- Where do you shop for fabric in Toronto?
If you're starting a new hobby, or you're new to the city,
you might not know all the fabric stores
that Toronto has to offer.
You can find everything here from quilting cotton,
to African wax prints, Japanese Nani IRO,
Indian and Chinese silks, lace, bridal fabrics,
wool suiting, and many more.
This video is part two of the series,
and today we're visiting 12 stores in Toronto North,
and they're all accessible by bike, car, and transit.
So stick with me and I'll show you how to find them.
(upbeat music)
Hi, I'm Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts.
I give you tips, tricks, and strategies
to help you make the quilt that you want to make.
And if you like what you see,
please click that subscribe button.
One of the questions that I am asked most is
where do you find fabric in Toronto?
The good news is you can buy just about anything here.
Because of our diverse communities
you can buy fabric from all around the globe,
and best of all these stores are owned and run by people,
and families who love textiles just as much as you do.
So come along with me as I show you the city.
I've divided the city into three zones,
and today we're picking up from our last stop,
and heading to Corso Italia,
easily accessible along the new St. Clair Streetcar track.
(upbeat music)
- [Connie] Connie Lamanna at Ontario Fashion Textiles.
Ontario Fashion Textiles has been around since 1959,
but morphing into home dec and it would be Oft Home.
And my husband started the business in 1959
to provide fabrics for the Italian immigrant dressmakers
that were immigrating to Toronto.
We carry fashion fabrics, silks, cottons,
linen, synthetics, viscose.
We like to think that we have higher end fabrics
at good prices.
So pretty much almost anything to do with needlework,
and fabric we have it here,
and that's why people like you say why do they come here?
Because they can get their zipper, and their thread,
and their buttons, and everything they need, right?
- [Karen] Next, we head up Yonge Street,
just north of the Lawrence Subway Station
to Maryan Fabrics.
This store is filled with carefully curated European fabrics
that you might find on the runways of Milan or Paris.
These are fine silks, chiffons, linens, cottons, velvets,
bridal lace, and woollens.
If you have a special event,
these are unique fabrics
that you are unlikely to find anywhere else In Toronto.
Customers often bring in a photo
or an idea for a special outfit, and the owner, Liz,
loves to help you bring that vision to life
right down to the buttons.
Next, we are heading to Orfus Road,
often called the Outlet District,
where we have a cluster of five stores,
easy accessible by car just off the 401 Highway.
It's also a 50 minute walk from the Yorkdale Subway Station.
And our first stop here is Len's Mills.
(gentle music)
- Hi there, I'm Angie Clarke.
I'm the manager at Len's Mills.
Len's DFS Store, 66 Orfus Road in Toronto.
What's special about Len's Mills
is our assortment of fabrics.
We've got something for everybody.
So quilting, crafting, anything to do with fabrics
somebody would come here for.
We carry everything from Northcott to FreeSpirit,
everything that is current for quilting.
We also carry a selection of high-end fabrics
for home decorating.
We have the Jaclyn Smith line.
we've got P/Kaufmann, all of that.
Everybody is lovely, customers, staff, management,
it's very nice.
- [Karen] What I like about Len's Mills
is that you can often find quilting cottons
from older collections,
and you can buy all those interfacing,
and specialty fabrics like aluminized cotton,
and all sorts of crafting supplies.
And, honestly, it is so worth the trip
just to go to their clearance aisle.
So be sure to sign up for their flyer to get the coupons.
(upbeat music)
- Hi, my name is Sultan from Sultan's Fine Fabrics.
I've been in fabric all my life,
all my young life and my adult life.
I like good quality, worsted fabric in wool.
I love quality wool that has a good drape, a good hang,
comes from a good mill, it feels good, it's skin friendly.
That they can buy quality wool
from me at a very, very good price.
You can buy some of my leftovers, good quality leftovers
for about $100,
and then give it to a tailor for $500
to be made into a custom-made suit.
So the whole thing will cost them $600 for a $3,000 suit.
- [Karen] You will be flabbergasted at just how much wool,
and fabric there is to choose from.
From your basic woollens, to alpaca, baby camel,
and cashmere.
Sultan was generous with both his time and his knowledge,
and this truly was one of our favourite stores.
And just around the corner on Caledonia
we have GK Fashion Fabrics.
- My name is Anna at GK Fashion Fabric.
So we do have a lot of up-to-date fabric
that is now very popular in the market.
For example, minky dots, solids,
a great variation of their linen and wool.
Also, we do sell soft shell,
print soft shell and just solid one,
and a lot of different prints in cotton and viscose.
We do have a great selection of 19 Momme silk as prints,
as solid one that's amazingly soft.
We do have a lot of haberdashery right now,
and we are expecting more and more.
- [Karen] What I liked about this store is
if it had a fabric it had it in depth.
For instance, this whole table is filled with minky fabric
both in solids and prints.
The store was bright, clean, and definitely worth a visit.
(gentle music)
West Wood Textiles is a manufacturer,
and wholesaler of fabrics
that has opened its doors to the public.
The majority of the fabric is knits,
whether it be a double-knit, a sweater knit,
a fleece knit, or a pleather.
It has all sorts of colours and prints.
So if you are wanting to make active wear, leotards,
or just clothing that stretches, this is your store.
(upbeat music)
And the last store here is Fabricland.
And in North Toronto,
we actually have two branches of this store.
One here at Dufferin and Orfus,
and another one at Dufferin and Steeles.
Fabricland not only sells the fabric for your project,
it can sell you the interfacing,
the notions, the tools, and the pattern.
And it almost always has a big table of remnants,
and bolt ends on at clearance prices.
They also have a big collection of seasonal fabrics.
(upbeat music)
And the first shop we're going to visit is Sew Sisters,
which is a short walk
from the Downsview Park Subway Station.
Sew Sisters was my first quilt store,
and, Judy, the owner has always been generous with her time.
The store has new fabric collections every week,
and it always looks fresh.
They have precuts, Kona solids, seasonal fabric,
batiks, widebacks, and curated bundles.
You'll also find that she has a second room
full of fabric that's on sale,
and I've never been able to resist
these fat quarter baskets.
There is everything here that you need to make a quilt
including this large selection of rulers and other notions.
And if you don't see it here, she'll order it in for you.
Next, we're heading down Wilson Avenue
just beyond the Humber Hospital to African Textiles.
- My name is Janet Owusu,
and the store name is African Textiles Clothing Centre.
I love every fabric cotton, linen, lace,
are the most beautiful ones.
Lace from Africa everybody knows.
We use it for special occasions.
Kente is from Ghana.
In the olden days, years ago,
if you see a family that have Kente in the family,
that mean they are rich people.
They use it for clothing a lot,
and some people even comes here and buy it for curtains.
Some people even want to try, like, bed sheet, or something.
- [Karen] I enjoyed talking to Janet and seeing her store.
She showed me how one would
traditionally use African prints,
and the beautiful Kente fabric.
And our last stop today is just off Highway 400
at Finch on Eddystone,
and like my last video,
you might say I saved the best for last.
- My name is CK Amoateng,
and the company name is Ceektex International Limited.
I love obama fabrics.
There are some beautiful colours, African print,
different suppliers with different quality,
something for everyone.
All the fabrics are precut six yards,
and the six yards can make outfit for woman,
get them a skirt, a top, and a hair tie.
For men they can use for shirt, for agbada.
We have supply from Vlisco Holland,
and the Vlisco have Super-Wax.
They have Java, they have Wax Block.
And then we have supply from Ghana which is GTP.
It's one of the best companies in the world
when it comes to African print fabrics.
And then other than that we have
other supply from Netherlands.
We have variety.
If anybody decide to come to our store
price range you're good, quality wise you're good.
- These fabrics were simply spectacular.
Never before had I been exposed
to so many African prints at once.
Charles showed me the differences
between the fabric lines and their qualities.
And this is where I broke my rule,
and I bought some fabric and I have no regrets.
Wasn't that another amazing day?
Talking with the store owners about textiles
just never gets old for me.
All those textures, I couldn't help myself,
but I touched everything.
If you want to plan your own fabric tour of Toronto,
I'll leave a link to a free download on my website
with all the store information.
There's also a quick link in the description notes.
Now we're not done yet.
This is just part two of the series,
and the next time we're going to Toronto East,
and you don't want to miss it, so be sure to subscribe.
And if you missed part one, I'm going to leave a link here.
My channel is all about tips, tricks,
and strategies to help you sew better,
and use up your stash.
Check out my sewing hacks playlist.
Take care, and I'll see you next time.