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!

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!!!

One of the lucky few places that stocks Hello Kitty and all of the above. If you're into your…read moremanga, your anime and your sanrio products, this shop is one of the few that I would consider to be your personal mecca. It's not the biggest store I've seen, but it's one of the only ones that exist (surprise surprise it's in Sunnybank!) and although small in size, is pack stacked and filled to the brim with all the things I find cute. Cuteness galore and I don't mean puppies. To the passer by, you may think, oh it's another weird ass trinket store with asian things in it and funny looking cats. But to really appreciate what is the 'Hello Kitty' phenomenon you need to google it or educate yourself first. Don't go in store and learn about it, it wouldn't work. If manga, anime and sanrio mean anything to you, you will walk in and fully appreciate the clutter, appreciate the hello kitty in the dinosaur suit. Appreciate the hello kitty earrings, and all the accessories related to the cat. She deserves respect. Get a tissue box cover with some kero kero keroppi or some little pichu dolls. It's crazy, and it makes sense. I love this place.

I wonder if the Sanrio crew are still as treasured in Japan (and elsewhere) as they once were. I'm…read morenot sure if Hello Kitty and her friends are quite as popular with the Australian youth of today, but when I was a teenager they underwent a huge surge in popularity, with every girl desperate for her own cute little pencil case starring these characters, or stationary to write useless notes to their friends. As far as I know, this is one of the few places in Brisbane left as a shrine to these adorable cartoon characters. It's a pretty big shop too, with any object you can imagine available with a Hello Kitty's of My Melody's mug stamped on it. Some of the items looked a little cheap to me, but maybe I've just outgrown it and can finally understand why the stuff is not universally popular.