Dot Com-unity Service

Possibly one of my stranger titles I know but it makes sense honest so  stick with me here. Everyone at Fabric8 loves working in the shop. It's not just the fun we have with fabric and the cool projects we  get to do but also it's the people we meet. We meet fantastic  customers some of which I've blogged about here, re-enacters, ewoks, cos-players and people who just love fine tailoring. We consider it a genuine honour to help these people out, to be part of their community. That's why we donated some vouchers for the Star Warriors raffle and why we gave fabric to the Colchester free Festival and leant them our magician for a day.  We may get a mention here or there that raises our profile a little this is true, but the main reason why we like to help people is we want to be part of the effort to  forge a strong sense of community around us. Some members of staff have been known to research historical costume design for customers with an interesting project  or to help a novice sewer finish off their first project not only because these are fun things to do but also to strive for an ideal beyond the noble pursuit of supplying fabric and haberdashery.

  Whilst helping out in the physical world it's important to remember that our little shop now serves a wider community. Many of those reading this blog may not have visited Colchester of Felixstowe and so not been into the welcoming worlds of our sister shops. Just because we don't ever get to meet these people it doesn't mean we don't want them to be part of the strong community we're involved with. That's why some staff members have sat down and worked out some free, easy to follow patterns. There are a few on this blog including making pirate pants and pouches. Pirate or poet shirts will follow this week. So please feel free to be part of our community. Ask us anything you like from whether we can stock a certain fabric to the definitive history of pockets (already researched by Arnold Judis Rimmer for all the Red Dwarf fans out there) and we will try to accommodate your needs. You can comment on this blog or join our Facebook Group Or follow us on Twitter @Fabric8Online.

One final note. Try to relax and enjoy December this year by starting your Christmas sewing now. I know i've found my Waistcoat fabric for this Christmas.