Fabric in Bangkok
 

We will be in Bangkok next month, and want to purchase fabric for bedding (to be made at home)- duvet, bed skirt, etc. Where would be the best place to shop? We will also be in Hong Kong - would we be better off shopping there? Thanks, Fran

fran---what kind of fabric: silk, cotton, other??

jim thompson has fantastic stuff both at its main store on suriwong at rama IV or at its main outlet on soi 93, sukhumvit rd.....savings at the outlet of approximately 40+%.....great selection....we were just there earlier this month....5 floors of stuff...

there are other fabric outlets around town....there is a huge one at the corner of asoke and sukhumvit as well as in some of the malls around town...

we have also had things made for practically nothing at paya which used to be around soi 53, sukhumvit, but has now moved....give them a call for their new location....they made us a fantastic double fouton cover for $80 including the heavy fabric...you will need exact measurements however....they have tons of fabric to choose from

Fabric and especially, the sewing will be much less in Bangkok than in Hong Kong.

Jim Thompson, which gets mentioned often here, has two outlet stores with lots of fabric (cotton/linen as well as silk).

Go into Amarin Plaza(mall) at Chitlom skytrain station. There are a lot of fabric stores in there. Maybe you'll find something. Or you can ask the shop owners in there where to look for the type of fabric you need. I shop in there a lot. Happy Travels!

Quick tip: Jim Thomspon definitely had the nicest fabric, silk products that I have saw in Bangkok. My only comment of note is that to avoid the tax back hassle that you have to go through at the airport, and if you didn't make it to the outlet, you may want to consider making your purchases at the airport. They have several Jim Thompson stores there, and everything is about 10% less.

BUT... the selection at the airport is very small. And 10% less than the regular retail prices and no bolts of fabric...

The outlet stores have fabric for 50% off and more, and you still get the VAT refund. We went through the VAT refund process at the new airport just a few weeks ago. It was very quick and easy. Remember, you have to get the store to fill out a form for you, and you have to go to customs for the VAT inspection (which seems to consist of stamping a paper) before you check in for your flight. You get your cash after passing through passport control.

do not wait for the airport...btw, i commented to my wife that we did not see one JT store at the new airport in 4 visits there last month..

Bob, we did see JT stores at the new airport, but there is never much selection there.