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Member since 7/8/05
Posts: 327
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Posted on: 2/21/06 4:06 PM ET
Hi ladies,

I have been getting requests from friends & family to sew wedding & christening attire and I really want to pick up some swatch kits for dupioni silks and other nice fabrics to help them chose the fabric type they want. Since we have nothing too extensive here in the way of fabric stores to go and look at, it would be nice to have a swatch kit to show.

Any suggestions??
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Deborah Thompson
www.thesewcialbutterfly.ca
  
Member since 1/24/06
Posts: 98
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Posted on: 2/21/06 4:36 PM ET
When I wanted silk charmeuse to make my my wedding dress, I went to...I want to say it was Thai Silks online, and got a swatch kit from them. I think it was about $14; there are a TON of swatches, and most of them are silk. Velvets, habotai, charmeuse, tussah, organza, lots of pretty jaquard weaves...there are fabrics in there that, at the time, I didn't even know existed.

Each sample is on its own little card, and the back of each card is labelled "Rupert, Gibbon, & Spider". So if I'm wrong about it being Thai Silks, try Googling that name and see what you get.
  
Contest Committee
Member since 7/30/02
Posts: 8991
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Posted on: 2/21/06 5:36 PM ET
I aslo went to Thai Silks. And the nice thing about them is that they have complete swatch kits, and a stable inventory.

Angus International is another silk company that can send you an extensive swatch package. (They ship to the US and, I'm certain, to Canada.)

These are the only two I've done, and the only two I'm aware of, so that exhausts my list for large silk swatch packages.

Sawyer Brook has very nice packages and a swatch service, but their inventory is more transient. So if you are looking for something near-term they are nice, but for something with a longer horizon that might not work for you.

That's all I can think of at the moment that might work for you.

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With a great wardrobe that's still in the flat-fabric stage.
  
Member since 8/24/02
Posts: 1134
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Posted on: 2/21/06 5:44 PM ET
In reply to Deb Thompson
i've gotten swatches from dharma trading. they have silks, as well as cottons and linens, which would be nice for the christening gowns. all the swatches were white or off-white.

also, i don't know if they have swatch sets, but you certainly could ask some of the heirloom sites like handmades, farmhouse fabrics, or martha pullen, so you can see the difference between plain batiste, Imperial (which is part poly), Swiss batiste, Nelona, etc.
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Linda

Girls do not dress for boys. They dress for themselves, and of course, each other. If girls dressed for boys, they’d just walk around naked at all times.
-- Betsey Johnson


http://mamafitz.blogspot.com
  
Member since 7/8/05
Posts: 327
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Posted on: 2/21/06 6:04 PM ET
Thanks for all those suggestions! I'm going to give Thai Silks a try and see what happens!
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Deborah Thompson
www.thesewcialbutterfly.ca
  
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