Buying Pattern Making Supplies in Hong Kong

Before I left home I created pictorial shopping list of pattern making supplies I wanted to bring home, including a grading ruler and a needle pointed tracing wheel.

Pictures speak a thousand words, especially when you speak only English and the person you are attempting to communicate with speaks only Cantonese. A very long time ago I lived for a while in Japan and my experience there taught me to just keep asking, and eventually you will find someone who knows where you need to go, or even better, is willing to lead you there. That matters in Japan, where house numbers are assigned to buildings in the order of construction (!)

Exit A2

After exiting Hong Kong’s wonderful underground train system, the MTR, at Sham Shui Po station, using exit A2, I found my way to Li Kung St. Walking from the station I first passed an area with jewellery findings (clasps, elastic, pliers etc), then bead shops (where you scoop out what you want and then pay by weight), then ribbon shops and finally the wholesale fabric shops. It was crafter heaven.

Along the way I showed shopkeepers my pictorial shopping list which got responses that ranged from, “No have,” to “Try there.” One shop keeper, who specialised in metallic sewing threads, and spoke excellent English told me to keep walking down Nam Cheong Street until I found the shop with sewing machines in the window.

Can you see the Sewing Machine?

I followed those excellent directions and found myself at the wonderful Tung Shing Sewing Machine Co Ltd who were happy to have my business and asked their best English speaker to help me communicate my order to the sales assistants. They would not allow me to take a photo inside the store so you’ll have to take my word for it that this place has everything a dressmaker or pattern designer might ever need.

I bought a tracing wheel, a retractable tape measure, some sewing machine needles and a Norray grading ruler. Grand total HKD 100. That’s the equivalent of AUD 12 or the price of a sandwich and a cup of coffee in inner Melbourne.

I considered getting a dressmaker’s mannequin but decided it would be too tricky to bring home. I do have their price list for mannequins so feel free to leave a comment if you would like me to scan it for you.

I could have gone directly to Norray to get the ruler as I had their address in my notebook but that would have required me to take the MTR to Admiralty station, cutting in to my total shopping time.

If you need dressmaking or pattern making supplies and you happen to be in Hong Kong I heartily recommend the Tung Shing Sewing Machine Co but suggest you work out ahead of time what you need. The merchandise is kept under glass or plastic and you need to point out what you want to the sales assistant, rather than gathering up your items as you might do in a conventional retail outlet.

It’s an adventure that rewards the effort.

Buying Fabric in Hong Kong

The Iconic Star Ferry on Hong Kong Harbour

I had the opportunity to visit Hong Kong over Easter and have some recommendations for my sewing, quilting and pattern making friends. If you desire a local quilt store experience, forget it. You’ll need to be much more of an adventurer than that, but there are ample rewards for getting down and dirty in the streets of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is like many other Asian cities and unlike my hometown Melbourne in that groups of merchants selling a particular item tend to be grouped together geographically. In Hong Kong, you can find goldfish street, funerary items street and so on.

The suburb of Sham Shui Po is where the wholesale fabric merchants are to be found. It’s an older part of town that’s crowded and gritty and fascinating. Well, it’s fascinating if you like that kind of thing. Hanging out with the fashionably clad ‘ladies who lunch’ in the fine eateries of Causeway Bay and Central is fun, too, but a different kind of fun. I enjoy both grit and glamour so I guess I’m well catered for in Hong Kong.

In addition to Sham Shui Po, other locations where you might find fabric are the Western Market (for silk) and the so-called lanes (Li Yuen Street East and Li Yuen Street West) in Central on Hong Kong Island. I’d recommend a visit to the lanes for the overall shopping experience and for fabric buying, but prices seemed steeper in the lanes. I didn’t visit Western Market on this trip, partially because I had found their silk prices silly on a previous visit, more than ten years ago.

I am indebted to Katherine Yeung for her blog post on where to find sewing materials in Hong Kong and Travellersyarn for her blog post on where to buy fabric, both of which I used to guide me on my journey to Sham Shui Po.

Sample Cards

The wholesale fabric supply outlets on Ki Lung St appear to cater mostly to tailors and the garment industry and the minimum purchase is five yards. It’s hard to describe the range of the merchandise because there is simply so much of it. Each shopfront has hundreds, if not thousands of cards with fabric samples stapled to them. The composition of the fabric is written on the card and every colourway has a sample. Surprisingly to me, there wasn’t generally a bolt of fabric anywhere in sight, just the cards.

If you’re interested in a fabric, you take the card to the counter and get the price. I was amazed at how quickly the shop assistants were able to come back with a price, given the range of stock. There was clearly a good organisational system happening, but a very low-tech one, involving stock numbers, fabric samples and hard-cover notebooks. Prices seemed excellent, even including the tourist premium I imagine they apply. I didn’t buy from any of the wholesalers as I couldn’t think of a project requiring five yards of fabric so I am unable to report on whether bargaining is part of the purchase process, but I suspect it would be worth a try.

Street Stall with Fabric on the Bolt

There were only a handful of shops selling actual yardage on a bolt but I did manage to pick up three yards of polished cotton from a street stall, which I considered a bargain at HKD 15 per yard. I plan to experiment with using the polished cotton instead of using of polyester or acetate lining for garments.

I also bought some wool suiting  from a retail type-shop.  I was told the suiting was wool, but, on reflection,  I rather suspect it’s polyester-viscose. A burn test should sort that one out, and I’m still happy with the purchase. Sadly I can’t tell you the price, as I don’t remember what I paid.

In case you’re wondering about my carbon footprint (as I do), the universe has punished my carbon emitting ways with a dose of instant karma, in the form of an antibiotic-resistant ear infection which has kept me away from the office for the entire week following my return.

Maybe it’s time to cut back on the travel and stay in the relative safety of my sewing room for a while.

San Diego Trip Report – Rosie’s Calico Cupboard

When work takes me away from home I like to take the opportunity to do a little shopping. My recent trip to San Diego allowed me to check out Rosie’s Calico Cupboard, which came highly recommended by the good folk on the Quilting Board, who specified this store as a San Diego area ‘must-visit.’

The Intrepid Explorer

I used Google maps and the delightful San Diego trolley (Santee line) to find my way to this shop, located on a busy multi-lane road. It was a warm walk up the hill from the station to get there and it was worth it, even though it didn’t live up to my (admittedly high) expectations. The staff were knowledgeable, but a little stand-offish, and the prices were higher than I had expected, based my online US purchases from Hancock’s of Paducah. I had planned to buy a jelly roll as a souvenir, but didn’t get one in the end as $44 plus tax seemed a little on the high side. Also they were out of stock of quite a number of the notions I wanted, in particular the EZ Dresden template, which I’m still very keen to get my hands on. I might just have to make my own template using these instructions instead.

Shades of Green

It wasn’t all bad though – the selection of quilting fabrics was absolutely amazing, with row after row of quilting cottons in subtle variations. If you needed a particular shade of a particular colour, you would most certainly find it at Rosie’s. They also had a couple of garden chairs and some magazines out the front for waiting husbands, which was a nice touch.

I grabbed a few remnants as a souvenir of my visit, a little yardage from their sale room, a couple of thimbles (blog post review of these coming soon) and some Insul-Bright for future pot holders. Oh, and a quilting template, which will be fun to test.

I’m glad I went, but I came away just a little disappointed.

Gypsy Bandana Pink Fat Quarters

I have found that the only cost effective way to buy good quality cotton batting is to order it online from the United States. Hancock’s of Paducah recently had a free shipping offer (free international shipping if you buy more than $100 worth of merchandise, since raised to $125.) They have a limit of 2 batts per order or you can pay an additional handling fee and get more. I decided to just spend up on fabric.

Pink, pink, pink

The picture shows the Michael Miller Gypsy Bandana Pink Fat Quarters that I bought. It’s eye-wateringly bright and I’m glad I had some pale green in my stash to offer momentary relief from the visual distress. Having said that, my 5 year old niece will love these colours. She’s a pink girl. I’m thinking of making her a random starts quilt, perhaps with a combination of 6 inch Friendship Stars and 12 inch Ohio Stars, inspired by the talented Bonnie Hunter.

Since taking the photo I took another look at the colours in these fat quarters and identified an unpattered bright red in my stash that will also work. I had had the idea to buy some plain bright pink cotton homespun, but Spotlight only had muddy pinks. I think the red will look terrific and I’m looking forward to seeing where these fabrics take me.