Welcome to The Dressmaker Fabrics, from Marc and Kim.
We’re so thrilled to have you here as a part of our fun and vibrant creative community.
We’ve been in this space in the heart of Leigh-on-Sea for the past four years, but the shop itself has been operating as a fabric store for almost 80 years. Local shoppers might remember it as Belle Fabrics, or even Richardsons Fabrics which was in place for many years before that.
We’ve called it The Dressmaker Fabrics which was inspired by the success of Kim’s shop The Dressmaker, only a few doors down from us on The Broadway. When the shop became available to buy, we knew we had to keep it going as a fabric store so that the community wouldn’t lose this essential gem that has been keeping local residents sewing since the 1960s! We’ve always been involved in fabrics and dressmaking, but it was time to make a big change. Marc left his corporate job in London and shifted his career to the seaside. He couldn’t be happier.
We’re incredibly proud of this heritage as a third-generation fabric shop and we’ve expanded the existing fabric ranges to include a varied collection of quilting cottons, exquisite dressmaking fabrics, upholstery fabrics, knitting yarn, and other modern fabrics and haberdashery items. We also have a thriving online shop, and we ship fabric and supplies all over the UK, as well as internationally.
We renovated the upstairs area to create The Dressmaker Studio which we use for classes and workshops. They’ve proven incredibly popular and now you can explore new crafts, skills and techniques from dressmaking basics to all-day sewing retreats, quilting and patchwork classes, and even crochet and knitting. Social sewing is a big part of what we do and we’re always adding new classes and techniques for our lovely customers. Come learn with Liz, Stacey, Clare, Lara and Kim and discover something new. See a list of our current classes and workshops here. Pop in any time and meet the team!
Kim is stationed a few doors down the street at her own shop (The Dressmaker) where she creates bespoke fashion for events and evening wear, but you can always see Marc, Sarah, Jill, Carol, Tracey and Hannah behind the tills ready to help you find the perfect fabrics for your next project.
We’re incredibly proud of how much we’ve been able to grow this brilliant fabric shop in our time here, and we firmly believe that it is important to shop local and keep our high streets going; we’re going to have The Dressmaker Fabrics here for another 80 years at least! Pop in and see why we’re the preferred choice for fabric, patterns and trims. We look forward to welcoming you.