Hi everyone!
Do you have any fabric shops to recommend that would have a good selection of either:
New in town so any recos would help!
Cheers!
‘Simply fabrics’ in Brixton, mind they have two shops on the same street, one selling fabrics by metre, second with some fabrics but mostly all that other stuff like needles, threads etc.
You can always try Goldhawk Road, Shepherds Bush end. There are a lot of shops there but you get what’s there and when it’s gone that’s it.
thank you both! I know what I’m doing tomo afternoon! 
Simply fabrics are totally selling offcuts of leather for a couple of quid. At least last time I was looking for some!
It depends what quality you are looking for, but for cheap knits (and wovens for that matter) East Street market generally has a decent stall. Great for knocking up basic things and for toiles.
Another great place, but a bit of a trek, is Walthamstow Market on a Saturday - a few stalls and some shops all on one parade.
They’re definitely not cheap, but I’ve liked the fashion fabric selections (and patterns!) at Ray Stitch and The Village Haberdashery.
Thanks @TracyD and @Lauren! I will slowly but surely VISIT THEM ALL 
Reporting back after my Simply Fabrics visit!
you can’t change what your eyes want), trims and general haberdashery finds at a reasonable price! I’ll defo go back for thatthe folks who work there are super nice too, ended up telling them about my life so I might pop in regularly just for a chat hihi
To be continued… 
For leather have a look at
[https://goo.gl/maps/HfGTJtVQVTmW6Yp76](http://CUT MAKE TRIM LONDON) in Shadwell. I have been there before and they have a good selection of new and second hand leathers.
There is also GH leathers which has a huge choice.
@StudioNelle might know some more 
I’ve visited http://www.schallandson.com/ for leather
They have an ebay shop as well. (ebay)
They are really nice and we bought from them a few times. used to be in central London a while back.
Downside is that it’s a little far.
It’s a really nice family owned place and they were very patient with us walking around and chosing the hides we wanted.
Hackney -
for wovens and general faabrics - woolcrest ltd (warehouse of fabrics). Best prices for heavy wovens (you can negotiate on price if buying bulk)
for leather - JT Batchelors . Don’t be put off by the frosty welcome, they warm up. You get the best advise from there long term customers re leather crafting.
thanks all very much!! I think this will turn into a little fabric shop directory when I’m done visiting all these 
Exciting
Meant to update this as I visit shops for reference
My next try was Fabrics Galore and I was impressed by the variety (in weave, colour, fibers, weight), size and quality of the selection they have, especially for a small/medium sized store!
Some notable finds:
I’m not into that and I was still super happy because the plain ones were great too: beautiful chambrays, cotton lawns, linens, denim, viscose, double gauze, flannels, small selection of wools, I think some velvets (that looked more like upholstery to my ignorant touch at least) and a surprisingly varied range of “specialty” stuff like waterproof fabrics and pretty synthetic fur. Not huge on the fancier evening wear types like silk or satins but a couple. Leather I didn’t see.
Basically: unlike other stores I’ve seen that make fabric shopping feel like finding a needle in a haystack of stuff you don’t want… this is a beautifully organised shop with beautiful things. defo recommend!!
This is a great reference, thanks!
I’m designing (very generous use of the word) some custom outdoor cushion covers to fit a roughly chopped up old foam mattress. I’ll need some waterproof material for outers…
oh nice! I have no experience with that type of fabric but the ones I saw look like they would work for you: their thickness feels like rain coat material. There’s a really nice khaki green one I have my eyes on trying when I draft a rain coat pattern - can keep you posted (and also remember a crazy fluo orange that I thought would make for cool accents for the bold types if you belong to our community 
)
P.S: oh you’re totally designing
I’m totally into the idea of using some fluro accents, but not sure my fiancée will agree 
maybe some tasteful little applique accents could allow you to meet in the middle
color inspo
my idea was to cut out a single thick vertical stripe (or 3 small ones adidas style) at the back of my rain coat . You could have similar stripes on your pillows, or even just little rectangular tags on the side seam, or applique stars if you’re feeling funky the ratio of one color vs the other you choose makes such a difference and it makes the introduction of bold colors fit either the taste of the “in your face” or the “keep it tasteful pls” fans. ideas they might give you a sample and you can play around, I find these things hard to truly visualize in my mind or even on drawing software personally, real life color nuances can look totally different
(See? designing!)
Hello I am a new member .Trish
I have a lot of soft green leather to donate if you are interested ?
Welcome Trish! Amazing! I think we always welcome leather donations. That’s very generous. I hope you can make one of our crafter meetups on 1st and 3rd Tuesdays!