I can’t explain the joy I get from designing my own clothes. Not only is it rewarding to wear something that actually fits you perfectly but also nice knowing that you won't run into someone on the street wearing the same dress. Every garment begins with fabric; it is the fabric that brings a design to life. You can dramatically alter your design’s end result by simply changing the cloth you make it from. So I never plan the design and buy fabric, instead, I first pick the fabrics and then decide how I design is based on the colour, its fall and my mood.
If you are in Bangalore and looking for some unique fabrics at a very, very affordable price (or if you are a fabric junkie like me), you have to check out the wholesale fabric market – Ramchandrapuram. It's an export surplus market and sells fabric by meters and by kilos (yes, you read it right). Every few months the fabrics are new and they have a great mix of cotton, linen, felt, sheer fabrics with many modern prints varying from florals to geometric and animal prints. If you are experimental enough, you can even buy fabric for your cushion covers, curtains sofa seats or even sarees.
Don’t end up on a wild goose chase for the perfect fabric, as this may not be the perfect market for that. Rather explore the fabrics to see if that suits your design. Some of the fabric pieces sold by kilos may not be sufficient for your dress or blouse, so please go with a rough idea of the length of the fabric you require, before you buy it. Always know your fabrics. The options and variety can be overwhelming, I know. Some fabrics shrink after wash and some bleed. So stick to the fabrics you know well, like kinds of cotton, linens, and rayon.
Don’t forget to check the finish of the fabric. For me, the finish of the fabric is extremely important. If you are shopping for the first time, just go with your gut feeling. This is not one of those fancy markets, so go with realistic expectations. Here are two dresses I got stitched from the fabrics I got at RC Puram.
The post first appeared on the blog Style Inked. Read the full post here.