Independent design
Japanese and independent designer fabric
Cloth from independent designers and Japanese mills — the prints that don't appear in a chain store, printed in small runs on cotton, linen and double gauze. When a run is gone it is usually gone for good.
- Small print runs
- Designer named where known
- Cut by the yard
What Japanese fabric is known for
Tight, even weaves, careful printing and finishes with a distinctive soft hand. Double gauze — two fine layers tacked together — is the best known: airy, quick to dry, wonderful for shirts, robes and baby things, and slightly shifty to cut, so pin generously.
Buying from small runs
Independent prints come in limited quantities. Buy the full yardage for your project in one order; a second cut later may come from a different dye lot, or from nothing at all. If you are unsure of yardage, round up.
What we publish
Where we know the designer, mill, print method or country of finishing, it is on the listing. Where a supplier can't tell us, we leave it blank rather than guess.
Questions
- What is double gauze best for?
- Soft shirts, wide dresses, robes, blankets and baby clothes. It is light, breathable and gets softer with every wash. Avoid it where you need crisp structure.
- Will a print be restocked?
- Often not. Independent runs are small, and once a print is out at the source we can't reorder it.