Quilting Shops in Tokyo: Yuzawaya

I have very bad sense of direction and oftentimes get lost. I was on my way last week to check out a couple of shops in Ginza when I took a wrong turn and ended up on the wrong side of the street. Well the reason why I got lost was because I was checking where Yuzawaya was located in Ginza. I was reading several blogs about fabric stores in Tokyo and Yuzawaya was a top recommendation.

I had decided to head to Ginza that evening to check out the Uniqlo with 12 floors and an art supplies shop. I was quite frustrated that I couldn't find Yuzawaya on Google Maps and that's when I made the wrong exit. I had to catch my breath when I emerged on the street, only to realize I was on the wrong side. I was quite hungry and decided to check if Ginza Core had an restaurants. I was surprised to see the "Yuzawaya" signage on it.

I immediately checked the building directory and found out that it was on the 6th floor. I excitedly took the lift going up and found heaven in Ginza.

I spent about an hour in the shop. I combed through each of the aisles and I was happy to note they had fat quarters of Japanese fabric available. The area nearest the lift housed all the notions you need for your sewing projects -- thread, zippers, buttons, patterns, needles, scissors etc. For quilting they had a variety of wadding available. I found awesome bag bottom boards as well -- something I couldn't find in other shops.

The back area housed different types of fabric. What interests me whenever I visit craft shops in other countries are the locally made fabric. Japan has a lot of lovely print fabric. I was so glad they had fat quarters available since one meter can sometimes cost at least JPY3,000. They also had kawaii fabric -- mostly cute cats -- which I couldn't resist. Sadly though they did not have any anime or Western cartoons fabric (they have a lot in Nippori Fabric Town). I still ended up buying a few fat quarters.

On the other side of the shop had endless types of beads and other usable craft knick-knacks. They also had a nice variety of bag handles (I like making bags!) and the clay aisle made me really curious about trying it out eventually.

Yuzawaya is like Lincraft in Australia. Some items were pricey, but they had a lot of beautiful fabric. I had to reel myself in. Before I paid the staff kindly encouraged me to get a membership card (JPY500) so I would get a discount. She immediately gave me discounts on the items I bought and it saved me a lot of money.

I promptly added Yuzawaya on Google Maps and later on discovered that it was closed 2 years ago for renovation. The pin was marked closed. No need to worry because it can be easily found now - Yuzawaya Ginza.

Quilting Shops in Tokyo: Tomato

I mentioned in a previous post about my visit to the Nippori Fabric Town that I was only able to visit one shop -- Tomato. It's the biggest fabric shop in the area. If you're coming from Nippori Station it's on the left side of Nippori Chuo Dori street. It's fairly easy to find since it's five floors worth of fabric goodness.

Before I went to the main shop I made a detour to a smaller Tomato shop that had everything in it on sale. I managed to buy fabric at just 100 yen per meter/yard! I went crazy and bought a lot of backing material since it's much cheaper than what I buy in Divisoria in the Philippines. I was also able to purchase wadding with backing at 200 yen per meter. They had a wide variety of fabric on sale. What was interesting to me were the Japanese fabrics.

I thought the detour was already THE Tomato shop and I was ready to go back to the hotel. I was ecstatic when I found out that it was just a tiny "sale" shop and that the main shop was just a few steps away. I was awed with the endless bolts of fabric from the entrance. I didn't know where to look first! Here's what they have floor by floor at Tomato -

1F - Discount Floor; 2F - Knit Floor; 3F- Luxury Fabric Floor; 

4F - Cotton and Character Print Floor; 5F - Patchwork and Bag Floor

After quickly going around the ground floor I headed straight to the fifth floor where all the quilting fabric is located. My eyes feasted on the available Western and Asian fabric organized by type and color. It will make you dream about having your own fabric room! I had already splurged on purchasing backing so I held back in indulging to purchase new quilting fabric. 

It was in the fourth floor though that I gave in. They had a gazillion kawaii fabric. Star Wars, Hello Kitty, Pooh and famous Japanese characters like Gudatema, Doraemon etc.. I wanted it all! But they were one of the most expensive per meter so I controlled myself from going crazy. 

After going around the fourth floor a couple of times I just browsed through the third and second floor to check out what was available there. I ended up getting a few things from the first floor since there were a lot of interesting fabrics. 

I hope I would have time to visit Tomato again when I get a chance to visit Tokyo. 

How to get there: head to Nippori Station (I have details here).

Quilting Shops in Tokyo: Nippori Fabric Town

I've been visiting Tokyo fairly often lately and I finally got to check if there were any great fabric shops. I did some research and found out that if you have very limited time there's one must go-to place for craft makers in Tokyo -- the Nippori Fabric Town. Everything for your sewing need is available there and at very affordable prices.

How to Get There

I used Google Maps to find my way there, so from wherever you are coming from within Tokyo just get yourself to the Nippori Station which is on the Yamanote Line.  After offboarding the train follow the exit path to the South Gate.

Go down the stairs.

Cross the street and turn left. You'll see the Cozy Corner shop.

Turn right after the shop. You'll see this signage.

Then cross the street.

Turn to the right and just go straight. You'll start seeing dress shops and fabric shops.

What You'll See

I only had about two hours to go through the Nippori Sen-i Gai (Fabric Town) so I just targeted to go through (from to to bottom) one place. There were many different shops that offered a wide variety of fabric. There's fabric for sewing clothing, curtains, making sofa covers, quilting, lace, gowns and even leather and there was a lot of notions as well. There were also sewing machine shops, both for home and industrial sewing.

I would suggest spending at least half a day at Nippori Fabric Town so you have enough time to browse through the many different shops. Also best to bring a large bag (or a bag with wheels) if you intend to purchase a lot of things.  A map of the textile town is available here. Shops are usually open until 6pm.

I spent all my time at Tomato. I'll post a bit more about that later.

Let's Talk About Quilting Thread

There's a different type of thread used for quilting. When my Mom taught me how to quilt when I was in high school she used to buy thread from Divisoria. The brand was J&P Coats. Compared to the usual ordinary thread, quilting thread is a bit thicker and has a nice sheen to it. I was always in a hurry to finish piecing together my projects so I could move on to the quilting part. Quilting is challenging because you have to try your best to stitch consistently.

When I took up quilting again two years ago I tried to look for the brand my Mom always used - J&P Coats. Surprisingly I couldn't find any across Asia. It's either they stopped manufacturing quilting thread or it's no longer distributed in Asia. I've found an alternative that's more or less the same - Gutermann Creativ. I love that they have thread available in many different colors. I so far only buy the hand quilting thread, but they also have machine quilting thread available.

My friend Mary said that the sickness of crafters is collecting many variants of materials. I've had to keep myself from buying different colors of thread. I've so far kept to the primary colors. I have so far finished several spools of black and navy blue. So far I rarely use green and yellow.

What about you? What brand of quilting thread do you use? What's your favorite color?

*Tip: In Singapore, Gutermann Creative quilting thread is cheaper at Art Friend than Spotlight. Colors though are a bit limited. 

Quilting Shops in Singapore

I was surprised to find out that Singapore has a vibrant community of quilters. There used to be an active group that used to host shows and classes, but I read they are currently looking for the next set of leaders so they have not been active in the last few years. There are a lot of shops though that sell items you need for quilting -- from tiny knick-knacks like buttons, to bag handles, wadding, needles, thread to fabric.

Here's where I source for quilting materials in Singapore:

1. Spotlight (Plaza Singapura/Dhoby Ghaut MRT)

Spotlight is one of my favorite shops mainly because they have everything you need. They have an amazing selection of fabric. They have the best selection of fabric that geeks like me love -- Star Wars, Wonder Woman, Batman, Pokemon, Winnie the Pooh etc. (and these are licensed fabrics). Quite pricey per meter though, but you don't need a lot anyway for quilt projects. Best to become a VIP member so you could use the discounts. Items in Spotlight though are quite expensive so I usually just buy fabric there that's not available elsewhere.

Items available for quilting: fabric, quilting thread, fat quarters, rulers, cutting mat, quilt templates, buttons, bag handles. For those who like to do crochet and knitting they have a gazillion yarn selection.

2. Art Friend (Plaza Singapura/Dhoby Ghaut MRT)

Art Friend is the best friend of artists and crafters alike. Their quilting thread is cheaper than Spotlight, but not as much variety wise. I usually purchase my rulers, items I need for making templates here. They also have wood items that you can use to make a jewelry box (saving that idea for a later project). Just check out this place for knick-knacks and the wide array of art/craft items can inspire you to do other projects.

Item's available for quilting: quilting thread, rulers, knick knacks, items for making templates

3. Sing Mui Heng (People's Park Centre/Chinatown MRT)

There are several shops in Chinatown, but the one I liked best is Sing Mui Heng. Located at the ground floor of People's Park Centre (near Japan Home). They have very good selection of fabric (they also have some of the Disney stuff) and knick knacks for your quilt projects. I usually buy materials for making bags here (buckles and magnetic snaps) because it's cheaper than buying 1-2 pieces at $2 at Daiso. They also have a nice selection of inexpensive zippers and bag handles.

The most unforgettable item I bought from this shop is the tiny quilting iron. I did some research online about it and just took the chance to check if they had it on stock. Luckily they had been expecting their order to arrive so I managed to reserve one. I got it a week after I made the reservation. A small quilting iron is much easier to use than a regular iron especially when you need to make binding (bias).

Item's available: everything you need for your quilting project (much cheaper too)

4. Chinatown Fabric Area (Behind OG/Chinatown MRT)

Majority of the fabric available in this area are for clothes. They also have a very nice selection, but I'm quite picky with the type of fabric I use for quilting. I managed to buy a lot of backing fabric from Manila, but I'm sure I'll go back to the Chinatown Fabric area to purchase some when I need it. The fabric here is much cheaper compared to Spotlight. You can check out this blog post for more info about the Chinatown Fabric Area.

My Sewing Kit

Before I left to live in Singapore my Mom gave me a basic sewing kit. She told me I might need it to repair stuff. I also have the habit of collecting tiny sewing kits from hotel rooms. When I decided to try quilting again I was hesitant to invest in new sewing items. After finishing a couple of trial quilting projects I eventually got inspired to embark on a challenge - Jet's Star Wars quilt blanket.

I survived quilting with the basic sewing kit. Aside from the fabric I just bought one white quilting thread, wadding, velcro and fabric scissors. I re-used an old plastic folder to create square templates and just borrowed my flatmate's cutting board.

Here are some basic items you need to quilt:

needle
regular thread
quilting thread
pins
wadding
scissor
ruler
cutter (if you're going to make templates)
fabric
pencil
pincushion
tape measure

Eventually I started to collect other items I needed:

bag handle
bag knick knacks
magnetic bag/wallet button
buttons
lace
fabric cutter
steel ruler (useful if you're going to use a fabric cutter)

Quilting Journey Begins

I decided to start quilting again 2 years ago (March 7, 2017). I felt I was spending too much time online and need an avenue to be creative. I decided to quilt again because of my circumstances. I was away from my family and couldn't travel as much anymore. My living quarters was tiny because I was in a shared flat. I didn't really have much time. Knitting was out of the question since I don't know how to knit. I wasn't too interested in doing crochet projects. My tiny beading kit was just parked in my closet and I have not been using fashion accessories anymore. So that left me with quilting.

I was not sure that I would really commit to it so I told myself I should not spend much on starting a quilt project. I decided to start small. A tiny colorful pouch. Cut the fabric into tiny squares, put them together, added wadding and the backing and promptly realized that I did not actually know how to finish a quilt project. It was my Mom who always took care of the final binding. Promptly used Google and YouTube to help figure out how to finish my project and finished the pouch over the weekend.

I was thrilled. My stitches though were not even and the project would not have passed my Mom's minimum quality level so I was challenged. Started work on a tablet case since I just got a new tablet. Still not happy with my stitches so I tried again and made a Chromebook (laptop) sleeve. It was a bit better.

After a few attempts I showed Mom my handiwork. She was really happy that I started to quilt again and said that I did well, but I should practice more.

Mom inspecting my handiwork.

There's a lot of resources nowadays to learn new things. The only training I had for quilting was through my Mom. I used to have a couple of books, but they all went under water during Typhoon Ondoy in 2009, so I did the next best thing -- browse through books in the nearest bookstore. I also started reading articles on quilting using Google and watched a couple of videos on YouTube. Ahhh, vast free resources! I learned a lot from reading and watching videos. Many say that it's easier to use a sewing machine, but I'm still more comfortable sewing by hand. 

Stitching, Where it All Started

Each hand made item has a story. It starts with an idea, sometimes a dream, research and a sketch of the idea. Then a quest to find the right material, the perfect fabric, the matching thread, the right wadding thickness. The journey starts with the idea and ends as the last knot is tied.

It was my Mom who cultivated my love for sewing. I was about nine years old when she taught me how to make a pincushion. She encouraged me to make a lot so I could sell it in the annual fiesta bazaar. They were sold out because of my neighbor-aunties.

Mom managed to keep one of my pincushion projects and 

gave this to me when I took up quilting again.

We always had scraps of fabric available because one of my aunts exported garments to Japan. Eventually I moved to making clothing for my Barbie dolls. I never did well with sewing clothes (except to repair them) and so my Mom eventually taught me how to crochet. I made coasters, table runners, tiny bags, wallets etc. I moved on though just about I was going to start making blankets (apparently we had a lot of those in stock already from the work done by previous generations).

I loved embroidery and aced all my projects. I remember my Mama Lola who was good with the sewing machine helped sew my final project which was an embroidered pillow case. My Mama Lola was the one who taught me how to use a manual sewing machine (like the 66k one here). It was hard because you had to make sure your eyes, hands and feet were well coordinated. My Mom then taught me how to use an electric sewing machine, but I never took a liking to sewing with a machine.

Mom eventually found a good use for all the garment scraps from my aunt. Quilting. I was in high school when she taught me how to quilt. We started with simple small projects like wallets and pencil cases and moved on to making my own lunch bag and school bag. It was fun, but I always struggled with finishing my projects so my Mom would take care of the final binding.

My Mom's main idea was to keep me busy (a.k.a. keep me out of trouble) when I was a kid. I never thought I'd go back to my sewing, but I was looking for something to do two years ago and re-discovered my love for sewing. So I thought I'd start this blog to document my adventures with tiny sharp thing called a needle.

What about you? Do you have a passion for sewing? How did it start?