WHAT ARE DEADSTOCK FABRICS?!

What is deadstock fabric and how on earth did we end up collecting one tonne a month?

Watch the video or read the article :)

WHAT IS IT?

Any manufacturing comes with surplus. It could be anything from production errors to clients' change of heart. The reasons are none of our business and we have no influence on the amount or quality of the textile waste, ok?

Usually these fabrics end up somewhere not very pretty. We don’t like that and so we embarked on a mission to save as much as a small team of two possibly can. As of November 2022 it’s one tonne a month.

WHAT FABRICS DO YOU HAVE?

We see your searches on our website for lace, silks and wools. But at the moment we only work with one manufacturer and stock exclusively waxed cotton.

WHAT IS WAXED COTTON?

Waxed cotton is one of the oldest waterproof fabrics and is very traditional for the British isles. In general, there are two types of waxed cloth: “wet” wax when you can feel the waxed layer and “dry’ wax that looks like any other fabric but has a nice crisp to it.

"WET" WAX

"Wet" wax generally needs special coated lining: it serves as a protective layer and prevents wax leaking through and also serves as an additional water-resistant layer. It comes in all sorts of weights, from very lightweight & sheer, to very heavy ones.

With time these fabrics take on an iconic aged leather look: they leave marks as you crunch them. The more you work with them, you will feel how the texture changes and they become softer. Wet waxed cottons can not be washed, they only allow a gentle spot removal with a wet cloth. Once a year or so you can reapply wax to restore its water-proof qualities. 

How water proof is it? VERY! We once had a flood in the storage and we build a swimming pool using wet wax fabric, It held the water for days.

DRY WAX

"Dry" waxed fabrics don’t require lining, are perfect for lightweight jackets and every day clothes. They make the most beautiful crispy noise. They also come in all sorts of weights: from extremely floaty drapey ones to really heavy types. They are weather resistant (windproof and will protect you from mild rain) but they won’t protect you  from the heavier showers. Dry waxed fabrics generally can be washed on low temperatures and can be ironed on low heat.

WHAT’S THE MINIMUM ORDER?

We used to have 1m as a minimum order but now it’s three metres. Due to the nature of deadstock fabrics, each roll is a lottery. We could have a 20m continuous length of one fabric and then there could be a damaged area or samples cut out right in the middle if the roll.

When we collect fabrics, we are not given any indications of types, colours, weights, metres. It’s a pure lottery and it’s our job to sort it all out.

Three metre cuts are enough for most of the projects and allow us to make sure we know exactly how much fabric we have. We don’t have facilities or machines to do the job for us. 

Also this way we reduce the amount of unnecessary extra packaging and shipping for just one metre orders. We are in this business with the passion for textiles. We want our customers to share this passion.

HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT’S WHAT

When we get a new fabric, it goes through the following process. We cut a first metre off (it’s usually a bit dirty due to transportation). We then put it out our super-precise scales: the weight per linear metre is getting assigned to the product and will then determine the shipping costs. From that we calculate the GSM - fabric’s weight per square metre and add it to the description. Then it is getting photographed in our studio. Then it’s editing and writing descriptions for each fabric. And coming up with a name of course. Then we cut the roll into 3m cuts and add quantities to the shop. And we repeat the same with every single fabric.

THE FABRIC I WANT IS SOLD OUT, WHEN WILL IT BE BACK?

We don’t know. We don’t place orders, what we do is technically called collecting waste. Some fabrics might come back next month, some might be discontinued by the manufacturer. They also work on many custom projects and some fabrics are truly exclusive remnants from very high end fashion brands. If you see something that you want, get it now. It might be your only chance!

DO YOU OFFER SAMPLES?

No, we don’t. Our Prices are 50-70% off the RRP, we are a small team of two and we don’t have any capacity to offer samples for small orders. We do send a cute thank you card with each first order that is also a small sample book to help our customers get a better idea of how to look after fabrics and give them a feel of what else we have in the shop. 

DO YOU OFFER WHOLESALE?

Yes we do! If you are a small brand or a start up, get in touch with us and we can discuss your needs and what we have in stock to help you grow your business without breaking the bank. The demand for our fabrics is huge and we are very picky who we work with. If we feel that we don’t align, we reserve the right to deny a sale. 

SHIPPINGS: WHERE AND HOW MUCH

We offer free UK shipping on the orders over £80 and sometimes on some individual products like our best selling mystery boxes. We constantly monitor the prices from the Royal Mail and adjust our shipping prices accordingly. We do not keep the money you pay for shipping: we pay them straight back to the couriers. 

Shipping costs to the USA, Canada & Mexico are very high and there’s nothing we can do about it. We know that many of our American customers appreciate the fact that our prices are so low that it’s worth paying the shipping. One metre of waxed cotton in the US can be easily found for $37, when we sell 3 metres for £25 :) 

If you want, look into payment plans we have with Klarna, that might help you spread the cost for three months. This option appears at the check-out.

As for the EU, at the moment we don’t trade with Europe. We have had a few really bad issues with the major delivery companies and its just not worth our time. We also can’t tell you what import taxed you’ll have to pay as they are different for each country.

We might consider shipping to EU on individual basics if you agree to use a more expensive but more reliable courier. 

Any more questions? Fell free to ask!