The Guys Fabric Shopping Survival Guide

[Geoff Withnell]

Having been married to a professional dressmaker for 43 years, here is my advice for surviving trips to the fabric store.

Step 1. Bring a book. I now use technology and bring my Nook, to make sure I have enough reading material.

Step 2. Fabric stores ALWAYS have chairs. The most comfortable will be in the sewing machine sales area, in front of sewing machines. If there is no sewing machines sales at the store you are in (unlikely but possible), there IS a pattern book table, with chairs.

Step 3. Sit in your selected chair and read. If asked to pass a particular pattern lots of book, smile, and pass it.

You will get lots of smiling approval, since you are both there supporting your wife's sewing project, AND staying out of her way.

[The Q]

Sadly SWMBOs favourite fabric shop is tiny, probably less than 10x20 ft of which one quarter is the till, counter and cutting table the rest is stacked floor to Ceiling both sides with material. If I can escape without having to give an opinion, there's a cafe 3 shops down!
I only know of one shop with chairs and that's Lakeland, a purveyor of small kitchen equipment. That has chairs just inside with daily papers to read.
But this problem of Shopping with SWMBO can easily apply to almost any shop except the railway modelling shop, then she wanders off somewhere else! but at least I don't try to get her opinion on something she has no knowledge of.
Our normal trips to town start with the Newsagents so that I can deposit myself on a bench in the high street and read while she takes hours and comes out with nothing. it gets a bit cold in the winter...

[Stitchwiz]

Having been married to a professional dressmaker for 43 years, here is my advice for surviving trips to the fabric store.

Step 1. Bring a book. I now use technology and bring my Nook, to make sure I have enough reading material.

Step 2. Fabric stores ALWAYS have chairs. The most comfortable will be in the sewing machine sales area, in front of sewing machines. If there is no sewing machines sales at the store you are in (unlikely but possible), there IS a pattern book table, with chairs.

Step 3. Sit in your selected chair and read. If asked to pass a particular pattern lots of book, smile, and pass it.

You will get lots of smiling approval, since you are both there supporting your wife's sewing project, AND staying out of her way.

We obviously need to work on our stores on this side of the pond. I haven't seen a chair anywhere in a fabric store in all my years sewing - not in Canada or in the USA. Maybe they're worried the staff will use them - as if...

Great team work. I like your flexibility, Geoff.