If you're looking for fabric, lace, trim, sewing notions, curtains, haberdashery this is THE hidden…read morejem in the further-est recesses of the oldest part of the Cannon Hill shopping center. If you're a sewer and crafter this is a must visit if you can find it!!!

You'd never find this shop unless you were looking. It's tiny, crowded and has absolutely no window…read moredisplay or sugar coating whatsoever. Run by a lovely older couple who sit amongst the towers of fabric rolls and racks of ribbon and laces while you browse, this is a treasure trove for anyone who sews or is crafty with fabrics. It looks a little dusty and you might feel like you've stepped through a portal into a little old shop in a European village in 1960, but there are prices to almost match. If you collect buttons, I'm sure there are some old gems here. I'm not particularly crafty, but head here whenever I need ribon or lace, usually buying metres of it to wrap presents because it's cheaper and less painful than extracting money through my nose at the newsagents to pay Mr John Sands - who is he anyway?

This is a solid little fabric shop, quite handy if you just need to grab something quickly and are…read morein the Indooroopilly Shopping Centre. For quite a small shop, they squeeze a lot in and have a good range of basic cottons, satins, and stretch fabrics as well as some fancier silks and dress fabrics. I've never really found fabrics in there that stir up my imagination, but did, on a couple of occasions, buy some toga material from there during my uni days when I couldn't be bothered crossing Moggill Road to get to Spotlight. The fabric in Sckafs is a bit too nice and a bit too pricey to be used for togas, but it did the trick. The thing about Sckafs in this location is that they have to compete not only with Spotlight across the road, undercutting pretty much everyone on price in the fabric industry, but also with Gardam's Fabrics, a shop that specialises in the more expensive fabrics and really do stock a beautiful range in a spacious store. Spotlight and Gardam's get my business before Sckafs as I find their ranges of fabric more interesting. But, again, it's handy to have a fabric store that is actually within the Indooroopilly Shopping Centre.

Sckafs has long since been my staple for fabrics and all things haberdashery in the south west…read moreregion. The lady or ladies behind the counter have been there for as many years as I've been going there for school projects to making things for my daughter and kids to wear (terribly mind you). They have whatever you need if you plan on starting a fashion brand, sewing clothes, learning to sew, making some sort of fabric. Stitching even... threads to measuring tapes... it's all here. They have a lot of material to choose from and usually there are some really good steals in the bargain bin from $1.99 a meter for silky soft fabric. You can get wedding gown material here as well if that's what you're into. A great haberdashery place. It's airconditioned as well!

I have been emailing Selective Fine Fabrics to track down a certain style of lace for my wedding…read moredress. I sent them a photo of the dress I am trying to recreate, and they emailed me photos of similar exquisite laces that they had in store. One was just perfect, so I paid for a sample to be posted to me. I loved the sample, so I went ahead and ordered the full amount. Communication was swift and easy and the lace was posted quickly. If you're in Brisbane or even in another city and looking for a spectacular fabric I highly recommend trying Selective Fine Fabrics.

Staff is very helpful, the quality of fabrics is high. This is not the place to come looking for…read morecheap fabric this is where you'd come to find fabric for a wedding dress and Chantilly lace to match. The range is beautiful and shopping here is addictive.

Who knew that Spotlight and Lincraft hadn't swallowed every other craft store and spat them out?…read moreProbably those who craft on a regular basis, but I certainly didn't. Cleveland Crafts is tucked away in a little shopping arcade, offering a lot more than meets the eye when you're standing outside. Their specialities are crocheting and knitting supplies. Any other materials you might like can also be found here; buttons, sequins, those fake flowers they always sell at these places although I'm at a loss as to how they tie in with the theme, and much more. It's a lovely little store, and if you're into supporting local businesses rather than the huge corporations you should check it out next time you're in the market for a giant fake flower to cover that pesky stain on your favourite white blouse. Am I on the right track?

The stars are because I've never asked the staff in here for something they didn't have tucked away…read morein some nook or cranny of this old shop. It's bursting with so much craft stuff it makes me wish I was crafty. Over the years I've visited here with friends who were avid crocheters and sewers and stocked up on all kinds of goodies, while I've bought the emergency cotton, needles and pins when I've had fashion emergencies at work, but there are also feathers here to bail you out of a last minute fancy dress boggle, and lots of beads and jewellery makings, for when you go through that phase of making your own dangly earrings. Hidden away at the end of a little arcade on bloomfield Street, this is really a little hidden treasure.