Why Japanese fabric?
We believe in the value of Japanese fabric, but perhaps you’re still unsure. Here are some thoughts to help you decide if adding Japanese fabric to your retail offerings is the right move.
Cons:
Higher cost
Limited availability
Some designs are very culture specific
Colors might seem a little odd (yellow/green, anyone?)
Long wait times for delivery
Unusual textures and substrates
Pros:
Higher quality materials and manufacturing standards
High demand
Niche designs appeal to cosplayers, US-based Japanese customers
Wider variety of colors than Western designers
Build customer anticipation with longer leads
Unusual textures and substrates (Try something new and find out how beautiful it can be)
Let’s take a look at these one by one.
Higher cost & higher quality
Japanese production standards are the highest in Asia. Quilters and home sewists in Japan have high expectations, and the producers work to keep up with that demand, much to the benefit of the international market.
Limited availability & higher demand
Japan is a much smaller country than the US and the type of massive warehouses we have here don’t really exist in Japan. Limited edition or seasonal designs sell out quickly, and even standard reprinted lines may be manufactured in smaller runs than in the US so they aren’t readily available at all times.
Culture specific & niche
There is a large demand for traditional Japanese designs on the West Coast, due to a larger population of Japanese-American families who enjoy the traditional designs they remember from their parents and grandparents. Some West Coast fabric stores feature an “Asian Fabric” section with Japanese-style designs. Further east, however, customers can’t find these selections in their local stores and go online to get what they want. Cosplayers especially seek out Japanese-specific designs for their costumes and also for home decor, gifts, and just for fun.
Additionally, parts of the Japanese aesthetic can play well with spare Scandinavian designs, with romantic florals and soft-colored botanicals, and even with 19th and early 20th century reproduction fabrics.
Unusual colors & more of them
Our Western color palette can be a little too bright and limited to basics sometimes. Japanese colors can come across as old fashioned, “dusty”, muted, or just hard to pin down. There are shades of colors that don’t have a proper name here, but can refer to a type of tea, an animal, a flower, or a plant in Japan, making them more easily recognizable there. “Indigo” isn’t just a shade of blue, it involves MANY shades of blue, depending on how many times the fabric has been dipped in an indigo vat. Pale sky blue? That can be indigo, or described as “watery blue”. Deep blue, almost inky black? Also indigo. The Japanese palette is more accustomed to natural dyes, and you’ll see a lot of that in their modern, chemically-dyed fabrics as well.
Long wait time & building anticipation
We see fabric shops on Instagram promoting “this just in!” announcements when their orders arrive from Japan, and those fabrics sell out fast. Yes, it might take up to six months from your order until you receive your fabric, but in that time you can plan a promotion, design a kit, and get customers on your newsletter to salivate over the upcoming delivery.
Unusual textures & something new
What’s up with cotton/linen blends, dobby, double gauze, jacquard, yarn dyed, and homespun fabrics? If all you know is basic quilter’s weight cotton, the variety of Japanese fabrics available can be mind boggling. Don’t let that stop you from trying different textures, weaves, and fibers. Cotton/linen blend fabrics often range from 80% cotton/20% linen to 55% linen/45% cotton and can be coarse and heavy, or fine and soft. Dobby offers a pleasant “woven” texture at a reasonable price, Japanese double gauze is the softest there is, and jacquard can be pure elegance. Yarn dyed fabrics are in high demand among those who enjoy the applique designs of artists such as Yoko Saito and Junko Matsuda.
We invite you to enter the world of Japanese fabrics and test the waters, if you haven’t already. And if you have, maybe dip your toe a little further and sample something different. Japanese fabric is more than “indigo” colored cottons or bright geisha prints. There are amazing florals, funky block prints, wild graphics, and cute juvenile prints to explore, too.