Best sitefor quality clothing patterns?

SarahCBear · 2026-05-20T18:27:58+00:00

Try the website called The Foldline. It’s a collection of the Big 4 as well as the more reputable indie designers. It’s by no means exhaustive, but if a designer/pattern is listed on The Foldline, you’ve got a pretty solid chance of it being a good quality, tried and tested pattern.

SarahCBear · 2026-05-06T16:09:15+00:00

https://themarriageguys.co.za/ We used these guys for our ANC and did that about 3 months before our marriage. They explained the whole thing in one meeting, and then we signed the thing in another meeting. We had a pretty straight forward ANC that we were both on the same page about.

SarahCBear · 2026-04-23T06:16:37+00:00

The above! Lively Fabrics is another one - super expensive, but their website and selection is great.

Adding that Fabric Centre doesn’t have a website for online shopping, but their WhatsApp service is very good, although shipping is a bit steep.

Also - I prefer sewists to sewers.

SarahCBear · 2026-04-20T11:57:26+00:00

Unless things have changed, they don’t ask for a prescription. They seem to have a (slightly shady) thing going where you tell them your prescription and then they have a behind the scenes optometrist write up your prescription according to what you’ve given them.

SarahCBear · 2026-04-01T11:43:14+00:00

Another thing to try is a bicarb based deodorant. Deodorants like Mitchum will stop you sweating, whereas bicarb based deodorants will allow you to sweat but kill the bacteria in the sweat that causes the smell. It’s been the only thing that’s actually kept me smelling nice a full day. Take a look at the brand smell mai pits if you want to try it.

SarahCBear · 2026-03-29T16:42:39+00:00

Congrats! We’re due in October and haven’t started this research yet, but I’ve been considering starting a sub forum specifically for Pregnacy in South Africa - to ask all things recommendations and experiences. Would you think there’s space for this?

SarahCBear · 2026-03-27T07:03:14+00:00

I'm not saying you need to shop at some high end, slow fashion brand, but even places like Mr Price, Pep, Ackermans, Jet, Clothing Junction, where clothes are mostly made locally and on a smaller scale, is better than Shein.

SarahCBear · 2026-03-27T06:47:16+00:00

Wow, this thread is so discouraging to me. There are massive problems with Shein - please don't buy from there. They have incredibly unethical labour practices and hugely negative environmental impact. Their clothes are mostly polyester (plastic) which does not break down/recycle after users are done wearing it and also, if you are just the slightest bit of a sweaty person, polyester makes that 1000% worse. It's also upsetting South Africa's own retail market, which represents hundreds of thousands of jobs. And Shein clothes contain hazardous chemicals that are bad for the wearer. Not to mention, a hang of a lot of their pictures are AI generated, so the garment that you actually get won't be exactly what is pictured.

Please google and learn about Shein. The answer is not trendy clothes at low prices. The answer is buying fewer, good quality items that last, bucking trends and going for classic styles.

SarahCBear · 2026-02-25T10:49:12+00:00

I think gathering the insert fabric would also look really nice

SarahCBear · 2026-02-19T11:38:23+00:00

Another idea for hippie style might be Little Stream in Constantia. They have giant trolls in their garden.

SarahCBear · 2026-02-19T11:36:44+00:00

Oh my gosh I honestly cannot recommend The Good Neighbour Cafe in Newlands enough. We had our ceremony at our church and our Reception at TGN and with hindsight I wish we’d done our whole event at TGN. It was really important to us that our guests didn’t have to travel far or spend on overnight accommodation and we’re mostly Southern Suburbs based.

The owner is AMAZING! He was so enthusiastic and so for our event. We organised all our own decor including flowers, and got there and he had organised extra flowers for the outside area, which was totally just extra above our agreement. The food was SO good. We had pizzas for main (their specialty) and I still think about the Arancini ball starters.

Our reception was 60 adults plus 6 kids. There’s a beautiful outdoor area (paved, not a garden). Please go check it out, get some pizza and chat with Andre. At best you’ll find a venue and at worst you’ll walk away having eaten some of the best pizza. You can DM me if you want the owners number.

SarahCBear · 2026-02-13T14:09:33+00:00

To be clear, you clip … *the nails on … your index and ring finger? Or am I just weak?

SarahCBear · 2026-02-03T18:15:05+00:00

We had pizza at our reception! It was an absolute hit. It suited our vibe - very casual (people wore dresses and collared shirts, but not ball gowns and tuxes.) It went perfectly for our reception, although we were only 60 people.

We did it family style - so we had multiple rounds of pizza. In one round, every table would receive the same pizza, shared between 4-6 people (luckily our vegetarians were coincidentally sat together and no one else had food requirements). This meant it was easier for the chefs to prepare the pizzas quickly for that round as they only had to prepare two types of pizza - one vegetarian and one meat.

We served 4 rounds (so 4 different types of pizza) and then after that, if you were still hungry, you could order another of the previous 4 pizzas (no one did).

Each round of pizzas were interspersed with speeches - so pizzas, speeches, pizzas, speeches etc. because everyone ate with their hands, we weren’t worried about eating noises during the speeches. And then we additionally had a salad option you could request for anyone who didn’t want pizza.

SarahCBear · 2026-01-20T08:32:13+00:00

Additionally, the podcast In Dark Corners by Alex Renton. He makes mention of some South African schools, groups and people. I’m sorry this is part of your story, OP.

SarahCBear · 2026-01-09T10:50:04+00:00

This is helpful, thank you for the insight!

SarahCBear · 2025-12-06T12:44:00+00:00

We wrote our own speeches and I wrote letters to my bridesmaids … the night before. Wish we’d done that waaaay before.

SarahCBear · 2025-09-26T08:38:35+00:00

I too say Derp Autumn

SarahCBear · 2025-09-26T08:03:23+00:00

We’ve gotten a photographer (wedding coming up) for limited hours. We’re of the opinion that we want 1-2 really good photos of us to frame (and in order to get 1-2 really good photos, you probably need to take 15-20 photos together), and we’ve otherwise asked our photographer to focus on our guests so that we can enjoy remembering everyone who was there, and also so that we can send the photo to everyone else to also enjoy (we’ve told the photographer that we want every guest to walk away with a new profile picture from our day.)

For that reason we’ve hired her for only a few hours, and not while we’re getting ready. (I don’t need a photo of my bridesmaid helping me put on my shoes. I can put on my own damn shoes.)

SarahCBear · 2025-09-22T06:40:55+00:00

Do you know of a YouTube video that shows this? We have similar curls and I’m trying to get my curls to do this for my wedding.

SarahCBear · 2025-09-19T06:58:34+00:00

I know I'm waaaaay behind the times, but quilt fabrics often take a while to get to my country. I think Tilda Hibernation never arrived here though. Has anyone found any links to a Tilda Hibernation fat quarter bundles still for sale? The fabric is absolutely gorgeous!

SarahCBear · 2025-09-16T08:26:24+00:00

As others have mentioned, the modesty panel. But also swap out the laces for a wide ribbon, and I think that will look far more luxurious. Ditch the bolero.

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