It’s the place to visit if you are looking for that spectacular fabric which will give that extra ‘wow’ factor. This place offers customers a large range of bright, fluorescent, blackout and velvet fabrics which can provide that special affect. My experience of KBT Fabric has been great. When we were looking for fabric for a backdrop for an event that we were holding, we wanted the fabric to be black but with a hint of sparkle and the market stalls at the Bullring Market didn’t have exactly what we were looking for; so a friend of mine advised me to go to KBT. I was over-whelmed with just how much stuff they had and I actually got confused as to what I wanted, because ended up wanting a lot of different things! The staff in there were so helpful because they asked me what I was looking for and what I’d be using it for as well. Once I explained they could assist me in finding the perfect fabric, eventually we did and were happy with the outcome. I’d say if you are looking to go there, make sure you have about an hour spare because you could find yourself in there for a while; as it’s so fascinating. Especially if you are doing a design/textiles project or wanting to purchase fabric for an event like what me and my business partners did.
Kirsty H.
Place rating: 4 Birmingham, United Kingdom
I only came across this place whilst working in Nechells and it’s a hive of activity. If you are looking for furry fabrics, black out, sparkly vinyl or fun coloured net then you will surely find the colours you’re after in here. KBT is a family run business that sell a lot of stock internationally, and because of the safe, high quality of their fabrics schools and education establishments buy a lot of stuff from them. If you live locally and work for a school or third sector organisation they do scrap bags of off cuts super cheap, which is always great for art projects. The guys here are really helpful at finding the fabric you are after or making suggestions with regards to price and alternatives. You can always take a swatch away with you which has all the pricing of the fabric you were looking at. They stock a wide range of spray and fabric paints as well as velcro and cutters. If you plan on visiting you can’t access KBT directly off the round-a-bout it faces but via Nechells Place.
Adrienne F.
Place rating: 5 Birmingham, United Kingdom
KBT is another great secret of mine. You wouldn’t come here for dress fabric, or for luxurious fabrics — but instead you’d come here to browse their giant bolts of blackout fabric, their rainbow colours of velvet and velour, their sparkly vinyl on the roll, the huge range of felt and netting, and then a range of ‘fun’ fabrics besides. A number of their regular clients are from education — schools and nurseries — who come to get fabrics suitable for kids to work with, or who need cheap fabric to create backdrops and costumes for school productions. Because of this, they sometimes sell special binbags full of offcuts for very little money which could be full of loveliness, or could be full of boring beige(one bag I bought had some lime green pleather in it — fab!) Alongside the practical fabrics they have a fair amount of upholstery fabric, and also a big range of fabric paints, spray paints and other textile-related products in cans and jars and pots. It’s definitely worth having a mooch around!