At Fabrics Galore, one of the most enjoyable elements of our show stand preparation is displaying all our samples to showcase just how amazing our fabrics can look when made up into garments, accessories or home furnishing items. These samples help inspire our stand’s visitors on what to make with our gorgeous fabrics and we thought it would be fun to share them with our online audience. Every sample from children’s dresses to pyjamas and from tote bags to cushions, tells a story of how a fabric comes to life in a sewist’s hands.
The Children’s Corner
We chose some of our most popular best-selling cotton prints for our children’s samples and used Simplicity 1208 pattern to make these adorable dresses. Cotton is the best choice for children's clothes and at Fabrics Galore we have hundreds of dressmaking cottons to find your own personal favourite.
La Paloma by Alexander Henry
Little Girls Dress - Swiss Knot Ditsy Floral
Floral Cotton Dress - Printed Cotton Poplin - Grandma's Floral
Our Night Sky Cotton is a perennial best-seller for dressmakers and quilters alike, seen here made up as a little boy’s shirt using the Burda B9436 pattern. For a lovely summery vibe, see the same Burda pattern made up as an adorable Hawaiian shirt for a little boy.
For the Grown-Ups who Love to Sew their own Clothes
Our adult samples include an easy to sew shift dress in one of our iconic Alexander Henry fabrics, some gorgeous pyjamas in a favourite cotton lawn print and a loungewear set in both a cotton gingham and a leopard print, that is just too good to only wear at home.
We also love this Nina Lee Camden Pinafore and Skirt pattern and couldn't resist making it up in one of our iconic Frida Kahlo prints.
The final sewing sample for grown-ups is this super cosy Atelier Scammit Sherpa fleece vest or gilet made up in our oaty sherpa fleece fabric.
Home Sweet Home - Turning Fabrics into Cosy Spaces
Our cushion samples showcase perfectly how easy it is to update your interior decor using our tapestry panels for cushions as talking points, or our plain cotton panama fabrics in a range of colours to suit every interior colour theme.
Frida Cushions - Tapestry Mexican Princess Cushion/Bag Panel and
Tapestry Mexican Artistic Icon Cushion/Bag Panel
Tapestry Mexican Artistic Icon Cushion/Bag Panel
Patchwork Cotton Panama cushion
Don’t forget that bunting makes a fantastic interior feature and our Alexander Henry Cartas Maracas fabric is a dressmaking fabric which happens to also make perfect bunting.
Make your own notice board perfect for those important kitchen reminders for a DIY no sewing project with your favourite fabric.
Every-Day Accessories: Bags and Aprons
These gorgeous tote bags, cross-body zip bags, and aprons are quick wins for sewists and make ideal beginner sewing projects. Great for practicing basic techniques and adding pockets, they also make fantastic gifts. Check out our blog on How to Make a Tote Bag to find free patterns for the tote bags shown below.
Dog Bag - Tapestry Commander Woof Cushion/Bag Panel
Bestie Bags by BF Patterns in our Cotton Panama in Spice Orange, Raspberry Pink and Sea Foam
Bestie Bags by BF Patterns in our Cotton Panama in Spice Orange, Raspberry Pink and Sea Foam
Apron - Helen’s Closet Sam Apron - Free Pattern in our cotton canvas stripes
Sewing Festive Cheer
Would you believe that our show customers buy Christmas fabric all year round, while our online customers usually start in August? It’s simply never too early for festive planning!
Our Advent Calendar Panels have sewing instructions on the panel itself and make great gifts for the children in your life. The Christmas bunting panel instructions are found via a QR code for convenience.
Behind the Scenes: From Loading up the Van to Show Ready
Fabrics Galore owner, Paul, in the van at Duxford
It takes a huge amount of planning to go from choosing which fabrics and samples to take from FG HQ in London, to loading up the van; then driving long miles across the country to arrive at the show locations, which can be as far south as Exeter and as far north as Harrogate. Then it’s the pre-show stand build, making sure the fabrics are displayed to their best advantage before doors open.
Here are a couple of photos in case you are inspired to visit us at one of our many shows throughout the year.
The Fabrics Galore Stand at Sewing for Pleasure, Birmingham
You can find out where we will be exhibiting fabrics on our Events Page which is updated every year with the show dates and where to find us.
Bring Your Sewing Ideas to Life
We hope you have enjoyed seeing all the show samples and that it has inspired you to sew something yourself. Did you know that you can order samples of any fabric you see on our website? It’s a great way of seeing the fabric up close before committing to a full purchase. You can also sign up to our newsletter for regular updates on new fabrics and subscriber only promotions.
