Fabric shopping!

Assalammu'alaikum family, friends, readers and followers of this blog. I know and well aware that I've been missing in the blogging arena for quite awhile, and so I am back to make up to it! So... here's another post to write! Alhamdulillah..

Following the post sharing my sewing projects, some asked if I will be taking in orders, the options, and above all that, I got asked, "Where do you purchase your fabric?:

There are many nice places that provided a whole lot of range to go to.

Last month, whilst I was still on hospitalization leave, after my follow up, I met a few sewist aka fabric hoarders aka new friends to take a walk-around tour at Chinatown where a lot of our local sewist, crafters and the likes talk about.

We all know I wear slippers for every occassion, BUT I dressed up for that occasion! Look!

I hardly wore shoes, but this occasion calls for it! 

I put faces to three names in a group that I joined not too long ago. I got a lot of information and new knowledge imparted to me from Sis Rahayu. We had fun. Lots of jokes, and more knowledge. :)

Back to where I got my loots from:

Chinatown

I got these on that trip:

Pretty remnants (less than 1m each piece) from Malin Textile

And these notions from Brighton

There is plenty, and to just name a few may seemed unfair.

Clementi Central

Then, there is the nearby local textile shop that I frequent to get my 100% cotton when I couldn't get my lazy bum to head down to Chinatown (oh did I mention the above-mentioned is located at Chinatown?).

The 100% cotton collection

The thing about this shop that I really like is that they always bring in new designs.

Mustaffa Centre

I only attacked their remnant bins, to be honest, because I am taken aback with their prices. $12/m for the cotton range and $18/m up for their softer (suitable for apparels) range. Perhaps it is just me not ready to spend so much knowingly I might just screw up by cutting it wrong or something along those lines.

Joo Chiat Complex

I had always went to this place, but never got a chance to take a photo. However, I am always prone to being cheated so I don't go alone to shop fabric there, ever! If I have to, I really need to drag my mom, or some new friends.

Arab Street

The whole stretch of great apparel fabrics. It is heaven! Here are samples of my loots that I got there! Mostly would attack Arab Street for fabrics like Sildoll, laces, Songket, washable silk, easily put as Apparel fabrics, those thats drapes very nicely on the body, especially.

A large collection of Sildoll and the printed one is Cotton. ;)

These are Washable Silk

Spotlight

The last place I go to unless there are sale (then again, they have sale like ALL the time!). It is heaven nonetheless to "wash" your eyes to the wide range of fabric and pretty prints.

And whilst all these physical shopping and molesting of fabric is awesome, I still succumb to online shopping when I just couldn't find time to get fabric or if I was given two choice - shop or sew. 

So here are my online preferences:

Fabric.com

As we all know, I have been sewing a lot.. And 70% of my loot is ordered online, fabrics mostly coming from Fabric.com

So far, alhamdulillah. I am very satisfied with the service rendered. I like how they come in their box. However not everything can be shipped direct to Singapore. Their licensed fabric such as those patented disney prints can only be shipped within US.

The thing about fabric.com is that I never had to worry about the quality, it is almost 100% guaranteed that all the fabrics they have are of awesome quality, and measurement never go wrong, and if they do, such big organization will usually try their best to damage control and will value their customers. I have read reviews and most of the customers who got their orders wrong, or cut to the wrong dimensions often get their replacement pieces or refunds almost immediately.

Sew Many Knits

If you need to get knits, and not ready to spend a bomb, Sew Many Knits is the place to visit!

Quality is clearly stated and I can say it is really of great quality and definitely value for money kindda buys! I have shopped and returned many times for more knits!

Don't believe? Visit them here and judge the price yourself! Don't blame me if you do end up shopping a lot!

I am sure there are many other sites to shop with, but I am only sticking to these two for the moment. I am skeptical when it comes to shopping online for fabrics as description by sellers sometimes are just not right to the feel.

Until I find another fabric heaven,
Your fabric Godmother,
Jun

PS: Feel free to comment in your favorite shops. Just give me 3days to approve your comment. :)

Al-Huda Hub

Assalammu'alaikum family, friends, readers and followers of this blog.

Yeay! Another review for another local business!

Al-Huda Hub - do like her FB Page!

Being a fellow jubah and modest clothing seller myself, it took me quite awhile to register that I am getting a jubah from someone else. For once, my supplier was charging me a little higher than this seller, so I was lured to shop. Afterall, doing business in Islam forbids the discouragement from engaging other business outlets, we are encouraged to promote other businesses if it is within our capacity, if that other business have what we don't, and to leave it to the customers to choose with whom they wish to shop with. It actually tests and shows that we have faith in our own rezeki.

And so.. how did I find this Al-Huda Hub? By curiousity really. I saw someone don this jubah which my supplier supplies, so I asked her where she get hers. Yup, you guessed it right, she directed me to Al-Huda Hub, and I started browsing like mad. I could possibly guarantee that her price was the lowest, and very reasonable. It is clear that she is following the Islamic way to do business, with minimal profits - in fact I find her business to be doing a lot of dakwah in a very subtle way.

So, I bought two tops with much interest to get the La'Cherie Jubah. I decided to wait on the Jubah, and get the tops first. The seller wasn't angry at my indecisiveness, or the fact that I decide to drop the jubah with no real guarantee that I will return to buy them.

I was rather surprised that I bought two very beautiful syariah compliant tops for just $20 each, yes! Just $20! Out there, if you look at some dresses... Some not very syariah compliant, much less to say nurse friendly, are priced at some $25 or higher a piece, here I got myself a top for just $20. And so I thought, there must be something I don't quite like about it.

Wait I shall, for the parcel to arrive, and when they did....

How can anyone not love this design!

That's me wearing the blue Muslimah Peplum

And that's me wearing the black Fishtail Cut 

Aren't they gorgeous? And to just add $3 for mailing and receiving them 2 days after is amazing. These tops has weight to them but at the same time, it felt light wearing them. I especially liked the fishtail, but not quite a fan of gathered sleeve. But I love them nonetheless because it is just so complete.

It doesn't give away the shape of my body, is not transparent/translucent at any part of it. It is long bodies, covers me well - especially the Peplum, for a 1.57m short person I am, it actually covers till my calves, so i sometimes wear it as night wear. It is just THAT comfortable!

So, the following week, having had awesome experience with Al Huda Hub, I returned for more.

I was in Melaka when I decided to shop with her. As with most online businesses, the policy is such that payment needs to be made within 24-48hrs so other buyers who could pay earlier can have them first and to avoid unnecessary hogging and "chope" practices that prevents other serious buyers from buying and getting them first. It is no different with Al-Huda Hub. Payment was demanded, so I told her I was in Melaka, and earliest I could possibly pay is when I return.

She understood my position and arranged for a special arrangement for me. I find that soo sweet! She don't have to, and she could just tell me to get back to her once I am able to do the transfer, but she didnt. And so I told her I would be back Sunday or Monday, and she asked if I'd like to opt for a courier at a nominal $5 fee, and of course I agreed!!

She even arranged for a COD for me. That trust, is beyond words! I haven't met her, nor do I have any idea how she looked like, but this gesture made me love her, and I hope she will be bestowed with great health, good heart and always guided with imaan.

It has been almost 2 weeks since I received the items, I've worn the red Muslimah Peplum, sadly,with my busy schedule, I haven't had time to snap shot myself in it.

I've tried both the Le'Cherie Jubah I had ordered, and they both needed alterations to their lengths, so I'd do that this weekend.

While I get myself some time to snap shot myself in these three new outfits I get from Al-Huda Hub, how about you gorgeous ladies visit her page and do some online shopping?

The jubahs are beautiful for Syawal! And the tops are miraculously very comfortable - I took out the shoulder sponge (fyi) because I prefer without. I tell you there are truly amazing! Nursing friendly, just lift up, and cover, very very convenient!

I will add the pictures here and re-share it once I do!! Until then, stay tune!!! I have more to share, but very little time, so keep the emails coming with the topics you want me to share, ya?

Much love,
Wassalam,
Jun

My checklist when I am hijab shopping

Assalammu'alaikum family, friends, readers and followers of this blog.

I received a few questions on what I see when I am getting a new hijab or when I go hijab shopping.

A lot of my friends know I can get anal and be very fussy about the hijab I want. Usually my first questions would be these:

1. Is it sheer?
2. What material is it made of?
3. What are the dimensions (for shawls)?
4. Do I need to wear a ninja inner?
5. How simplified can the styling be?
6. Price

Sheer:

I never buy anything sheer since I wore my hijab, unless I am willing to wear double layers to ensure full coverage. I only own one sheer top, but it is white, and I have a cooling white full sleeve inner to go with it so I am okay. So that is very important.

Material:

This is very important to me. I am a cotton person, and I feel safe with cotton anytime any day anywhere. I strike of chiffon (for its sheerness), jersey/spandex (for it usually grabs and reveals the shape of where the cloth lands), satin (for it is usually slippery) and wool (too thick).

Many people around me dislike cotton reciting it is warm, and thick. I beg to differ. Cotton is a material that keeps you warm when cold, and usually is an okay material for me even on a hot day. Maybe because I am petite and hardly sweat or feel warm, I am not sure. 

Dimensions:

For shawls, I now tend to go for something that is at least 2m long and 60cm wide. It is easier for me to gain full coverage with little effort. And it gives me room if I wanna up my style a little and go fancy with folds and such. After wearing big huge wide shawls, I now struggle to gain coverage with my smaller shawls (most of which was my first shawls when I started wearing the hijab). Wearing them now makes me worry and just uncomfortable because I feel like there is not enough coverage. I end up checking constantly, to see if my neck is exposed, if my chest was exposed, so much so I feel tired at the end of day. 

Ninja Inner:

I used to have plenty of ninja inners and have no issues wearing them. I started feeling uncomfortable wearing them after a few sisters and brothers shared their opinions on hijabis wearing ninja inners. Firstly, it pretty much looked like a nun when I have my ninja on with my hoodie top or hoodie hijab. Secondly, I am revealing the shape of my neck and shoulders when I wear a ninja inner and hoodie. With that I stopped wearing one, I gave away most of my ninjas, and kept just one for no reason. Maybe just to remind me.

Another thing about ninja inner is that it is kind of troublesome for me to put on a ninja, then put on my hijab, and some ninja inners are slippery, which makes it a need to me to put on another inner underneath the ninja. It makes my laundry pile up too quickly. So I totally avoid having to go thru the whole hassle of ninja inners. 

Simplicity of Style:

The art of hijab is to keep it simple so we keep the gaze of men away from us. So the simplicity of style in a hijab is important to me. I often ask, would I be attracting eyes to look at my hijab? Is it to much bling? Is the design having too much going on? If any of it says yes, I usually put it down for something simpler. No doubt, I have a few hijabs that is colourful, striking, and well nice.. But those I wore it with a plain jubah, so it gets pretty much toned down. So that is another question I will always ask myself, what clothes am I pairing this hijab with? Will it be too much, or will be get toned down?

This point made me chose De Divas Fashion's Cotton Plain Hoodie. Its simplicity caught my attention left and right. 

Price:

How much is too much? Subjective, ya.. So up to you. What's your budget like?

My big wide shawls can cost between $20-35. And to me, it is money well spent. I am sure you can find something of a cheaper range though. It is just that will all my restriction of checklist, this price seems an okay range.

So ya... that's my checklist, what's yours?

Wassalam,
Jun