Where to buy fabrics to bring to the tailor?

[mareo]

Hello there,

 

I'm looking for places/stores that have a bigger selection of fabrics than they usually have in the normal tailor shops. The idea is to buy the fabrics by the meter and bring them to a tailor to get some shirts/pants made.

 

Do you have any experience doing this? any advice on shops/areas or even tailors that might accept outside fabrics?

 

I've heard there's a bunch of places in Chinatown, around old siam shopping plaza, but i've never been around.

 

Thanks!

[impulse]

If you want to hit the Motherlode, point your GPS at this building:

 

13.744826  100.501644

 

Peruse the buildings in that area of Chinatown, for blocks and blocks- several floors of fabrics in each of several buildings.

Edited March 21, 2021 by impulse

[mtls2005]

16 hours ago, mareo said:

I'm looking for places/stores that have a bigger selection of fabrics than they usually have in the normal tailor shops. The idea is to buy the fabrics by the meter and bring them to a tailor to get some shirts/pants made.

 

Yeah, I'd ask first, before showing with your own fabric. Some streetside sewing shops (job shops for the tailors) will make copies with your fabric. I've done this a few times.

 

 

That said, Pahurat is the fabric center still.

 

Start at Pahurat road and delve towards the river. It's fun, maybe have some ideas in mind and ask around.

 

Plenty of videos on Youtube.

 

 

 

[KannikaP]

I would have thought that any decent tailor will have a vast selection of fabrics to choose from, as that is what he makes some of his profit from.

[lopburi3]

8 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

I would have thought that any decent tailor will have a vast selection of fabrics to choose from, as that is what he makes some of his profit from.

Indeed and am sure they can get even more fabric sample books if needed.  I would not try to save a baht out of tailor profit and not expect a lower quality end product.  Probably much better to go with a Thai for translation to a non tourist shop for more moderate price.  Remember if you get too little material bad news - if you get too much waste.  Let the maker take the risks and keep him happy.  Tailor made clothing will last decades here. 

[mtls2005]

4 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Let the maker take the risks and keep him happy.  Tailor made clothing will last decades here. 

 

There are small, one person Thai tailors everywhere - especially in the 'burbs, and if you bring a clothing item they will give you an estimate on fabric requirements. And then they can create copies.

 

If you can find a job shop just talk to the manager. These are the out of the way shophouses where most sewing is done for the touristy tailors.

 

 

Bespoke tailors will find whatever fabric you require, assuming it's not too exotic. I would not walk into one of these with my own fabric.

 

 

Not 100% clear on what the OP is really looking for?

 

 

 

[mareo]

Thanks everyone for your responses,

 

It seems like all the tailors (for tourists, not high end) have a "limited" selection of fabrics and then they just take your measurements and they all bring the fabric selected to the same sewing shop.

 

So I'd rather buy my own fabric because I know I'm going to have a much broader selection and then I'll bring it to a sewing shop/tailor. I reckon the price will be around the same, but I wanna do it more for the experience than for the price.

 

The thing now is finding the place to bring the fabrics to.

[mtls2005]

14 minutes ago, mareo said:

So I'd rather buy my own fabric because I know I'm going to have a much broader selection

 

I'm not sure this is a valid assumption. If you know what you want - say from an internet search - they will get it for you, unless it involves killing an endangered species.

 

Do you have samples of the pants and shirts you want made? And what type of fabrics are you looking for?

 

 

It took me close to two days to find fabric for pants (GAP Khaki copies) and shirts (Jos. Banks copies, but short-sleeve) in Pahurat. I wore the pants and shirt on my second day, which helped, a lot. I knew how much fabric to buy. Job shop made one copy each, which I approved, then a total of 12 shirts (3 different colors, same fabric) and 6 pants, all khaki. Interesting project, but I'd just go to a reliable tailor now. Pahurat is (or was) a mad-house.

 

 

[mareo]

6 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

 

I'm not sure this is a valid assumption. If you know what you want - say from an internet search - they will get it for you, unless it involves killing an endangered species.

 

Do you have samples of the pants and shirts you want made? And what type of fabrics are you looking for?

 

 

It took me close to two days to find fabric for pants (GAP Khaki copies) and shirts (Jos. Banks copies, but short-sleeve) in Pahurat. I wore the pants and shirt on my second day, which helped, a lot. I knew how much fabric to buy. Job shop made one copy each, which I approved, then a total of 12 shirts (3 different colors, same fabric) and 6 pants, all khaki. Interesting project, but I'd just go to a reliable tailor now. Pahurat is (or was) a mad-house.

 

 

For sure going straight to a tailor is going to be much easier, but I'm looking for that mad-house experience. I already have plenty of shirts and pants, I'm just looking for a new way to do it, even if it's a hassle.

[lopburi3]

1 minute ago, mareo said:

For sure going straight to a tailor is going to be much easier, but I'm looking for that mad-house experience. I already have plenty of shirts and pants, I'm just looking for a new way to do it, even if it's a hassle.

Go for it.  YouTube will be your guide.