I went fabric shopping in Japan.

Non-buyer's remorse. Do you get that? When you see something you like and leave it behind. I did that a fair bit on this trip to Japan. I don't regret that decision yet, but I may one day soon.

It was a different sort of trip for me. Personal buying with no worries about filling a shop. No concerns about what might please the masses. It didn't matter if it was an old print or a new one. I just bought what I loved in a reasonable "personal" size quantity. No projects in mind, no purpose.

It's been seven months since I was last in Tokyo, and it was also a bit unusual this time around. Many more American designers and fabric producers were featured in the mainstream Japanese fabric stores. Some of the largest displays were Anna Griffin, Alexander Henry Larkspur and Junebug, and Robert Kaufmann joined the party with a large showing of Metro prints relegating Japanese fabrics to the back of the shelves.

If I were buying on a larger scale, I would have certainly picked up more of the Kokka and Kei vintage reproduction prints. They were quite nice, but I decided to wait. Possibly some of the Suzuko Paris prints too, though the sheen on them didn't sit well.

So well under luggage quota and without taxing a credit card, here's a tasting of what I bought:


A couple of orange and brown Keis and a new Suzuko. The top Kei is probably the decision I regret this most. This came in seven or eight colourways. I loved them all, but only picked up this tiny 50cmx35cm piece.

Then I bought some blues including a stack of newsprint style pieces. I spied some Bon Vivant which I missed in America, so I grabbed that too.


There was no shortage of text buying, and yet I left many prints behind. The Suzuko, Munsell and Lecien were my favourite. A tad embarrassing as I already have a pile of the Suzuko at home, and know that Lakehouse newsprint was popped in the post for me on the day I arrived in Japan.


It wasn't intentional, but a palette of deep pink, green and grey managed to win me over. I pulled my bags together when I returned to Australia; it was then that I noticed what looked like the start of a new project. Though they combine Kumiko Fujita, Yuwa, Lecien, Liberty, Munsell and more, they could well have come from one collection. I can't wait to get started on something with these.




The most heartbreaking fabric is the macaroons. I set out to find a print that we saw swatches of from our Yuwa distributor which were macaroons on a deep dark linen. They were stunning, but never made it to us. I really hoped, I'd stumble on them in Tokyo. At a loss to find them in Japan, I settled for the closest alternative. I'm really loving this obscure colour palette right now. Have you seen any projects made up in that deep pink/bright green/grey colour palette?

There were some other prints picked up here and there, but the oddest of which had to be this blinged out Pop Pop Drops print. I don't ordinarily buy anything with gold or glitter on it, but each time I tried to walk away the bolt called me back and found it's way into my hands. So I came home with this odd-ball print with spelling mistakes galore and phrases like Caution Chickie!



Craig assures me that the glitter will fly off after a few spins through the dryer. Then I can dive in and sew with this oddity.

I feel a bit indulgent posting about my stash, but I've had a few requests to show me the goods! They may not be for everyone, but they are quite good for me.

Have you been out fabric shopping lately?