C & H Fabrics

I was on a mission to get some cool fabric in order to make a costume for a fancy dress ball I was attending recently. C & H Fabrics was my first port of call.
I’ve only been in there a couple of times before, when my mum came to visit and decided she wanted to stock up on wool.
The staff here were really friendly and helpful, especially since I was trying to explain the kind of look I wanted to creat (but I don’t think I was making any sense whatsoever). The two ladies that served me were very patient and told me the best way to go about making my outfit, which was really helpful of them.
They told me there are going to be sewing/​knitting classes in the near future, and I think I may well sign up.

If you like old fashioned style department stores, this is for you. But they could really REALLY do with a bit of a re-​brand and a better use of space. The prices are also not that competitive, which is a shame, as I think they really have a place on the high street, they just need to get some new blood in to add new stuff, reduce prices, and make better use of the huge amounts of space.

I love this shop because of it’s old-​fashioned, courteous approach when it comes to dealing with customers.
I recently bought a cheap pair of flip flops there on a trip into Brighton. On arriving home I found the security tag was still attached so rang the shop (originally) to complain.
When they realised I didn’t actually live in Brighton they asked for my address and shoe size and told me their delivery driver would collect the tagged pair the following day at 2pm and would bring me another pair which they did! He arrived at 2pm on the dot!
I really can’t think of anywhere else you would receive such excellent service. They deserve the 5 star rating in fact I’d give them 6 out of 5 if I could!
I also recommend their lovely coffee shop if something’s not on display but is on their menu, they are always happy to make it up for you.
Brilliant service from a brilliant company!

C & H Fabrics is a great place for everything from curtains to Christmas presents. I’ve found some absolutely fabulous bargains in here in the past, including a very swish pair of fully lined, chocolate brown, baby blue-​spotted curtains which were reduced from something ridiculous like £170 to the far more reasonable sum of £50.
The staff are also really helpful, first I had someone running around for about 20 minutes trying to find me the right kind of curtain hooks and then a very nice lady patiently explained to me exactly how to hang a curtain something I’d clearly never done before in my life.
They also sell some gorgeous stuff for your home. I bought my Dad and Step-​mum a set of gorgeous hand-​painted, tile coasters for about £30 last Christmas each one is a like little wine-​related artwork, making them far too pretty to actually use as coasters. They’re now displayed rather attractively on their kitchen wall. Lovely.

C&H Fabrics is a fabric emporium situated on Western Road, Brighton. Comprising three floors, the store aims to supply all your general fabric needs, and also has a knitting section. The ground floor is something of a lucky dip. For the most part it’s a treasure trove of birthday presents for people you don’t know or like very much a pair of cushions embroidered ‘chit’ and ‘chat’ for example, or a china cat wearing a bonnet and holding a giant bunch of roses. However, there are serendipitous moments, such as their beautifully made jewellery boxes, which come without the faintest taint of tat. Unless you can be bothered to wade through armies of ornamental grasses in rustic terracotta vases, though, take a sharp right on entry and head upstairs.
The highlights of the store for me are the haberdashery and knitting sections, where I found a wide variety of choice, colour and style to suit different tastes and price ranges. Unfortunately, the previously brilliant dress fabric section seems to have taken the decision to cater only to small children and their grandparents and consequently shows distinct tendencies towards the beige, nylon end of the spectrum. There is, however, a lot of choice if you are kitting yourself out to make costumes for amateur or school theatre productions. Neon netting, golden polyester and fish scale patterns abound, as does a bewildering range of animal prints in nylon, cotton, sateen and faux-​fur. Having said that, there are a couple of stands selling designer prints including some geometric cotton ones that would definitely be both appealing and wearable for the 12 65 age bracket. The remnants table, despite looking beige and unappealing from a distance, on closer inspection yielded some gems including nearly a square metre of fuschia shot silk.
The upholstery section was average, with a wide range of very similar choices of fabric, all of which were quite expensive. However, you can buy pretty much any fixing, trim or accessory you could want, some of which you didn’t even know existed. When you’re replete with zip mending tools, satin ribbons, embroidery silks and unexpected remnants, you can ease your aching PIN finger with a little rest in the tea room. It defies its art-​by-​the-​yard décor with delicious scones and tea and a chatty band of regulars, who will shower you in sartorial compliments and give you knitting tips. The whole store is worth a visit just for the glorious C&H Fabrics high tea.

Now, I’m unsure of how to judge this place on price as some things are very reasonable whilst other things are less so. You can’t argue with the quality, but say I wanted a zip for example — I could pay £6 or so for an individually packaged one in here or skip across the road to fabricland and get one from a big elastic-​banded bunch for 50p. I think it’s worth keeping in mind when you can and can’t afford to compromise on quality. The zip, once sewn in, wasn’t going to be protecting my modesty in any way so I went for the 50p option.
The staff in here always seem really knowledgeable and helpful. There is a free consultation service for made-​to-​measure curtains which I think I’ll try out.
I recently went in just to use their loo but found they had applied a code to the door which they only give out to paying customers because people (like me) were abusing the facility. I managed to get in by doing my best ‘i’m a customer’ face at a nice lady who worked there but felt guilty after that so went on a hunt for something to buy. I found that, incredibly, they have a shoe section and a remarkably tasteful and reasonably-​priced one at that. So I came away with a pair of boots feeling very smug with my purchase.

I didn’t realise how enormous C&H was until I walked in, searching for a single sewing needle to darn my coat pocket. It turned into a three-​level scavenger hunt of the store. Ground floor: odd mix of home décor, like fancy cushions, jewellery boxes and stands, pictures in frames, photo frames, body lotions and bath stuff and lap-​trays. I suppose it was more extensive than odd. No sewing needle.
First floor: fabrics, tools to hang anything onto anything, thread and the quietest coffee shop in the history of time. There were people in it — I saw them. Maybe I just peeked in at a communal awkward silence. Anyway, no sewing needle.
Second floor: more fabric, zippers, buttons, crafty things, shoes, board games, stationary, yarn, knitting supplies and… sewing needles. Oh, so many needles. I went with what looked like a ‘normal’ range of sizes and paid only £1.45 for a package of about 10.
So, in summary, a success, and I’m definitely going back to that weird coffee shop — there was a sale on soup!

A lovely, old fashioned shop. One of those places you go to as a last restort when you’re looking for something, and find you should have come here first.
They sell all kinds of curtains and fabrics, as well as a few other home décor related items,. and have a good sized craft section too.
Anything to do with fabrics or sewing can be found here, and there’s even an in store café.

Remember that Ikea advert that encouraged people to ‘chuck out their chintz’ and embrace fresher, brighter living rooms? Albeit full of Ikea products of course!
Clearly the person that designed the window displays and demonstration areas for C & H Fabrics never saw it as the shop looks like a homage to chintz. Everywhere you look there’s ruffles, frills, rich materials and bold patterns clashing on top of other bold patterns. If you can get past this however, C & Fabrics is the best place to go to buy high quality materials for curtains, cushions and clothing. As well as the materials on display across the three floors, they also have dozens of sample books filled with plainer and equally luxurious cottons, linens and other materials.
Oh and if you’re not good with the sewing machine or needle and thread yourself, they also offer a service where they’ll make things up. It usually takes 2 – 4 weeks but I ordered about 10 pairs of curtains once for my father in law’s abode and he was delighted with the results. Were they chintz? Thankfully not!

I love C&H Fabrics– it is a treasure trove spread across three floors. This is a craftperson’s heaven. Or indeed a heaven for anyone looking to decorate or redecorate their home. The first floor is given over to sofas, cushions, decorative items– everything ready made and ready to go. Whereas the top two floors stock everything you could possibly ever need to do it yourself– fabrics for curtains as well as for clothing, patterns, wool, needles, thread, buttons, curtain rails, pillows, tools. It’s a haberdashery on steroids and a constant source of useful things as well as good ideas for craft projects for kids– they have great toy kits with the fabric, filler and a pattern for kids to make. They also have a good selection of books on sewing, crafts.etc. There is even a café amongst it all– admittedly it’s geared more towards silver haired ladies but it’s quite pleasant and cheap!

The ground floor does this shop a real disservice, it looks much more antique-​y and twee than it actually is. There’s some appalling ranges of ornaments visible from just inside the door, just behind the curtains etc, that would make many people turn and run.
Upstairs, however, things get much better, very quickly. The next two floors are filled with craft accessories, a huge amount of material of all sorts of calibres, including furniture textiles, which are not terribly easy to obtain, various types of needles, knitting wool, lots of patterns.
There are some women’s clothes, boots, handbags and so on, but they do feel a little out of place — I suspect they’re a historical hangover. It is a little bit in danger of doing a Woolies, i.e. trying to please all markets, while actually pleasing none, but for the moment, its doing well enough.
The café is adorable — it looks to me like a place where people take their mums when the mums don’t want any more Brighton experiences, thank you very much, they just want somewhere nice and quiet with reliable food. That said, I’ve been there on my own, and you can sit and read your book without any problem.

C&H Fabrics is a good old fashined shop. It’s really handy for all your sewing, knitting, furnishing needs. They also sell gifts downstairs and is the kind of place that if you’re looking for some random specific item you’re bound to find it.
Although it is old fashioned and may seem a bit behind with the times they are more up to date than you’d expect with Vouge paterns and beautifull Liberty prints.
There is also a basic but pretty good café and they do student discount.

C & H Fabrics were founded in 1933 and are now concentrated in the south coast area. They are a traditional, old-​fashioned fabric store, selling all sorts of things for the home. As others have said, the ground floor is a total mish-​mash of things — a well ordered curtain section on the left, and an opportunistic mess on the right at the front, which can sell anything from women’s shoes to hand-​bags depending on what they’ve got in. Very strange.
The Brighton store is set over three floors, and keeps a huge range of fabrics in stock, although the patterns tend to be traditional (lots of florals) rather than up-​to-​the-​moment stylish. That said, they stock plenty of plain materials if you have a more minimalist flat: and anyway, chintzes are essential for gifts for great aunts.
In the past I’d found service to be a strong point, but recently it seems to have become more of a mixed bag; when trying to buy curtains recently, I encountered an incredibly snotty saleswoman who could not have patronised me more if she had tried. Needless to say, it completely put me off buying anything here. Others are more helpful, but service can be a bit slow if they have a mini rush on (ie three people in one department at once).
Getting in can be a problem, though: their very traditional opening hours feel rather limited these days — most shops in the area are open later (at least until 18h) and on Sundays, too. Good website, though.