If you’re about to embark on a spot of textile tourism, then here’s your guide to the best fabric stores in Melbourne, organised by region.
In this article, I’ve focused mainly on dressmaking, quilting and general craft fabric stores. If you’re looking for furnishing and upholstery fabric stores in Melbourne, I’ve covered these in Where to buy upholstery fabric in Melbourne.
Fabric stores in Melbourne CBD
Tessuti
tessuti.com.au
Ground Floor, 141 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Best for: High quality dress making fabrics with European flair
Although there aren’t many fabric stores in Melbourne CBD any more, it’s worth a trip into the city just to visit Tessuti. They have a gorgeous store tucked into a older building in Flinders Lane formally the heart and soul of Melbourne’s rag trade (think artsy, moody European vibes).
No matter what I’m making, Tessuti is usually my first stop for dressmaking fabric. They truly are the best all-round apparel fabric store in Australia. You won’t find discount fabric here, but you will find high quality options that represent good value for money. I’m always thrilled with Tessuti fabric I’ve bought and when buying from their online store, the fabric is often even better than it looks online.
They import a lot of their stock from Europe so you generally won’t find their designs at other fabric stores. Amongst the beautifully curated ranges of high quality linen, cotton, wool and jersey basics, you’ll find designer fabrics from Missoni, Armani and Chanel. A drool-worthy range of special occasion and evening wear fabrics sits alongside lush bridal fabrics.
Their offering is rounded out nicely with their own range of contemporary sewing patterns, haberdashery essentials, experienced advice and excellent customer service.
Morris and Sons
morrisandsons.com.au
Level 1, 234 Collins Street, Melbourne
Best for: Quilting fabric and general craft supplies
More typically known for it’s extensive knitting and crochet yarns, Morris & Sons also stocks a good range of haberdashery, quilting cottons, needlecraft/embroidery and general craft supplies. Their Aboriginal fabric range is particularly interesting.
They have a lovely store in the centre of the city, so if quilting is your thing, they are definitely worth a visit while you’re in the city.
Lincraft – Melbourne city
City – 360 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Spotlight – Melbourne city
spotlightstores.com/store-finder
South Melbourne – 111 Cecil Street, South Melbourne
Fabric stores on Melbourne’s north side
You’ll find quite a range of fabric offerings in Melbourne’s north, often reflecting the vibe of the suburb in which they’re located; from Collingwood and Fitzroy (hipster coffee territory) to leafy Ivanhoe to bargain Brunswick.
The Fabric Store
thefabricstoreonline.com
184 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Best for: Exclusive merino knits and vintage finish linen in gorgeous colourways
I’ve waxed lyrical about The Fabric Store in other articles, but they are definitely my go-to for merino knit fabric and linen. My two favourite ranges are their ZQ Premium Merino knit range and their vintage finish linen.
The merino knit offering is ethically sourced and custom dyed in over 35 contemporary shades. At 200gsm it’s a nice multi-purpose weight and is suitable for all sorts of tops, t-shirts and dresses. I’ve also made lounge pants in several different colours which I live in while working from home in winter (secret pyjamas!).
The vintage finish linen is also a great multi-purpose weight at 160gsm which makes it suitable for lots of dressmaking projects. It’s certified to OEKO-TEX Standard 100 and has a beautiful, slightly worn patina and is lusciously soft. It feels really comfortable next to your skin so I absolutely love wearing this linen.
You’ll find the Melbourne store nestled amongst the hipster shops on Brunswick Street, so it’s easy to get to and well worth a visit (after brunch, of course).
The Cloth Shop
theclothshop.online
47 Lower Heidelberg Rd, Ivanhoe
Best for: A broad range of dressmaking fabrics for all Melbourne seasons
The Cloth Shop is a northside institution, offering a nicely curated and substantial range of dressmaking fabrics and haberdashery.
The Cloth Shop sources from a wide range of suppliers and their range covers the full gamut: from high quality wool, linen and cotton staples to more fashion oriented stretch jerseys. They also have a range of eveningwear and special occasion fabrics.
You’ll also find contemporary sewing patterns showcased on made up samples in the store (and on Instagram). If you follow popular Melbourne sewing blogger, Blogless Anna, as well as inspiration from her fabulous makes, you’ll see more of what The Cloth Shop has to offer as much of her fabric is from there.
Regular customers rave about their excellent customer service and good, practical advice. Weekly sewing classes round out the package.
The shop is walking distance from the Ivanhoe train station so visiting in-person is pretty easy, especially if you’re travelling from the north side or somewhere central. They have only recently established an online fabric store, where you’ll find a good range, but if you want to see all they have to offer, a trip to the actual store is a must.
GJs Discount Fabrics
gjsdiscountfabrics.com.au
31 Steane St, Fairfield
Best for: A comprehensive range of both quilting and dance fabric
GJs Discount Fabrics specialise in two seemingly unrelated types of fabrics: quilting fabric and dance fabric. It’s certainly un unusual combination, but somehow it works beautifully! I think this is because they have a huge store with a massive stock of both. They stock some apparel fabric too, but their strengths are definitely with quilting and dance.
The quilting prints stretch from the contemporary to the traditional and everything in between. These are complemented with a huge range of solids and blenders. The extensive range of Australian indigenous quilting fabrics really stands out with some gorgeous designs to choose from.
The dance range is certainly a feast for your eyes. It includes every kind of tulle, stretch velvet, spandex, satin, and chiffon you can imagine in every colour of the rainbow, often embellished with glitter or metallic effects.
Their haberdashery range includes all of the usual quilting supplies as well as a huge range of threads, loads of elastic (some I haven’t seen elsewhere) including some very cool coloured elastic, perfect for making face masks.
GJs often host workshops by quilting big names such as Anna Maria Horner along with lots of regular sewing and quilting classes. Their customer service is also top class.
Cutting Cloth
cuttingcloth.com.au
282 Wingrove Street, Fairfield
Best for: A tightly curated collection of modern quilting fabric and bag kits
Fairfield may single handedly have Melbourne’s quilting needs covered with both GJs and Cutting Cloth located here. Cutting Cloth is a beautifully presented store specialising in quilting fabric.
They offer a nicely curated selection of contemporary quilting fabrics including a good range of Liberty. Also available are lots of lovely bag patterns and kits.
Their classes sell out fairly quickly and centre around specific quilt or bag projects.
Drapers Fabrics
drapersfabrics.com
195 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Best for: High quality natural fibres and blends at excellent prices
Drapers specialise in natural, ethically produced fibres, including some organic fabrics and designer dead-stock gems. They have a store on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy and also one in Auckland, New Zealand. Their online store also stocks a good selection.
Perhaps it’s their NZ connection, but I find them particularly good for winter fabrics. Think toasty wool coating including gorgeous jewel coloured boiled wools, interesting showerproof nylon from Japan (perfect for parkas and trench coats), knobbly textured jacquards and very well-priced denims.
What I also love about Drapers is their stock of unusual fibre compositions such as a curious blend of 50% eucalyptus/50% cotton, a stretch cotton/viscose velvet, and an assortment of hemp blends. Of course, hemp makes everything more interesting!
You’ll definitely find some high quality bargains at Drapers – overall I find the price for the quality is excellent. Because they buy a lot of designer ends, their stock comes and goes and once it’s gone, it’s usually gone for good. I’d recommend you sign up for their email list so you have first pick!
Darn Cheap Fabrics
darncheapfabrics.com.au
161 Smith Street, Fitzroy
Also in the South Eastern Suburbs – 1184-1188 Glenhuntly Rd, Glenhuntly
Best for: Discount fabrics from everyday basics to the kitsch and kooky
Of course Darn Cheap Fabrics does what it says on the can. Cheap? Yes, but well curated too.
If you’re looking for sensible basics – think plain cottons, denims, knits and lining at really great prices, you’ll find them here.
But if your fabric tastes veer into the not-so-darn-sensible, this is your fabric store! I could spend hours browsing through their random, kitsch and kooky prints. In 10 minutes I found mushroom printed corduroy, a dancing dragon printed jersey knit, a cotton printed with sheep in swimming costumes and a Christmas rabbit print – respect! There’s one think I know for sure, you won’t find these crazy designs elsewhere!
They also have a really decent range of haberdashery, especially trims and decorative finishing pieces. So, if you’re making costumes, Darn Cheap Fabrics is a must.
You’ll find them on the north side in Fitzroy and also in the South East in Glenhuntly with both stores offering similar ranges, darn cheap.
Super Cheap Fabrics
supercheapfabrics.com.au
153 Sackville Street, Collingwood
Best for: A massive range of cheap fabrics
Super Cheap Fabrics is like the Bunnings of the fabric world! Lowest prices really are just the beginning – their range is massive.
The store looks more like a warehouse, but they are definitely open to the public (they also have an excellent online store with very fast shipping).
They offer lots of woven and knit basics in every composition you can imagine – cottons, wools, bamboo, linens, lycra, rayons and silk. They have some printed designs which are not really my cup of tea, but I think their real strength is in good basics in a wide range of solid colours.
One offering that jumps out at me is a 70% wool, 30% cashmere blend for $30/metre. That is a bargain basement price for a luxury fibre like cashmere. At that price, it doesn’t have to be the best quality cashmere to make a beautiful winter coat.
They turn over their stock fairly quickly so there is always something new to be inspired by. They’re very consistent with their email newsletter too, so that’s definitely worth subscribing to.
Rathdowne Fabrics
rathdownefabrics.com.au
154-158 Victoria Street, Brunswick
Best for: A comprehensive range of dressmaking fabrics
Rathdowne’s strength is in their range of fabric options, from discount to higher end, there’s something for everyone.
Their knit range is very good and includes some nice non-shinny ponte, premium stretch velvet in jewel colours, lycra, scuba and merino wool knits for $26/metre which is excellent value. There are also lots of great basics such as denims and chambrays, affordable linens and a huge range of corduroys.
Their online store stocks some of their best sellers and basics, but for a more comprehensive range, you’ll need to visit the store. For example, their bridal, lace and special occasion fabrics are not online, nor are their wool coatings.
You’ll also find a comprehensive range of haberdashery including the ever popular Rasant threads.
I’ve always had good customer service whenever I’ve visited the store, but the online reviews for customer service do seem to be mixed.
Anne’s Discount Fabrics
363 Sydney Rd, Brunswick
Best for: A lucky dip of discount fabrics
Sydney Road at Brunswick is home to a few small quirky fabric stores and Anne’s Discount Fabrics is one of them.
Anne’s is literally choc full of a crazy assortment of discount fabrics so you’ll have to fossick! But sometimes the fun is in the fossicking! You never know when you’ll unearth a precious gem.
You’ll also find a good range of haberdashery, especially noteworthy is the button range.
Unique Fabrics
396 Sydney Road, Brunswick
Best for: Evening wear fabrics at discount prices
Another tiny store packed to the rafters with rolls of fabric. You’ll find a random assortment at Unique Fabrics, but particularly evening and special occasion fabrics such as chiffon, lace, tulle and beaded and embellished fabrics.
Spotlight – Melbourne north side stores
spotlightstores.com/store-finder
- Essendon – DFO, Shop 14, 100 Bulla Road, Essendon
- Preston – 85 Chifley Drive, Preston
- Roxburgh Park – Roxburgh Park Homemaker Domain, 1640 Pascoe Vale Road, Roxburgh Park
- South Morang – 795 Plenty Road, South Morang
Lincraft – Melbourne north side stores
- Northcote – Northcote Plaza Cnr High Street & Separation Street, Northcote
- Epping – Epping Homemaker Centre, 560 High Street, Eppings
Fabric stores in Melbourne’s western suburbs
Fibresmith
fibresmith.com.au
14 Wembley Ave, Yarraville
Best for: Merchant and Mills fabrics and other natural fibres
Fibresmith is one of my favourite fabric stores as they have a gorgeous contemporary aesthetic. Their focus is on natural fibres including some organic options.
They stock a particularly comprehensive range of Merchant and Mills fabrics, including linens, tencels, oilcloth and quilted jacquard in really unique moody colours. They also offer a decent range of stretch jerseys and a nice selection cottons suitable for sewing clothing.
If you’re into knitting or crochet, they also have a lovely range of yarn.
They’re quite active on Instagram and have a regular newsletter too, so you can stay in-the-know. But if you’re in the Yarraville area, a trip into their beautiful store is a must.
Fabric Deluxe
fabricdeluxe.com.au
1/47 Napier Street, Footscray
Best for: A nicely curated selection of dressmaking fabrics
Fabric Deluxe are the quintessential local fabric store. Run by a mother and daughter team, they offer excellent customer service, friendly advice and free and easy parking.
The fabric selection centres around nice quality woven and knit basics at fair prices. They also offer complete designer ranges from Eglantine & Zoé and Lady McElroy.
You’ll also find lots of independent pattern brands and an excellent range of haberdashery, including some of the harder to find Prym gadgets and Kylie and the Machine labels.
Spotlight – West Melbourne stores
spotlightstores.com/store-finder
- Maribyrnong – Highpoint Homemaker Centre, 179 Rosamond Road, Maribyrnong
- Burnside – Western Hwy & Chisholm Dr, Burnside
Lincraft – West Melbourne stores
Maribyrnong – Highpoint Shopping Centre, 200 Rosamond Road, Maribyrnong
Fabric stores in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs
Tylers Fabrics
tylersfabrics.com.au
58 Cremorne St, Cremorne
Best for: Couture bridal and special occasion fabrics
Tylers are an extremely well established couture fabric house, operating in Melbourne since 1978. In fact, I bought my bridal fabric from them 20 years ago and they have grown and developed their specialty even more since then.
They offer an absolutely stunning range of beaded and embellished fabrics such as luxurious silks, beaded laces, textured embroideries and high quality tulles. They probably have one of the most comprehensive bridal ranges in Melbourne.
What they also offer is a wealth of knowledge in bridal and special occasion fabrics and how they should be applied. Their staff can give you advice on exactly which fabrics will work best for the design you have in mind. They can also recommend a couture dressmaker if that’s your preference.
They prefer that you book an appointment, but it’s not essential – you can simply pop in as they have a full retail store.
Textile Merchants
textilemerchants.com.au
33-37 Blazey Street, Richmond
Best for: Traditional, high quality prints and weaves, especially for suiting
Textile Merchants (also known as Davisha Merchants) reminds me of an old school tailor’s workroom. They are both a wholesale and retail fabric supplier selling to home sewers and students as well as manufacturers, retailers, tailors, dressmakers and designers.
They specialise in all the luxurious fabrics you’d find in a tailor’s atelier – wool, cashmere, flannel, shirting and suiting. Think traditional, high quality and understated prints and weaves such as pin stripes, herringbone, checks and plains (very Melbourne). Particularly noteworthy is Textile Merchant’s range of Italian lining. I’m a sucker for a flamboyant coat lining, and their offering is fabulous!
You can buy their fabric online but they have a much more extensive inventory in their warehouse in Richmond (open Monday to Friday).
Silk World
silkworld.com.au
Suite 1, 85-87 Charles St, Kew
Best for: Silk and other special occasion fabrics
Silk World offers bridal and special occasion fabrics including silk, lace and tulle. As their name suggests, they specialise in silk and have a sumptuous range of many different types including satin chiffon, crepe de chine, sandwash satin through to a deluxe heavy crepe satin.
Established for 30 years, their staff are extremely knowledgeable and can help you decide on the best fabric selection for your chosen style. They import directly from international suppliers and sell both wholesale and retail quantities (minimum order is one metre).
The Silk World store is located in Kew and is an easy walk from the 109 tram. If you’re driving, parking is available on site. If you’re shopping online, they have a nice easy to navigate web site and quite an extensive range available, although not their full stockholding.
Nuno Nuno
nunonuno.com.au
18 Hamilton Street, Mont Albert
Best for: Japanese quilting fabrics, beautiful sewing books and stitching trinkets and gifts
Nuno Nuno is a gorgeous little store in leafy Mont Albert. It’s part of the Mont Albert shopping village; a heritage shopping precinct adjoining the beautifully preserved Edwardian railway station.
Nuno Nuno’s fabric offering has a strong focus on Japanese textiles for quilting and stitching, especially sashiko embroidery. Their range also includes some nicely curated fabrics suitable for clothing and other general crafts such as a rainbow of toasty wool felt.
There is a great range of contemporary sewing patterns and a particularly lovely library of sewing books including the very hip, independent sewing magazine, Tauko.
What I find most interesting about this store is they’ve managed to include a range of gifts and other trinkets that make so much sense for their textile loving customers. These include craft kits, Japanese ceramics, essential oil perfumes, stainless steel clothes pegs and Melbourne map jigsaws!
You can buy Nuno’s fabric online, but their web site is a bit clunky. I think that means you need to treat yourself and pop into the store – it has such a lovely vibe!
Darn Cheap Fabrics
1184-1188 Glenhuntly Rd, Glenhuntly
Also at Fitzroy. See the description under Melbourne’s Eastern suburbs.
Spotlight – Eastern suburbs
spotlightstores.com/store-finder
- Box Hill – 313 Middleborough Rd, Box Hill
- Bayswater – 224 – 234 Canterbury Road, Bayswater North
- The Glen – The Glen Shopping Center, 235 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley
Fabric stores in Melbourne’s South East
D’Italia
ditalia.com.au
62 Glenferrie Road, Malvern
Best for: Bridal fabric, special occasion fabric and custom couture wedding dress service
D’Italia specialise in bridal and special occasion fabrics. They sell their fabric by the metre and also offer a bespoke wedding gown service for brides, bridesmaids and mothers of the bride.
This involves meeting with a designer and working together to choose styles and fabrics for your dress. Their seamstresses will then fit and sew the dress specifically for you. They also offer a range of pre-made bridal gowns.
Their bridal fabrics include beautiful French and beaded lace, intricate trims and embellishments and luxurious Italian silks. They also limited edition designer prints from Versace, Gucci, Chanel, Dolce Gabbana and Pucci. A nicely curated range of wool and cashmere fabrics round out the range.
D’Italia don’t sell their fabric online – you’ll need to visit the store for that. But you will find loads of contemporary wedding dress inspiration and advice on their blog and gorgeous photos of their recent work in their web site gallery.
Queen of Fabric
queenoffabric.com.au
387 Bay Street, Brighton
Best for: Vintage quilt fabrics with a modern twist
Queen of Fabric is the quintessential quilting store – bright and fresh and full of luscious, beautifully made quilts. Wandering around the shop gives a distinct vintage quilting vibe with a modern twist.
The quilting fabric on offer ranges from the traditional to the contemporary, but leans slightly more towards the traditional. The ranges include Liberty of London along with a tightly curated collection of small scale prints, specifically chosen for their suitability for quilting.
Vintage style haberdashery, embroidery kits and gifts for crafty folk round out their offering.
If you’re interested in brushing up on your quilting or stitching skills, Queen of Fabric also offers a packed schedule of quilting and stitching classes.
Kim Anh Fabrics
26A Portman Street, Oakleigh
Best for: Discount fabric and haberdashery
Kim Anh’s is one of those fabric stores that only the locals know about. They have a crazy amount of stock with fabric rolls spilling out onto the footpath – literally! In fact, it’s sometimes hard to get into the store because there is just so much.
The store is located in the heart of the Oakleigh shopping village, nestled in amongst the Greek butchers, fish mongers, continental delicatessens, and just quietly, a few stores up from the Oakleigh Donut Company (under no circumstances should you leave Oakleigh without sampling these!).
Kim Anh’s fabric offering is very much at the discount end of the price scale. No matter what you’re looking for, you’ll probably find it there – stretch knits in every type of composition and print, plain cottons, linens, velvets, wool blends and a good range of linings.
Their haberdashery isles are overflowing with a great range of everything you’ll need for dressmaking at excellent prices. The standouts are well priced elastic in many different sizes and types, cheap overlocker threads and mountains of zippers.
Spotlight – South eastern suburbs
spotlightstores.com/store-finder
- Carnegie – Shop 14, 2 Koornang Road, Carnegie
- Sandown – 819 – 825 Princes Highway Corner Springvale Road, Sandown
- Mentone – 27 – 29 Nepean Hwy, Mentone
- Fountain Gate – Corner Narre Warren North Road & Victor Cres, Narre Warren
- Frankston – 111 Cranbourne Road, Frankston
- Cranbourne – Corner South Gippsland Highway & Thompsons Road, Cranbourne
Lincraft – South eastern suburbs
- Malvern – 127 Wattletree Road, Malvern
- Frankston – Bayside Shopping Centre, 28 Beach Street, Frankston
Fabric stores near Melbourne
Amitie Textiles
amitie.com.au
87 Beach Road, Torquay
Best for: A huge range of contemporary quilting fabric and gourmet café
Amitie is owned by respected quilting teacher, Jen Kingwell, author of several quilting books and patterns and designer of some interesting quilting tools.
Jen Kingwell’s most recent book, Quilt Recipes is a compilation of quilting patterns and recipes for comforting baked goods. This book is both practical and beautiful – it’s packed full of the most gorgeous, contemporary lifestyle photos shot in country Victoria.
The store is located in Torquay, just outside Melbourne. It’s a huge store and offers a massive range of quilting fabrics, tools, books and patterns. But that’s not all, the store also includes a café serving light lunches, good coffee and scrumptious morning and afternoon teas. Coffee, food and fabric – what a winning combination!
No matter what type of quilting you’re into, you’ll find fabric to suit at Amitie. They do have a particularly good range of contemporary designs though, many sourced from Japan.
Amitie really is a destination fabric store – there’s lots to see and it’s brilliantly set up for classes and events. A short 90 minute drive from Melbourne, you could easily spend the best part of the day there, browsing the fabric shelves, maybe doing a class and most definitely sampling the gourmet offerings at the café.
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