we rarely get a chance to consider what we need from a sewing space when we get to sew. 

Think about your best sewing experience, chances are it was at a workshop or a studio or just a day when you have the house to yourself and you get to spread out and get comfy. Now think about that experience and consider, what did you have? The common themes of a good sewing space are comfort, you don’t want your bum to go numb while you are stitching equally you don’t want a crick in your neck from staring at your seam allowance gauge; space, room to manoeuvre, to cut fabric, to put your pins and scissors down, to wrangle with an iron; and light, you’ve got to be able to see what you are doing. There is nothing worse than sitting down at nine at night to do some sewing and having to stop after five minutes because you’ve got a headache. 

Using My Serious Light For Sewing

For me this is where my Serious Light comes in. We rent our flat so we have no control over the amount of lighting in our rooms or its location which, for crafting, is no good at all. Particularly in the autumn and winter when the days are getting shorter and shorter.  

So a few words on the basics of the light. I use the High Definition Table Light and have done for the past two years. 

I would say the High Definition Light is very intuitive. It has a flexible neck, adjustable beam width, adjustable light intensity, and I find it’s very easy to adapt the light to the task I’m doing that day and the existing light conditions. The heavy base means that it is nice and stable even when my sewing machine is vibrating the desk! 

The light itself creates a beam or pool of directed light as opposed to a soft ambient light which makes it ideal for sewing and crafting. The lights use Daylight Wavelength Technology to ensure that the colour spectrum represented is as close as possible to natural daylight. This means for sewing that colours are represented accurately and you don’t have to worry about mismatches in the light of day. 

One thing I will say, and you know I never shy away from this, is that they do represent an investment. The High Definition Light is £349.99 which I know can seem like a lot, particularly in the current climate, however it will last for a very long time. The lights are fully manufactured in Britain(just up the road from me!), they are low heat, low energy, and have a 5 year warranty, plus they have payment spreading options through Klarna (read on for a very helpful discount code!). It is an investment but it’s an investment in your sewing and provides more opportunities for you to sew whenever works for you not just when the stars align and you have time, space, and enough daylight to sew by! 

What Do I Actually Use My Serious Light For?

I first started collaborating with Serious Lights back in 2021 when they sent me the High Definition Light and, as always, I have a trial period before I start promoting anything. Honestly? I’ve used it every single day since. I’ve used it to sew some of my most complex makes like my graduation outfit where accuracy and attention to detail was crucial, I’ve used it to help me hand sew and thread needles, I’ve used to sew at 10pm or 6am so I can get some sewing in before work, I even wrote half of my MA thesis using it as I work at unconventional hours. So I have absolutely no hesitation recommending this light to you. 

As this is a review blog, here are the main areas I would say it helps me with:

  • Unpicking – Particularly on woolly/fluffy fabrics, darker fabrics, or projects where the thread and the fabric can be indistinguishable e.g. working with lace. I used to have to wait to unpick until the daytime so I could actually see what I’m doing but now I just use my serious light and focus the beam on where I am working. 
  • Hand-sewing – I used to get all tied in knots with hand sewing but I find having a focused light helps me not only keep track of my thread but also I find it much easier to monitor the quality of my stitches without getting a headache. 
  • Working with dark fabrics – This is a big one for me because I work with a lot of dark and thick fabrics at this time of year so I need my light to make sure my fabric is the right way around, I’m sewing the right section, or snipping the right seam!
  • Threading Needles – This is a classic, it’s just ludicrously easier to thread a needle with my Serious Light on, I can actually see what I’m doing and it makes the whole process stress-free. 
  • Colour Matching – No one wants to wake up, look at their sewing from the night before and find that your matching thread is actually a contrast! With their proprietary Daylight Wavelength Technology the Serious Light doesn’t only light up your fabric but it shows the true colour. This is brilliant for colour matching threads, linings, and notions. It also gives you a true picture of what you are working on and means that you can sew anytime of day and the result will be the same. 

Serious Lights are fantastic for sewing, particularly the high definition light. The weight and stability makes it a sturdy sewing companion while the variable light levels and intensity mean that you can adjust your light for whatever weather or time of day you are sewing. 

If you would like to treat yourself to one then you are in luck! Serious Lights have very kindly given me a discount code for you folks. Use code ‘SR470’ to get yourself £100 off the High Definition Light + FREE Delivery! So if you want to treat yourself for Christmas don’t forget to use the discount code and get yourself a little discount on the website. 

Fabric Friday Reviews: Stitch & Ink Fabrics

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Welcome back! Its been a hot minute eh? It’s been an absolutely crazy year with lots of change and upheaval and this blog series hasn’t been possible to maintain on a weekly basis.

Thinking about it, I’ve only actually reviewed one shop since we moved back in March because life has just been too busy. It takes time to settle into a new home even if you physically unpack quickly, mentally it takes time to settle. Then I had exams for my masters degree, then a period of incredible work stress at my previous job, then I got a new job which is my absolute dream job (yay!) and then just as I was starting to feel settled our landlords announced they will be selling our flat (boo!). I should say it has not been sold yet and we will of course be able to finish our tenancy but it felt like a shattering blow to that lovely feeling of settled domesticity we were just starting to achieve. 

So with one thing and another my sewing motivation and output dropped, my fabric stash started to build, the UFO pile has gained sentience, and basically I now don’t have the space to store any more fabric. Although, its worth noting that I almost definitely will buy more fabric because I want to make some more cosy loungewear and I’m sure I’ll have to make presents for some people. 

ANYWAY. One of the upshots of my sewing malaise has been that I have tried quite a few new fabric shops over the last six months and I finally have lots of wonderful shops to tell you about! In particular today we are talking about Stitch & Ink Fabrics. A new fabric shop and fabric subscription service run by the lovely Alisha, a fellow Scot living down in the south of England!

Before I go on to my usual more detailed discussion of the shop, I absolutely have to mention how fantastic the Stitch & Ink Instagram is. If you don’t follow them you absolutely should, beautiful fabrics, photo quality is amazing and Alisha really engages with the sewing community. 

Stitch & Ink 

  • Online Shop / Physical Shop / Both
  • Web Link: https://www.stitchandink.co.uk
  • Core Purpose: Dressmaking Fabrics, Haberdashery, Subscription Service & Gifts
  • Units of Sale for Fabric: 1/2 metre 

Stitch & Ink Fabrics is a new independent fabric shop offering dressmaking fabrics, notions, sewing gifts and a fabric subscription service. For a new business it is already well known in the community and its been a pleasure to see them grow so far. My first purchase with them took place in the August bank holiday sale where I bought some beautiful Art Gallery black cotton poplin, a couple of metres of white polka dot georgette, as well as some pale green floral viscose which will go on to become the lining of my Closet Core Jasika Blazer.

The range of fabrics is fairly good for a new shop with the standard cottons, viscoses and jerseys as well as some beautiful chiffon and georgette options and they have really focussed on engaging with popular statement fabrics. Having watched a number of fabric businesses start, finish and grow over the last year it always seems to me to be a wise strategy when first starting to engage with those popular fabrics and become ‘the shop that sells THAT fabric’ before then branching out, so that you really make a splash on entering the fabric market. In particular Stitch and Ink are stocking some fabulous bright coloured tartans at the moment, the red and pink one of which I am definitely lusting after for a fun fit n flare style dress for Burns Night/my birthday in January!

While their fabrics are not the most affordable on the market, they are a fair price for high quality organic cottons and well known fabric designers. Costs range from chiffon at £1.50 per half metre up to up to organic cottons for £7.25 per half metre so although its a small fabric range at the moment there is something for most price points. In terms of delivery, I paid a standard delivery fee of £3.50 and the dispatch and delivery were actually blisteringly fast especially considering it was a bank holiday! My order arrived in a cardboard box with branded sticker (you all know I much prefer a box to a plastic post bag) with my order beautifully wrapped inside and a small branded card. The presentation was excellent and made opening my fabric parcel feel special.

One of my ultimate bugbears with fabric shops and something that will make me stop shopping somewhere on principle is poor website design and functionality. I am delighted to say in this case that Stitch and Ink’s website is fantastic. I love the branding, I love the filtering, the homepage is solid and all the sub menus actually work and make sense. I’ve browsed on my phone and my laptop and have found the cross device functionality to be excellent and I love the filtering on each fabric page for price and order. Its a simple thing but its the little things that improve user experience. I think where Alisha has really excelled her is that she has a website that is simple and functional. You would never know this is a new business. It’s slick, its professional and it’s user friendly. I only have two tiny recommendations or updates I would suggest. Firstly I would add a little more about each fabric in the description to give you a better sense of what it could be used for. Whether that is specific pattern examples or event just a note saying ‘would work well for structured trousers’ or ‘ideal for blouses’. That might just be me, but its a little touch that can be extremely helpful when you can’t physically feel the fabric yourself. My only other minuscule note would be that when I went to pay the mailing list option was pre-clicked which it shouldn’t be as GDPR regulations mean it should be an opt-in not an opt-out. I know its a little thing and I’m not nit-picking I promise, its just a bugbear of mine and I do pull everyone up on it.

The other large facet of Stitch and Ink is the subscription service which, from a recent instagram Q&A, it appears was in fact always meant to be a subscription box service first and foremost. However of course you can’t really run a subscription service unless you already have fabric so the fabric shop side of things came first. Now you all know I’m not much a subscription box person as I like to choose my own fabrics and patterns however if I was going to buy into one sewing scheme it would probably be Stitch and Ink. The respect for size inclusivity in pattern selection as well as the literal monetary value of the fabric and patterns is wonderful to see. The subscription boxes range from £30 – £50 per month. The Classic Box offers 2.5m fabric, matching thread, four fat quarters, and a sewing gift. The Ultimate Box offers 3.5m fabric, an indie pattern, five fat quarters, matching thread, and a sewing gift. If you are somebody who likes a subscription box style service then I encourage you to check them out.

So on to my rating system which is of course very scientific

Rating

  • Range of Fabrics – 5/10
  • Cost – 6/10
  • Delivery (Speed / Cost) – 9/10
  • Ease of Use – 8/10
  • Ease of Payment – 8/10

Overall Average Score: 7.2 / 10

Overall Stitch and Ink is one of those fabric shops that I am excited about. I am really enjoying watching the business grow, I like to see somebody passionate about what they do and I look forward to shopping with them plenty in the future.

Fabric Friday Reviews: Sew Much Moor

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Welcome back to Fabric Friday! The more astute among you will realise that it is not a Friday however I’m going with it. I’ve decided that this feature is going to be monthly as I have a huge fabric backlog to work through at the moment. I was on a fabric ban for the whole of March as we were moving house but now that we’ve settled into the new place, I’ve started looking to craft my spring wardrobe and try some new fabric shops. Top of my list was Sew Much Moor, a fabric shop and haberdashery very recently started and based in Tavistock, Devon. Not only did the branding and fabric choices instantly attract me, I also like supporting fellow sewing instagrammers!

Sew Much Moor 

  • Online Shop / Physical Shop / Both
  • Web Link: https://www.sewmuchmoor.co.uk
  • Core Purpose: Dressmaking Fabrics, Patterns & Haberdashery
  • Units of Sale for Fabric: 1/2 metre 

Sew Much Moor is a new fabric shop and haberdashery that sells fabric as well as independent patterns and haberdashery. The shop was started last month by Jess from the instagram handle @SewMuchMoor and for the moment the shop is online only. Now I’ll be honest I was nervous because brand new sewing shops are often limited on choice and I wanted to be able to write a good review and I am overjoyed to say that Sew Much Moor surpassed my expectations!

Although a small fabric selection, there is a nice range of stretch and woven and the fabrics are already categorised by types. Something that will stand the shop in good stead for when the fabric range expands. The fabric types currently on offer are Needlecord, Jersey, Sweatshirting, Viscose, Crepe and Polyester which when I first looked seemed to be a bit restrictive but when I went looking through I found that I could make most of a winter/spring (and British summer) wardrobe with those fabric categories. Furthermore the fabrics chosen are a lovely mix of bright patterns and a good variety of feature fabrics suitable for a range of projects.

Fabrics are sold by the half meter with a price range of £2.50 – £7 per half metre. I really like the fact that all the fabric weights are listed, one thing that would be really helpful to add would be the type and amount of stretch on the jersey. For my first purchase I chose the white abstract polyester, which is going to become a pair of M7131 Culottes, and a pink, blue and white striped rib jersey, which I have been lusting after since Sew Much Moor first launched. No idea what my striped jersey is going to become but I’m exceptionally excited to sew for it!

In terms of the website, I am a big fan of the clear cut and concise navigation menus. Good use of drop down sub-menus and I like the categorisation of fabrics, lovely clear ‘About’ section and I am a big fan of the FAQs which are well thought through. Paying was very easy and simple with a good and very speedy interface, I particularly liked the way the checkout process told me exactly when to put in the discount code(I used the special bank holiday 10% off advertised on instagram). The delivery process was astoundingly speedy, I ordered it on the bank holiday weekend and it arrived on the Wednesday which is pretty impressive! The packaging was lovely and neat in crepe paper and I got a lovely hand-written note – which you guys know I love.

Rating

  • Range of Fabrics – 5/10
  • Cost – 7/10
  • Delivery (Speed / Cost) – 8/10
  • Ease of Use – 8/10
  • Ease of Payment – 8/10

Overall Score: 7.6/10

Overall I’m really impressed by Sew Much Moor. You genuinely wouldn’t know that the shop had only been open for just over a month. The website is really slick, the branding is great, absolutely love the fabric selection, although it understandably quite small at the moment, and the pattern collection is growing day by day so definitely check them out as well. It would be great to see some more information added to the descriptions, in particular information on jersey and sweatshirting stretch, and it would be great to see some cottons/cotton poplins on there for beginner sewists and anyone who hasn’t braved sewing with stretch just yet. Looking forward to seeing Sew Much Moor grow over the year and I will definitely be shopping again!

Fabric Friday Reviews: Fabric Godmother

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Here we are again, its fabric friday and this week I’m excited to tell you all about a decadent purchase I made for my birthday from a shop I’ve wanted to try for ages but my wallet has not allowed…I am of course talking about the wonderful Fabric Godmother. With stunning, high-quality, fabrics and a great social media presence, Fabric Godmother has been on my to-buy-from list almost since I started sewing.

Fabric Godmother

Fabric Godmother is run by the lovely Josie, based in Hove, and it is truly the answer to all of my fairytale sewing dreams. Nothing makes me want to buy fabric more than watching Josie go through a new drop on their instagram account! The range of fabrics is fantastic with everything from sportswear technical through to floaty cottons and viscose. One of the things I found most impressive about Fabric Godmother alongside the range and quality of the fabrics is the number of different independent pattern brands they stock. I was blown away by the amount of different patterns they stock and they will definitely be my port of call next time I’m looking to buy a pattern online.

Rating

  • Range of Fabrics – 9/10
  • Cost – 6/10
  • Delivery (Speed / Cost) – 9/10
  • Ease of Use – 7/10
  • Ease of Payment – 7/10

Overall Score: 7.6/10

Although my order didn’t have the personal touch I love, I was so impressed with the quality of the fabric and the speed of delivery. I can only say that I am sad I’ve not been able to sew with the fabric yet as I’m waiting for my overlocker to arrive still!

Fabric Friday Review: Hey Sew Sister

JessLeave a comment

Hello everyone and welcome back to Fabric Friday! This week we are talking about a wonderful new start-up that I’ve wanted to visit for ages, Hey Sew Sister. As part of my birthday celebrations I did a fabric haul and tried to purchase from a few indie shops on my wish-list of which Hey Sew Sister is one. Firstly can I just say that I love the name, I love a sewing pun and I really like what they’ve done with it the branding. The pink and green creates a distinctive brand with a pleasing degree of subtlety and although the range of fabrics is understandably limited, I was really impressed by their stock and particularly the quality and sustainability of the fabrics.

Hey Sew Sister

  • Online Shop / Physical Shop / Both
  • Web Link: https://heysewsister.co.uk
  • Core Purpose: Dressmaking Fabrics
  • Units of Sale for Fabric: 1/2 metre 

My first purchase from Hey Sew Sister comprised a metre and a half of black floral cotton, the design and colour way was so gorgeous I just couldn’t resist! Also the cotton is OEKO-TEX standard and GOTS certified which I thought was excellent. The fabric descriptions are excellent if a little short but I really like how they provide suggestions for the sorts of garments that would work well with the fabric. The selection of fabrics on offer is small but well curated to offer a wide range of fabric types from basic cottons up to sports/technical fabric with a nice range of woven and stretch fabrics with a few well-known statement fabrics. I really like the range of patterns and I think its great how many of the fabrics are sustainably sourced even if this does add to the price. Hey Sew Sister is mid-range in terms of cost but still accessible to beginners if you are looking for more simple fabrics. The cotton I bought was £6 per half-metre which is about average for the shop as a whole. There are some stunning gingham fabrics that are cheaper and the technical fabrics are of course a little more expensive. I would really recommend their gingham selection if you’re looking to make something floaty for the summer. Personally I’ve got my eye on the mustard yellow double gauze with birds on it as I love yellow and I’m looking to make a yellow Lotta for Endometriosis Awareness Month in March.

In terms of ease of purchase and delivery, my customer journey was easy and stress-free. I found payment and ordering very easy. Delivery cost £3.10 which is about standard, particularly at the moment, and it was shipped very soon after I placed my order. One thing that really endeared me to Hey Sew Sister was the packing on delivery. I loved the little hand-written note on their card, I absolutely loved the woven brand badge and the fabric swatches and the packaging was made of recycled paper. As I had bought it as a birthday present to myself I was very impressed with how like a present it felt when I opened it.

The website is very simple and looks very chic, my only issue is the lack of sub menus and ability to filter by fabric type. When you enter the ‘Shop’ section of the website you are provided a simple menu which is great as it allows you to choose remnants or patterns etc but I would really like to be able to filter by fabric type or even just a stretch / woven division. I understand that these issues, particularly sub-menu differentiation, will most likely be solved as the business grows but as someone who browses a lot of fabrics on my phone and looks for specific fabric types I found it frustrating having to scroll through one big catalogue page with no ability to reorder or filter.

Rating

  • Range of Fabrics – 7/10
  • Cost – 6/10
  • Delivery (Speed / Cost) – 9/10
  • Ease of Use – 6/10
  • Ease of Payment – 8/10

Overall Score: 7.2/10

Despite some small frustrations on the website I was really impressed with the quality of my fabric, the speed of delivery and the personal touch. I enjoyed my experience with Hey Sew Sister and will definitely be shopping with them in future. I’m looking forward to seeing how they grow and develop this year!

Fabric Friday Reviews: My Sewing Box

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Hello Everybody and welcome back to Fabric Friday! This week’s fabric purveyor is My Sewing Box, a wonderful independent fabric shop and haberdashery run by a mother daughter team, Amy & Angela. I particularly enjoy their instagram where they do long stories on the different equipment, fabric and notions they sell and what you should use it for; making My Sewing Box an extremely beginner friendly store.

My Sewing Box

  • Online Shop / Physical Shop / Both
  • Web Link: https://www.mysewingbox.co.uk
  • Core Purpose: Dressmaking Fabrics
  • Units of Sale for Fabric: 1/4 metre 

I have followed My Sewing Box for quite some time, as I’ve mentioned I love their instagram account and the way they relate to and understand their customer base. Their website is excellent and although I found the main menu a little overwhelming when I first looked, the main body of the website is simple, user friendly and well designed. Equally the payment process was simple and delivery was affordable and exceptionally quick even during an extremely busy Christmas period. They apologised on their IG for slow delivery but honestly they were quicker than most companies normal delivery! Delivery is free over £45 and standard delivery I paid is £4.50, again a little steeper than other suppliers but very speedy and very reliable so again, good value for money.

One thing that put me off to begin with was that fabric is priced and bought by quarter meter. Something you guys know I find a little frustrating! However the choice of fabrics available does make up for it. They stock a fantastic range of fabrics, haberdashery and notions for all skill levels and projects. I finally took the plunge after seeing their range of Christmas French Terry and I bought two types in their Black Friday sale to make myself a very cosy Christmas Jumper! My Sewing Box is a little pricier than other stores but I would say excellent value for money. I love how they have diversified and stock sewing gifts and books. They also offer a monthly subscription box which I am tempted by, I am actually going to look into whether I can buy one box as a one off to try it out first.

Rating

  • Range of Fabrics – 7/10
  • Cost – 6/10
  • Delivery (Speed / Cost) – 8/10
  • Ease of Use – 8/10
  • Ease of Payment – 8/10

Overall Score: 7.4/10

Overall My Sewing Box is a wonderful independent fabric shop, ideal for beginners because of their helpfulness and knowledge of their stock. They are a little pricier but I would say fulfil value for money easily and offer a wonderful service – I will definitely be shopping here again!

Fabric Friday Review: MyFabrics.co.uk

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Happy New Year everyone and welcome back to my Fabric Friday review blog which this year will be bi-weekly. Today we are talking about MyFabrics.co.uk, a large-scale online fabric and craft emporium based in Germany that stocks a large range of materials for sewing, knitting, crochet and textile crafts. MyFabrics is one of the biggest fabric shops I’ve bought from online and it was a very different experience to the mostly independant small businesses I patronise.

MyFabrics.co.uk

  • Online Shop / Physical Shop / Both
  • Web Link: https://www.myfabrics.co.uk
  • Core Purpose: Dressmaking Fabrics, Haberdashery, Wool & Crochet Materials
  • Units of Sale for Fabric: 1/2 metre minimum

My exploration of the site began as I was in need of christmas themed quilting cotton for a fun Christmas stocking making project and let me start by saying there is a great range of fabrics and craft materials (festive and normal). All of the fabrics are categorised into types and My Fabrics stock upholstery and quilting fabrics alongside dressmaking fabrics. Due to the scale of the operation they have broken down all fabric types in a sub-menu for ease of selection. One thing I found immensely frustrating is that the fabrics do not show you that they are out of stock until you enter the individual listing. Equally the listings are somewhat impersonal although they do give you all of the necessary information they lack the personal touch. However with a company of this size you don’t expect the personal touch, in the same way that I don’t expect a note from hobbycraft whenever I buy elastic. What the size of the company does enable is for you to personalise your own order. My Fabrics have a very useful feature when purchasing fabric in that when you want a specific amount over half a metre you can select it, for example you can buy 0.7m of fabric if you want. A feature which would be helpful if you want to build in an insurance buffer on the amount of fabric for example an extra 10/20 cm, 1.6m or 1.7m, when you don’t want to go up to the 2 metres.

What really let My Fabrics down for me was the delivery. I got no notifications of despatch and delivery was exceptionally slow. So slow that I began to think I hadn’t ordered anything! While slow delivery is acceptable at Christmas, what isn’t acceptable is no delivery notification, once you know its been shipped you just wait, but not even knowing if its left the supplier is unnecessarily stressful. However, when I did get them my Christmas fabrics were good quality and sewed up beautifully into Christmas stockings! If you want to see more about my fabrics and how I used them, check out the vlog below where Adam and I make Christmas Stockings.

Rating

  • Range of Fabrics – 8/10
  • Cost – 8/10
  • Delivery (Speed / Cost) – 4/10
  • Ease of Use – 6/10
  • Ease of Payment – 6/10

Overall Score: 6.4/10

My Fabrics are a good choice if you are on a lower budget and very good for all round crafting, sewing and quilting however I wouldn’t call them a specialist dressmaking fabric shop. However they are great for basics and I really liked the Christmas fabrics I bought. My Fabrics are well priced and the purchasing process is easy and simple. Unfortunately, delivery was quite incredibly slow and I got absolutely no updates from them so they won’t be my first call for fabrics however I would definitely recommend them for beginners and anyone who is branching into dressmaking from knitting/crochet etc as you would be able to get multiple materials in one place.

Fabric Friday Reviews: The Sewist Fabric Shop

JessLeave a comment

Happy Friday everyone! What a week it has been; ups, downs and everything in between but here we are another friday and of course another Fabric Friday review. This week we are talking about The Sewist Fabric Shop a lovely little online fabric boutique with a gorgeous selection that I got the chance to explore this week. I was led here as part of my quest to find affordable McElroy fabrics and I was not disappointed in what I found!

The Sewist Fabric Shop

The Sewist Fabric Shop is run by the lovely Han and demonstrates a small but wide ranging selection of high quality dressmaking fabrics. While choice is still slightly limited, effort has been put in to make sure there are still a range of woven and knit fabrics available and I like the way the colours have been chosen what feels like seasonally. The shop right now exhibits a beautiful autumn palette and going through the knit section just makes me want to buy sweatshirting and make something cosy! Most of the fabrics are plain which is quite refreshing to see as most shops focus on patterns but it would be nice to see one or two feature fabrics. That being said new fabrics are added regularly and the beautiful Lady McElroy fabric I bought is patterned so it may be the selection I’m looking at on the site currently is plainer. and the fabrics themselves are sold by the half metre, priced on the medium to high end of the scale with a minimum of £8 per metre up to £14/15 per metre.

Delivery was a little on the slow side however we are still in a pandemic so it doesn’t bother me too much. The packaging was lovely, my fabric came carefully folded in a large letter sized cardboard box, wrapped in tissue with a branded card. No handwritten note but a nice branded card with their shop and social media details and I do like that my fabric came with a label attached explaining the length and fabric qualities etc. The website is good, very user friendly and I love the ability to filter and reorder the fabrics on the subpages. Equally I like the presence of the fabric types underneath the woven/knit subdivision, its a nice piece of user-friendly design. The one thing that frustrated me somewhat as I speed bought my fabric on my phone is that I had to create an account rather than having the option to check out as a guest. That ia little thing but I don’t like having to create an account because its just another password to forget and reset however it didn’t mar my purchasing experience and its nice being able to look back on exactly what you ordered!

Rating

  • Range of Fabrics – 6/10
  • Cost – 7/10
  • Delivery (Speed / Cost) – 7/10
  • Ease of Use – 8/10
  • Ease of Payment – 6/10

Overall Score: 6.8/10

The Sewist Fabric Shop is a wonderful new discovery from me and honestly its earned a spot on my list just for having such good selection of high quality plain fabrics, something I often struggle to find! The purchasing experience was positive and I know Han is constantly making improvements and adjustments to the site which I love to see because it demonstrates a level of care and attention to the actual customer journey as well as the stock. I’m thoroughly looking forward to buying from here again, now to plan something cosy I can make with that sweatshirting…