This was the first time I went to China as a dressmaker and, after kicking myself for not buying any fabric the year I lived there, nothing was going to stop me from trawling and pawing at the fabric now I was back there again. After a quick google I found Muxiyuan was the biggest and most well know fabric market.
When we arrived I felt totally underwhelmed yet overwhelmed at the same time, if that makes sense!?! I was expecting a giant maze of fabric stores, with all the merchandise laid out for you and shining with beauty. The reality was it was like a very organised warehouse, mostly aimed at wholesalers. Plus, I went in through the haberdashery section and there was no fabric in that area. Can you see how confused I looked in that picture!! but once you got into the market everything changed.
If you wanted something it was probably there…and in a variety of colours.
I was in zip heaven. I never knew zips could look so beautiful and with a 10p price tag for each one, no matter the length, I zip shopped like I’ve never zip shopped before.
In total I got 25 zips and my only regret is that I didn’t buy more.
and then we found the fabric! and there was a lot!! There was a box outside most of the shops with remnants which is where I was digging through most of the time. The few shops I went into seemed to be fine with selling smaller amounts.
Fabric wise the visit was pretty much a waste on me. The only fabrics I’m comfortable sewing with are cotton and viscous. For now, I’m no way near confident enough to unleash myself on silk. I am rough with my fabric and my unpicker. Silk would die a violent death at my hands. Which was a pity because as expected there was loads of silk and brocade.
When asking about the fabric everything was supposedly cotton….hmmmmm. The price for silk and brocade isn’t extremely cheap so there’s not going to be any mega bargains but the quality and variety was amazing.
If you’re ever in that part of the world, it is well worth going there. The place has something for every seamstress. No english was spoken, so either go with a Mandarin speaker or try to get to grips with numbers. My husband got bored half way through and went to sit down and I managed fine with my shocking Mandarin.
Now it’s amazing being back with my sewing machine and I’m sewing up a storm for myself and for other people also!!! Getting access to wordpress/instagram/anything fun was almost impossible in China. *Tears of joy* virtual home it’s good to be back 🙂
pointing and having a calculator are just as useful as mandarin!! haha
Wow! That IS zip heaven! I would’ve got wild too. I can see how it would be both under and overwhelming at the same time. Definitely keep it in mind in case I’m ever in China, although know Mandarin, I do not!
No problem!! Hope you have a brilliant time in Beijing 🙂
OMG!! I’m afraid I may not do any work and spend all my week in these two markets. That’s brilliant thank you so much! xx
Great! Glad I can find you something to do 🙂
It was also my third time in Beijing and I was off the tourist track. If you like stationery I would highly recommend the Beijing stationery market. It was five floors of heaven.
http://www.timeoutbeijing.com/venue/Shops__Services-Markets/10497/Stationery-Market.html
Let me know if you want any help with finding the place 🙂
I’m so glad I found this, I had no idea there was a fabric market in Beijing. I’m going for the third time (work and pleasure) and was thinking of what to do for pleasure as I have done the touristic bit, I now know what! Thank you for sharing! Those zips are fantastic.
No problem! Glad you liked the post 🙂
Oh! The photos alone are so colourful, I can’t imagine what it would be like in real life! Thank you for sharing.
You are so lucky! My husband sat down after an hour. It was his first time fabric shopping with me and at this place it was intense. At least three hours here is a must.
I want to visit China so so much – I saw this post and ran at my partner and he’s totally up for going to this!! It looks amazing!
YES!!!!! I just wish I had a bigger luggage allowance!
Thanks for such a nice comment! I tried to haggle but I hate it so much! British education really never prepared us for the real world haha
Thailand must have been amazing! I’m gutted I never visited seeing as China is so close.
Sewing – fabric and haberdashery heaven!!
You’re brave with the mandarin and market mix!! I’m British and I hate haggling for ANYTHING so when I lived in Thailand last year it was a huge shock trying to buy things off the markets in Bangkok – well done you for having a go!!! xxx