Bangkok Fabric Shopping Guide

Since I lived there until very recently, I receive almost weekly emails through my blog from people asking where to go fabric shopping in Bangkok when they visit on holiday or work travel. I've also met up with lots of sewcialists who've stopped through and people seem happy with the fabric shops I've taken them to, so I've decided to do a little write-up on fabric shopping in Bangkok. And by little, I mean epic. Long post!

Please note, this is not an exhaustive list, by far. Bangkok is a massive, sprawling city with probably hundreds of fabric and haberdashery shops. I am focusing on the major highlights as well as my regular haunts.

Sewaholic Tofino PJ Pants

PJs. Pahjahmahs. Pyjamas. Jammies. Pajama jammy jams. Pajamarama. Pajamas: I made them. 

Perfect Pattern Parcel #5: Fishsticks Designs Playhouse Dress

Another Perfect Pattern Parcel #5 make!  This time, the Fishsticks Designs Playhouse Dress!

Floral Washi

When Chuck was in Bangkok we went to Sampeng Lane to do some fabric shopping... she picked out some nice floral printed cotton from Belleboo and decided it should be a Washi top.

She chose the sleeveless version with the u-shaped cut-out neckline (the "fun" neckline, as she called it), so I did some things a little different than my last Washi top (which I love and wear on the regular!):

• Last time I used bias tape on the neckline rather than facings, but with the u-shaped cut-out, I decided that following the directions and using the facings was prudent... 
• I top-stitched the facings down and sewed them to the shoulder seams to make sure they don't flap out.
• I'm still having trouble with shirring on my machine, so I decided to make internal casings for 1/4" elastic using bias tape and the pattern's shirring lines as my guide.  
• I was able to get the stripes of flowers to match up in the center of the bodice and skirt, but the pleats threw off the matching a bit. Meh.

My 2018 Secret Valentine Gift Exchange Gifts!

Now that I know my Secret Valentine Exchange gift has arrived safely at its destination, I wanted to share it here!

Technicolor Tofinos

A few months ago I stayed a few nights at my (generous) friend Meghan's apartment for several nights. While I was there, I was rocking my Tofino pajama pants (#memadeeveryday), which earned compliments from her. She liked the piping and the fun colors.

Mother's Day Cheyenne Tunic

My mother's day gift for my Mom finally makes it onto the blog!

Floral Dove Blouse: The Sequel

My mom really loved the Megan Nielsen Dove Blouse we made her a few months ago, and I had a piece of cotton lawn purchased from Belleboo with her in mind, so the combination was a no-brainer.

Purple Polly

A project from last year finally making an appearance on the blog!

Gilbert Top x Two

 Still into simple projects and repetition over here! And using fabric from my stash.

Lace Print Gallery Tunic

The sewing blog and indie sewing pattern worlds have been abuzz with tons of new tunic patterns lately (see Hey June Cheyenne, Itch to Stitch Mila, etc). While I have been tempted by and have even succumbed to that new pattern buzz, before I jumped into sewing those newer patterns, I wanted sew up a tunic pattern that's been in my stash for a bit longer.

Floral Lawn Washi

My sister really liked the last Washi top I made her, so I whipped out another one for her in this 

pretty floral lawn.

Leopard Simplicity 1666: Cat Lady Sewing Challenge #2

And now for something completely different... my second entry into the Cat Lady Sewing Challenge!

Floral Sureau Dress

After my (many, many) successes with Deer and Doe's free Plantain pattern, I bit the bullet and ordered some more Deer and Doe patterns from their shop.  Their plan worked!  I am now a committed D&D customer.  I bought Sureau, Datura and Belladone, specifically. 

First up: Sureau!

I thought there were lots of similarities between the Sureau pattern and Megan Nielsen's Darling Ranges dress, but I was hoping that my Sureau wouldn't ultimately be balled up on the shelf out of frustration like my attempt at Darling Ranges.  I abandoned my Darling Ranges after some seriously wonky dart issues and haven't had the guts to tackle it again.  In contrast, the Sureau bodice fit right out of the envelope... win!  It's hard to tell in the print fabric, but here's a zoom-in on the bodice front and back:

I didn't make any changes to the pattern with the exception of lengthening the skirt slightly (2", because I am an old lady) and using a shorter zipper (9", because that's all I had in the appropriate color).  Also, I stay-stitched the neckline at the beginning to make sure it didn't get bent out of shape (good thinking, Meg, pat on the back.). I left off the bodice buttons because I was concerned that it was veering in the Little House on the Prairie direction, which nobody wants (ok, maybe somebody wants it, but not me).  The fabric is a lovely cotton floral from BelleBoo here in Bangkok.

I like it best with a belt:

I like this pattern a lot: the bodice is great and pretty flattering, methinks.  The sleeves may be a leeeetle baggy, but nothing terrible. I am already scheming about what other ways I can use this bodice since it fits so well!!  I wonder how it would look:

a) with short sleeves (this short sleeve version from the Nerdy Seamstress looks pretty awesome);

b) in a solid fabric to show off the bodice gathering details more;

c) as a peplum top (the pattern envelope has a drawing of a peplum top, but no "cut here for peplum" line or any instructions.... I wonder if I could substitute a more circle-skirt style peplum from another pattern, like Hawthorn or Vogue 8815?)

Washington Dress

Hurrah, another Cashmerette pattern!

Polka Dot Mara Blouse

I know I promised that my next piece would be my wearable muslin of By Hand London's Anna dress, and it was next in the sewing line.  In fact, it's done but for a hook and eye and some action shots.  Coming soon!

Instead I present Compagnie M's Mara blouse: a cute little round yoke blouse for the kiddos.

I made it for Zoe using some fun BelleBoo fabric I scored on Sampeng Lane here in Bangkok: polka dots with a few hearts thrown in for good measure.

I think this pattern is really cute, although my implementation leaves a little to be desired... the pintucks got a little lost in the big print (they're right below the yoke if you can't see them) and my flat piping around the yoke is a bit of an uneven mess.  I'm not sure why I had so much trouble easing the yoke in, but I'm confident Zoe won't notice my shoddy craftsmanship. I changed up the sleeves a bit, tapering them a little at the ends rather than going for the fluffy, elasticized sleeve.

I'll definitely make another Mara blouse soon!  I am driven to improve on this one!

Happy Homemade Sew-along: Pull-over Parka

When I read that elsiemarley and you&mie were doing a sew-along for one of patterns in the Japanese sewing book, Happy Homemade: Sew Chic Kids, I was pumped because I had purchased this book months ago on a whim but hadn't worked up the nerve to sew anything in it. When I read that the pattern they chose to sew was the pull-over parka, I was doubly pumped, because that was my favorite!

Why was I too intimidated to try one of these patterns?  Because, even though I purchased the English version of the book, the language doesn't matter much since the instructions are pretty much the sewing equivalent of Ikea instructions... all diagrams and arrows and craziness with very little in the way of text directions. In the end the parka really wasn't very hard to put together, but I am super grateful for the hand-holding from the sew-along!

I made Miss Z parka using some quilting weight cotton I bought at Belleboo here in Bangkok... when I bought it, I thought to myself, "Oh, cute alphabet/animal fabric. Score!" But when I got it home, I discovered its quirk: it is not the full alphabet, by any means, but inexplicably only the letters B, E, F, L and G, repeated over and over.  Ha!  I went back to the store and took a closer look at their fabrics... pretty much anything with words on it had a typo or translation issue of some variety or another.  I'll keep that in mind for the future ;-)  The fabric is cute anyway, so I am not too worried about the limited letters.

I decided to break up the print a little bit with some hot pink piping on the raglan sleeve seams. I love how it looks and was thinking I should have used more, but it did make things a bit fiddly when binding the hood/neckline seam. 

The hoodie/parka came out pretty cute!  Can't wait to see it on Zoe...

Maggie Mae Menagerie

Zoe loved her Maggie Mae tunic (pattern from Shwin Designs) so I thought I would make one for Anna, too, so she wouldn't feel left out.  And while I was at it, I cut another one out for little baby Zoey here in Bangkok, figuring I could sew them at the same time, assembly line style, and also get some instant gratification by walking down three flights of stairs and seeing Zoey try it on immediately.

The navy menagerie  fabric (with some seriously random animals: lions and frogs and octopi (?) and dogs and rabbits and elephants, oh my...) is from Belleboo, paired with some coordinating yellow quilting cotton.  I made the Maggie Mae according to the directions, with the exception of the pleats in the skirt, which I just gathered instead.

I meant to cut out the dress version, but spaced out and cut the tunic version by accident (note to self: measure twice, cut once), so I made a matching diaper cover using the free pattern and tutorial from MADE... I sewed up the version with the bias tape edges to match the yellow fabric.  Cute!!

Here are a couple shots of Anna looking pretty great in her new Maggie Mae, paired with some jeggings and a long-sleeved t-shirt for warmth:

Ballet Skirts

2 skirts in an hour? 3 rows of stitching each? I wish skirts for me were this easy.

Vaguely based on this tutorial from Dana Made It, following kiddo measurements from this downloadable size chart at Sugar Tart Crafts (since I don't have easy access to my nieces to measure them). I ended up having to tighten the elastic on one of them, but otherwise the measurements worked for me.

The fabric is this striped ballet quilting cotton from Belleboo. Quite twee for my taste (I do not aime le ballet), but I knew my nieces would be all over it. 

And they were, although, wow, it's hard to get photos of little kids. New found respect for all those sewists out there getting professional looking shots of their kids!

Zoe's "cheese" face (?):

Anna always on the go:

Sew House Seven Tea House Top

Pretty in pink?