Review: Fabrics from "I Sew For Doll" and "Kukolniymir"

Hello everybody! Turns out, that my birthday was in August, so I got things for my dolls! Because! I have been really missing sewing, and I wante dto get thin, cutesy fabric for them. So I purchased from I Sew For Doll (China) and Kukolniymir (Russia).

Here is a review. Please be aware that shipping times were during coronavirus lockdown. Thus, postal service was scrambled beyond reason, and delayed everything. That said, have a pic now, and information under the cut!

I Sew For Doll

• Location: Based in China.
• Account: No "log-in" in the site, so you can only track your orders by email.
• Shipping: Flat-rate shipping, regardless of how much you purchase.
• Language: Website is in English. You can write in English to her.
• Content: Has a lot of notions, and some fabrics.
• Prices: USD
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isewfordoll/
• Fabric Size: The fabric here is pre-cut, so if you purchase several of the same, you are not getting a larger piece, you are getting several smaller pieces.
• Overall: Seamless experience. I didn't exchange any email, and she shipped fast. It took about a month to arrive to Australia. However, the tracking stopped working after leaving China, so I had no clue were my package was.

F010, Dark Purple - Website

This is a stretchy fabric. The lines are very, very thin and totally worth it.

It is thin and flexible enough for a jersey-like, it bends very well.

F008, Suede - Website

I got the red and dark green. They were both a tad bit darker than what I saw in the screen.

They are so dang thin that I'm sure they'll need a lining or something if I want to make shoes.

So, so thin that you can make a coat/hat out of them with no problems at all.

F011 Houndstooth - Website

This one is pure cotton, very thin and flexible.

You can definitely make a lined coat and still have some flexibility in your doll's hand.

The pattern seems good for a 16cm doll.

F014, White Lining - Website

Thin, delicate, amazing. It frays a lot. You really need fray check on this one.

It is borderline translucent because of the thinness.

Pure cotton, it doesn't have any polyester on it.

F015, Cute Strawberry - Website

I think pattern-wise is better for 1/6 BJDs or above.

It is also really thin, and translucent in some parts. You'll probably need to line it.

It also frays quite a lot, so use fray check.

F018, Skinny Rib - Website

Very, very stretchy. I got black and white, but they appear to be sold out now.

The lines are so thin that this is perfectly fine for a 16cm doll.

Also very thin fabric that will work great in small dolls.

F003 Denim - Website

I only got 2 because it was sold out. That says it all.

Extremely thin, I never saw a denim so thin before.

Completely suits 16cm dolls, because it is very thin and flexible.

Doesn't appear to fray a lot.

Kukolniymir

• Location: Based in Russia.
• Account: You can log-in and it tracks your orders. And apparently, there is some sort of "rewards" system for returning customers.
• Shipping: Shipping is calculated. That means, that you place your order without paying and wait. Then, she emails you with the calculated cost after wighting your items. You have to pay Paypal fees, which is against Paypal Terms of Service. Otherwise, she cancels the order. Up to you.
• Language: Website is in Russian. I google-translated it to be able to understand and browse it. I had no problem with that, the translation was decent..
• Content: She has an ungodly amount of fabrics, and they all have measurements of the patterns/drawings in the fabric, and the weight of the fabric.
• Prices: Russian Rubble
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kukolniymir/
• Fabric Size: In general, you can pick the size of the fabric from a bunch of options. You always get a single piece of fabric, so if you increase the quantity, you get a larger cut.

This was quite a story! Because I had to email her back about the Paypal fees (I so disagree with that) and the calculated shipping. So I would email in English, she google-translated, and replied back in Russian. I'll google-translate, and there we go again. But we actually communicated! All hail technology!

Also, prices are in Russian Rubbles. If you use Google's currency exchange calculator you get a nice idea. But PayPal has a difference rate (which also takes fees on you), so you are better off looking for a currency exchange calculator that uses PayPal's rate. However, it was very affordable!! Except for the fact that I had to pay the seller's fees.  

Anyways, the only limitation, is that I couldn't ask any question, and I had... like a thousand questions. She posts a lot of stories in her Instagram with the fabrics on her hands, so it was a nice guide.

The shipping was annoying. It took 15 days to leave Russia, and then the tracking stopped updating. It never worked in the Australia Post website. And 1.5 months later, I got the package. So two months in total. This one had all fabrics inside a single bag, inside a padded envelope.

How did I selected the fabrics?

1. The website states the composition, e.g. x% viscose, y% cotton, and so on.
2. For patterned fabrics with "drawings" she will give you an estimate number (in centimeters) of the size of the print. So more or less you can guess how small/large the print is.
3. After that, she lists the densite per m^2. To get this measurement, you cut down a 1x1m square, and you weight it. Somebody told me on Instagram to go with fabrics of 100gr. So that is what I did!

Anyways, here are the fabrics. I also got a lot of lace, but I'm not putting it here. Let me know if you want a second post with the laces.

Cotton - Website

Gorgeous, very thin. It is almost a jacqard with some lines that are good for a 20cm doll or above.

The colour is greyer than what it looks like in the website.

Embroidered Cotton - Website

This one is thin but a bit (just a little bit) more rigid that the above.

I think it would make a great coat, or possibly a skirt that stands up without a petticoat.

The embroidery is of a good size for 1/6 dolls or above.

Airy Cotton - Website

Oh so thin. It is amazing. You could make a shirred dress on a PukiPuki and having it look in scale.

Because it is very thin, it is also quite translucent depending the angle and the light.

The weave is not... "tight"? You can somewhat see it.

It frays a lot. Like a lot. Get fray check.

Bamboo Fabric - Website

The pink is brighter in person.

In the website, it looks as if... textured? Actually, it is just that the weave is visible.

It frays even more than the above. Arm yourself with fray check.

However, it is amazingly flexible! It bends very well, at the point you can probably make a scarf out of it for the right size of doll.

Sewing Lace - Website

So, the fabric is thin, flexible and pretty... but the "lace" edge is quite thick. The embroidery at the bottom uses a very thick, overlaid thread and thus, the fabric loses all flexibility.

Also, the embroidery at the bottom is quite large.

I recommed these only for MSD and SD dolls.

Triangle Cotton - Website

This is marked as cotton but I'm positive it has something synthetic. Maybe poplin?

It is very thin, very flexible, and not translucent.

It really suits a 16cm doll in my opinion.

Straberry Cotton - Website

As the above, I'm sure this has something synthetic on it. Not that it matters, though.

It is very thin, flexible, and not that translucent.

I'd suggest it for 1/6 dolls and above due to the print size.

Totally okay to make blouses and "airy/flowing" clothes.

Riley Blake -  Website

Please, fill a truck of this fabric in multiple colours and deposit all of them at my house.

Also known as: I adore this fabric.

It is also really thin, flexible and not translucent. Definitely more cotton-y, though.  

Cotton Jacqard- Website

I want another truck of this one.

It is pure cotton, so if you get the natural one, you can probably tea-dye it for some cool effects.

It is cotton, bring on the fray check. It does fray, though not that much.

It is very flexible and thin. To my surprise, it is not translucent, probably because of the colour.

The size of the lines are okay for a 1/6 doll, or slight large in a 16cm doll, depending on how you position this.

So, my thoughts? Picture me throwing my wallet at them again. I honestly love the idea of smaller pieces of fabric, so that: a) I don't stuck them, b) they don't take up space, c) I sew a bit, and don't get bored about the print. So definitely worth it. And Kukolnyimir has honestly so much stuff! Shoe making fabrics! Plushies fabric! 

Rating:

• I Sew For Doll: 4/5, because everything was sold out. Buttons? Forget about it, they were impossible to get: everything was sold out. I spent a lot on this order, and only got a tiny bag of buttons as a gift.
• Kukolnyimir: 4/5, because making the buyer pay for PayPal fees is against PayPal's ToS. Only because of that. She sent me an extra fabric and a ribbon as a gift, which is a lot! And she had a good stock available for purchase.

Anyways, let me know: should I make another post for the laces? If so, I'm happy to comply! And if you have any tricks for purchasing fabric online... let me know!