Fabric Fanatics - must visit for every fabric fanatic!

I am a Fabric Fanatic for sure. i love hoarding fabrics and after having moved to KL, i had left behind my huge stash of fabrics back home in chennai. I did ship part of them, but not in full as i do not have enough space here in the condo where i live currently. Hmm now i need more fabrics to keep me going and to get started on kids friendly products. 

Hence, fabric hunting has always been on the top of my mind, whenever I had been shopping, irrespective of the place I shop, yeah right it was there when I was doing my on they grocery shopping in a department store which had a floor dedicated to textiles, i did search but in vain!

I did find lot of interesting and nice fabric at those numerous stores in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, but those quirky , kid friendly fabrics in cotton and laminated ones were still missing... And then one fine day last week, during one of my endless google searches I landed on a treasure chest of what else fabrics... I landed on the website of "Fabric Fanatics". The display of available fabrics just lured me in, all that I was looking for and more was there. I started jotting down fav fabric using the fabric codes and after having finished my list, realized that I had to beg borrow and steal to make the entire list a reality. So i opted to listen to my wallet ;)

Last Thursday being a public holiday here in KL, we started off after having breakfast. Destination was summit usj mall , wherein fabric fanatics has shop at level 1. Adithi was not so keen on hearing about my fabric shopping plan, she hates shopping for my craft work, hmm how i wish she will be a bit more cooperative, anyways, luckily the shop next to fabric fanatics was Toy World and hence dad and daughter duo spent most of their time there and here is a moment out of the few minutes they spent alongside me!

I took 2 - 3 rounds of gazing sound the shelves of fabric and then managed to pick the "matpewka" fabric using which I have made the key fob card holder. 

Inside view - made using cotton fabric (lined with linen canvas to give more structure)

The above Key Fob Card holder is available for sale on my etsy store, 

Slowly but steadily I picked up pretty lightweight neutral cottons which useful fabrics to use on the inner layer while making accessories. I also chose the cute little kids print ( haven't decided on what to make using that) 

Then moved on to the Linen canvas and picked the beige canvas which I hope to use in most of the upcoming projects. My color palate for this trip was mostly in pastel and browns, except for the cute dinosaurs fabric.

Buying in fat quarter as a concept was new to me ; as is the measurement in yard. I am used to buying fabric in meters or minimum would be half a meter back home in India.

Michelle (I hope I got the spelling right) was very helpful and friendly. She even explained to me as to how use the tools for installing the rivet buttons, which I bought without even knowing how to install them! I am more of a instinct person and am never afraid of trying new things provided I like them.

I bought the metal clasps (which I have used up!) for making the coin pouch collection of mine... Need to restock them soon.

Cute ribbons, ykk vintage zipper, key ring holder, fusible batting, thick weight interfacing. Only thing I missed out was white velcro. Surprising but I am not able to get hold of white Velcro, instead they are available in all in vibrant colors! I need to go to Jalan TAR , Bunga Ruben to get my dose of velcro 

Also bought quarter yard of laminated linen fabric of girls dancing in Paris. Thanks to Michelle once again for the useful tip of asking me to put Vaseline on top layer as I sew so that the fabric moves along the feed dogs..now I had no idea about laminated fabrics, looking forward to that interesting hour of sewing that fabric!

They have this small corner next to the billing counter where they showcase handmade items and thus help crafters in selling their wares. So thoughtful!

I missed out meeting Kelly, the owner of fabric fanatics , but to spoke her on the phone, to clarify a few doubts on my bill! She was very friendly and sweet. Hope to meet her in person soon, as I will make multiple trips to Fabric Fanatics store in near future! 

Looking out for some fantastic quirky good quality fabrics here in KL, then "Fabric Fanatics" is THE place to go! Oh Yes and also for other sewing trims and notions! Don't miss this place if you are in KL.

For Sale - Kids Custom Clothing From Adithis Amma Sews- Click Here

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Sewing supplies shopping in KL

After 40+ days i finally managed to make time to go out shopping for sewing supplies. Though i wanted to do this, ever since I landed in KL, i somehow couldn't manage as we were setting up our home, Adithi's shifting to new school , teething problems everywhere ! Atlast it was time for Sewing Shopping. I had brought in few fabrics from back home, but alas i forgot to get the lining fabrics and which surprisingly i am not able to find here, the pure cotton lining which i use for Adithi's dresses.

Hmm managed to find cotton blend lining (not quite happy with it, but something is better than nothing) and hope to finish her Pattu Paavadai on time before Deepavali which is just another fortnight away!

And and ..before that i need to sew up a pretty dress for my little princess on her b'day which is just a week away! So since i was short on time,  did some online shopping for fabric with pretty prints, hope they arrive in a day or two.


For the sewing supplies i first went to A. SingMuiHeng near Pudu Plaza but it was closed for Bakrid on Friday... and they are open only for half a day on Saturday, which meant the shopping at SingMuiHeng has to wait ...

So we tried Craft Word (Yee Button House) in SS2/55 PJ. Friendly staff, bit pricey but nice collection of fabrics, i bought these fabrics over there and also few notions like loop turner and elastic thread, along with some polyfill

Since they did not have 14 inches zipper, i decided to try out the Habdeshery shop in Jalan Masjid India, Syriakat Bunga Reben, in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. It was my happiest day in KL so far, my goodness so much of sewing goodness in one place, an evening's shopping wasn't enough, i will surely come back for more, friendly staff, though they couldn't speak English and i don't abc of Bahasa, we managed to converse and they helped me get right stuff. I really really love that place. Got so much in one go from just the first floor, i am yet to explore the laces / ribbon / decorative section in ground floor, value for money prices, only one thing was left out, rotary cutter, they had local brand called Senorita (made in taiwan) , but i did not want to take chances and wanted to get either Olfa / True grip , as of now i can make do with my normal tailor scissors.



I found colored velcro, which i can only dream of back home. All possible sewing foot , zippers (normal and concealed in various lengths), even the open ended ones in plastic , felt fabrics, fancy buttons, bias tapes (they are also a rarity back home, atleast i have never seen them) and the list goes on...

I have to explore the textile haven in Jalan Masjid India and will go back soon for sure , after finishing b'day and deepavali sewing. may be i need to go before deepavali to get some festive discounts, deepavali is so big here in KL, i am surprised at times feel like the festive fervour is more than what it is back home!

Talking about back home i do miss my days there especially with regards to Adithi's school, which is just too good and is hard to replace. You win some you lose some , i guess... she is getting a lifetime experience here with mixed culture, new places, new people and hopefully will enrich her enought to evolve as a person...fingers crossed.

Ooops i also got Cucito (Japanese Sewing magazine) from a mall yesterday and i am googling ways to figure out how to read the book and understand patterns...seems quite interesting and challenging...will keep you all posted.

Sorry for this short sabbatical, but now that i am back, i promise to post regularly atleast twice a week to start with and then hopefully pump up the intensity and get back to sewing with vengence for lost out time ! ;)

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