Does anyone remember this store in Covent Gardens? It was the first one I visited in London and it had charm, character and was stunningly beautiful inside. The staff were amazingly friendly (and generous) and I'd give the Covent Garden CK store a 9/10 rating. This store is well worth a visit. It would get ten out of ten if it had more fabric because besides that it ticks every box on the list. It was a lovely sales assistant that suggested I try the Marylebone store for fabric.
Well it wasn't difficult to spot the trademark blue and red sign but were it not for that you might've walked right by this one. True it had 2 floors and had more fabric but be warned! The staff were not particularly friendly - maybe cos it was a Saturday - who knows? Some of my fabric was TORN! NOT CUT! Yes I did say TORN! I absolutely HATE when sales staff do that - I could almost cry! Despite the fact that there was a purpose built table it wasn't used at all - it was all cluttered with bits and pieces and very untidy - no wonder they didn't use it.
I have since thoroughly checked my fabric and am not happy with how it was measured plus a dirty great mark was found on one piece so I now have to return it. At £20 per metre, dirty great stains, and torn edges are just not acceptable. If the sales assistant had laid the roll on the table and measured out the length not only would she have been able to cut it nicely but we would both have seen the dirty mark.
I'm disappointed at CK and also at myself for not having asked her to cut the fabric rather than tear it. Shame on me - I should've had courage enough to speak up.
I was also disappointed at the selection of lighter weight fabrics - maybe half a dozen at most. I have seen more of these in John Lewis than at CK. I only chose three because I already had one design, don't like the stars and didn't care for the remaining design - green floral. I plan to make something for the boys with the cowboy prints - hence two different colours so they know which is which and something for Madyson with the pretty pink floral - maybe cushions for Christmas cos they do like to snuggle with pillows and blankets. Even so these were poorly cut and the blue one is all hacked to pieces along one edge. I can only presume the previous customer shared that experience too. I'd love to know their thoughts?
I purchased some heavier weight fabrics and if you're looking for this kind of weight then you're in luck. The Marylebone store had mostly these and in a variety of designs too - easily 3 - 4 dozen if not more. They also had lightweight 'fat quarter' bundles all tied up with that lovely red ribbon for £25. I didn't bother since I wanted larger pieces and already had a few of the bundled fabrics in my stash but they'd make a nice gift for anyone looking to do patchwork or smaller projects with CK fabrics.
I am teaching the apron in my next class (8 October) so I get to photograph the process for my pattern AND get a new apron for myself into the bargain. I made my old one from Laura Ashley oilcloth and it's still good - it matches the strawberry tiles and border in the kitchen but it's just time for a bit of something new I think. My new one will be fabric but I still purchased this oilcloth on sale to drape over the table when the grandkids come to dinner. It was a bargain and I can use it on the table outdoors too so I had to have it.
Okay - enough of my waffling already! How would I rate this CK store? Well I give the Marylebone CK store 6/10 and it's lucky to get that. In fact it only gets that rating because it has way more fabric and for no other reason.
Hubby has promised to take me to the St Neot's store one weekend. Sara mentioned it was worth a visit although the sales staff phoned ahead for me and was told they only have about 16 bolts of fabric in total. Then again there is a store in Cambridge that I may try to visit pre-Christmas too - just to see what that one's like. I'll let you know when I do.
And as if that wasn't all enough for a weekend I even managed to find a charity shop or two and picked up a couple more vintage sheets - well one is vintage for sure - the other looks more modern.
I found a great tutorial for making 'I don't wanna get outta bed' slouch pants recently so I plan to make myself a couple of pairs of those with these and besides having a bunch left over for other projects I may even have enough in the one matching pillowcase to make Maddycakes a pair just like Grandma's LOL! How cute would they be on her with the wide blue band and lace trim at the hem? I've already washed and pressed these so they're good to go. I can't wait to try out the tutorial. You can check it out here if you fancy having a go yourself. And don't foget those of you who have boys/men - these can be made for guys too. Team them up with a simple, inexpensive plain T-shirt and you have PJ's for Crimbo! How cool is that :-)
Happy Sewing! Blessings
Suezie
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