What's To Know About Fabworks?

Fabworks: Your Home For Great Quality Fabric

Welcome to Fabworks Online, brought to you by Fabworks Mill Shop in West Yorkshire, England! Fabworks has a huge array of fabrics to choose from. Whether you need some wool to throw around your neck to keep out the winter chill, or a stretchy jersey for a bespoke T-shirt, Fabworks has it all!

Fabworks Mill Shop – January 2015

Just some of the shirting cottons available at Fabworks Mill Shop (2015)

One-off dressmaking remnants only available in the Mill Shop

 A brief history of the business

Fabworks Online is the offshoot of a well-established family-run business, Fabworks Mill Shop, based in Dewsbury West Yorkshire. The first company was set up in 1905, when the original family members were trading in reclaimed textiles and shoddy waste, at a time when this part of Yorkshire was renowned as being the heart of the manufacture, production and distribution of fine woolen cloth.

Eighty-five years, several family split-offs and three generations took the business into the 1990s, with the changing economic climate showing a need to diversify. This idea developed in the form of a tiny pop-up retail shop at the front of what is now Fabworks Mill Shop, selling remnants and bit-bags on occasional Saturday mornings. In a gradual move that has now repositioned the entire company, textile retailer Fabworks Mill Shop has become the mainstay of the business. Throughout the continuous changes, the independently-run family firm has retained its core values and operates today as a flexible and friendly environment with a 'can-do' attitude, putting customer satisfaction first.

Fabworks Mill Shop and Fabworks Online work in unison, out of the same building. The Fabworks Online team are constantly adding new fabrics to the website, making small tweaks to the website to make things even easier, posting on social media and doing our best to provide you with the best version of Fabworks that we can.

 

Fabworks Mill Shop

Mill Shop History:

The bustling, well-stocked mill shop of today is a far cry from its early days in 1996. Very slowly, the business grew as word of mouth spread about the variety of stock – from vibrant and colourful kite-fabrics (rip stop nylon) to occasional rolls of cashmere – combined with great accessibility from nearby motorways and rail links, excellent prices and unexpected treasures.

What you can expect to find in the Mill Shop:

Fabworks Mill Shop today mirrors its former self but with even more variety and covering nearly 5,000 square feet, supplies every range of fabric from soft furnishings and accessories through to dressmaking linens, wools, shirtings, leather and all sorts of other haberdashery supplies. All of the Fabworks staff are fabric enthusiasts with a vast collective knowledge, gained through experience in industry, fashion and design as well as costume and textiles degrees. With close links to many of the local and also not so local universities and colleges, we pride ourselves on the fact that we’re supporting and helping future generations of fashion designers, costumiers, artists and makers, etc..

Not confident around fabric?

Fabworks Mill Shop staff have a great attitude towards helping both new and old customers fulfilling their dressmaking dilemmas and fabric needs. You’re sure to find a friendly and welcoming atmosphere in the Mill Shop, which is open to the public six days a week and attracts visitors from across Yorkshire and beyond.

Did you know that dressmaking fabrics have recently become popular for use as curtaining, such as wool tweeds and fine linens? Visit Fabworks Mill Shop for all fabric needs, especially if you’re in the market for curtaining.

Why Fabworks is unique:

99.9% of the fabrics on sale at Fabworks are limited in availability; the changing variety is only part of the attraction! Fabworks supplies a vast and extensive range of fabrics for all occasions. More than half of the floor space at Fabworks Mill Shop is consists of dressmaking fabric. Dive into the old wicker remnant baskets to rummage for bargains, browse the hundreds of shirting cottons for blouse, dress and shirt inspiration, warm up with the cosy woollens and much more. Try some quick and easy makes with jersey and scuba fabrics, as well as beautiful linings, fine occasion wear fabrics, worsteds, linens, denim, trims, buttons and other haberdashery items, including a fully stocked Gutterman thread and Habico haberdashery stand.

Furnishing fabrics for the home:

If you’re visiting to browse the soft furnishings, take your pick from hundreds of curtaining and upholstery fabrics, all of which are in-stock and available on the day you visit. If we don’t stock just what you’re looking for there are a range of pattern books from various popular soft furnishing companies, such as Prestigious Textiles, Edinburgh Weavers, Clarke & Clarke, and Casa Deco, all available to view in-store.

Stock control: Mill Shop vs Online

Debating whether to visit the Mill Shop or order online? Fabworks Mill Shop works from the same stock as Fabworks Online and offers all Fabworks Online stock as well as many many individual one-off pieces that don’t get to see the website, plus the entire soft furnishing range.

Want to see more? Take a virtual tour of Fabworks Mill Shop here

Click here to see our page with all the information you will need for planning a visit to Fabworks Mill Shop

 

Fabworks Online

With the fifth generation of the family joining the business, it soon became obvious that setting up an online shop was the next step, enabling Fabworks to provide customers both near and far with a further level of service.

We can now send your fabrics worldwide! Send us an email if you need any advice and we'll do whatever we can to help.

Fabworks Online offers a wide selection of dressmaking solutions, from lightweight cotton shirtings through to heavy weight wools, along with fabrics from the more popular dressmaking ranges at Fabworks Mill Shop. In addition, special one-off exclusive lines are offered online only, such as the Fabworks Exclusive Avoca Wool heritage collection, which was specially commissioned for Fabworks.

The staff behind the scenes at Fabworks Online are constantly working to add more fabrics, improve website usability and encourage people to buy fabric online. Dressmaking fabrics have recently become popular for use as curtaining, such as wool tweeds and fine linens. If you’re in the market for curtaining please visit the Mill Shop or give us a call!

Warehouse stock ready and waiting for Mill Shop and Online customers

Fabric samples for Fabworks Online

Fabric icons used as visual aides to distinguish between collections: Multicoloured Shirting Cottons

Stay in touch!

For daily updates about what we're up to at Fabworks follow our social media pages: Facebook & Instagram