I am looking for some patterns to make baby clothes. Would prefer them in English but Japanese is also okay. If you have any or know where I can buy them, please contact me. Andrea

Does anyone know where to find silk material in the Tokyo area? I am looking for good quality silk material. Specifically, I need gold, yellow, purple or red. Flower patterns are ok but I prefer solids. I would need 6-7 yards. Thank you so much!!

A good place for any fabric hunting is in the wholesale fabric district near Nippori Station (Yamanote Line). There's dozens of fabric stores here, some of them with cheap stuff, some with high-end stuff. I'm sure someone would carry silk there. Prices are reasonable too.

Good luck!

there is shop in machida and ikebukuro

Tokyo:
Famous place for sewing goods and 4 floors of fabrics is "Kinkado" in Ikebukuro. Go out the Seibu/Parco side and head down the main street that has all the trees on it. It is about 2 blocks down on the right side after a McDonald's and has a 100yen shop in the basement.

It's a large sprawling double building going deep into the block or rather covering two blocks. Some people have compared it to a sort of Japanese Woolworth's (but this is not really accurate). One building is given over to reasonably priced clothing and lots of other merchandise. And the second building is given over mostly to sewing starting on the second floor I think. They also have remnant tables by one set of stairwells (east side of the building).

The selection is impressive, but I never personally looked for silk. The fabric district that Karen mentions is probably the most extensive area to browse, but it takes time. A lot of shops in that area are specialized in certain things. You can walk for a while before finding the right store for silk! But if you ask in some of the shops you might get some useful suggestions. One shop that I've bought from there is "Tomato". They had/have several locations and each location carries one type of stock. One location is for all the zippers, threads, tapes and so on. Another for fabrics of x nature, etc.

Could anyone suggest a place where I coud find a nice variety of FLEECE fabric (in various colors)? Yuzawaya's collection is not very wide. Thanks!

There is also a fabric store almost just across the street from Hatchiko in Shibuya (I think it is 4 floors though I've only been up to the 3rd floor personally).

The name is Shibuya Marunan. Their phone number is 03-3461-2325 if you want to try to ask over the telephone what they carry. I went in there today because they have a big 20% off banner hanging outside, but I found out it applies only to the remnants :-(

I went to the Shibuya Marunan last Saturday, and I found a fairly good selection in typically cramped quarters on several floors. There were remnant tables on at least 2 floors.

I found two way stretch knit, but all synthetic, in about 8 basic colors. There was a much larger assortment of one way stretch knits, including cottons, of varying weights, mostly solids but some patterns.

It's amazing how hard it is to find even basic black in the preferred fabric type! Of all the places I've shopped fabric, I'd say that there are some really marvelous selections here in Tokyo, and it still isn't enough! I often wonder where the clothing manufacturers find their fabrics.

Sewing Patterns: Does anyone know where I could find nice sewing patterns for kids? I checked Yuzawaya at Kichijoji but found only really old-fashioned looking styles mainly for adults. Any suggestions? What about online sites?

I don't make clothes, but while waiting to pay at Kinkado in Ikebukuro I have noticed a large section with patterns and sewing magazines for children's clothes. If you are anywhere near Ikebukuro it is worth a look.

There's a map here (in Japanese):

http://www.rakuten.co.jp/kinkado/442950/451673/

If you don't read Japanese, you basically come out of Ikebukuro station on the East (Seibu Department store) side, and head straight down the wide main streat heading south. Kinkado is on your right hand side a couple of blocks down. The sewing supplies are in the second building, behind the first - walk straight through the main building, across a narrow alleyway, and take the escalator up to the second and third floors, which are packed with cloth and sewing supplies.

There are other branches of Kinkado. For a list see here:
http://www.rakuten.ne.jp/gold/kinkado/annnai.html

If you don't want to go hunting, you can order online from all the major pattern makers (Vogue, McCalls, Butterick, etc.). And if you know the pattern #'s, there is a company that discounts them and they will ship to Japan (ask for USPS Global Priority...it's about $9-11 USD for a flat rate envelope that will easily hold 4-5 patterns. The company is Denver fabrics: www.denverfabric.com