The Sewing Place

The Emporia => Fun with Fabric => Topic started by: snoozi soozi on January 20, 2019, 15:55:15 PM

Title: Good cheap calico
Post by: snoozi soozi on January 20, 2019, 15:55:15 PM
Forgive me if this subject has been raised previously but I'm a newbie. I need advice on where to get some cheap-ish calico to make patterns, pyjama bottoms mainly, which I know will be used time and time again, therefore being sturdier than a paper pattern.

There is one fabric shop in my hometown with very limited stock of fabric, it's wool and haberdashery mainly  :'( oh, and a Dunelm. About 20 mins away in the next town there is a lovely fabric shop - pricey - as well as a Boyes which I know stocked calico the last time I looked - early last year.

I mainly shop online due to the lack of availability where I live so I don't feel hard done by in the slightest, it's a big world out there. In the past I've bought v wide sheeting or used charity shop duvet covers and the like, but there's something about calico that I really like and hanker after using  :S

Any suggestions for the good, the bad and the ugly....?
Title: Re: Good cheap calico
Post by: sewmuchmore on January 20, 2019, 17:10:14 PM
Do you mean calico? This is a an undyed fabric with a low thread count that is cream in colour and can be harsh. Mainly used for garment toiles and craft work.
this (https://www.whaleys-bradford.ltd.uk/a-z/calico-fabric) is where I get mine or there is this site. (https://www.fabricland.co.uk/product/calico/)
I do have some if you want I could send you a small piece so you know what it looks/feels like
Title: Re: Good cheap calico
Post by: So Chic on January 20, 2019, 18:27:55 PM
At a sewing class recently the tutor said that she buys calico to make toiles from IKEA.
Title: Re: Good cheap calico
Post by: snoozi soozi on January 20, 2019, 18:59:07 PM
Thanks @sewmuchmore, both of those sites will be useful I think. It's good to have recommendations for stuff I'm unsure about, as I explained previously I buy 99% of fabric online.

I will check Boyes to see if they have any, if not I will go to one of your sites.
Title: Re: Good cheap calico
Post by: sewmuchmore on January 21, 2019, 17:03:40 PM
@snoozi soozi apologies. I have just re read your post and now realize you want the calico to make patterns with and not, as I thought I read, make the actual PJ's.That is why I questioned whether it was really calico you meant.
Really must start to read things properly and not just skim over the words.
Title: Re: Good cheap calico
Post by: sewingj on January 21, 2019, 20:08:08 PM
@snoozi soozi   I bought some  calico here to make some cheap curtains - they  sell it in different weights and widths

https://www.empressmills.co.uk/product-category/fabrics/calico-fabric/
Title: Re: Good cheap calico
Post by: snoozi soozi on January 21, 2019, 21:17:44 PM
Thank you to @sewingj and @sewmuchmore, I'll update you on this situation.

I had a drive to the next town today to the Boyes shop, picked out some medium weight calico priced at £3.25 pm. Took it to the counter where the very helpful assistant pointed out to me that instead of the calico, some people preferred to use curtain lining and proceeded to pull it off the shelf behind her to show me. It was a poly cotton mix but very 'cottony', not lightweight or flimsy in the slightest, and at £2.50 pm I thought it was worth a try. It's a bit narrower at 137 wide - the calico was 150 wide - but really, for what I will be using it for, it really won't matter.

I'm thinking it will launder and dye well too; we all know what happens to calico when washed, eh? Never again.
Title: Re: Good cheap calico
Post by: Bloobell on February 09, 2019, 14:06:38 PM
I buy curtain lining by the roll for my toiles. I get it from Merrick and Day online. If you want a lot, it might work out cheaper than anything else.
Title: Re: Good cheap calico
Post by: Kwaaked on February 09, 2019, 14:27:42 PM
Do you guys have jobbers that sell fabric by crazy amounts for cheap online?

Every year, I get mine on clearance/black friday sales for about 50 cents a yard...some has sun damage, some is just left over in warehouses...not real calico, but close to the types of fabric I work with.
Title: Re: Good cheap calico
Post by: snoozi soozi on February 09, 2019, 14:51:07 PM
Ooooo what on earth is a jobber @Kwaaked? I love the sound of it, just right for how I might describe something....  0_0
Title: Re: Good cheap calico
Post by: Kwaaked on February 09, 2019, 14:53:25 PM
@snoozi soozi they're the people manufactures sell their surplus fabric to.  It's the stuff ordered that didn't get picked, left over from a run, mill ends, seconds, etc. who then sell it to the public.

https://fashion-incubator.com/what_are_jobbers/ (https://fashion-incubator.com/what_are_jobbers/)
Title: Re: Good cheap calico
Post by: snoozi soozi on February 09, 2019, 15:41:28 PM
@Bloobell just had a look for Merrick & Day online and their address is given as Gainsborough, which, if it's the one you're referring to, is about 15 miles away from me - happy days  ;)
Title: Re: Good cheap calico
Post by: Bloobell on February 14, 2019, 11:37:18 AM
Yep, that's the place. I did a three day course there years and years ago, and whilst I don't make curtains any more, I still do the occasional roman blind and many cushions.