Navigating Soai Kin Lam Fabric Market

Dive deep into the heart of D5 fabric market

Soai Kinh Lam is the biggest fabric market in the city and my personal favourite. It can be quite overwhelming when you first arrive and it may feel slightly intimidating, however, please don't allow it to be as it's a place you don't want to miss! After visiting this market regularly over the past four years and leading several group tours, I feel as if I know the market and where to find things quite well. So, with that being said, why not share all my information with anyone that may venture there. Hopefully this will help make your trip as fun and smooth as possible! 

How to get there?

If you are getting a grab car or bike, use the address below and navigate yourself to the mini roundabout. If you are driving you can park your motorbike by the mini roundabout for 10k. It's also good to note that it can get extremely hot in these markets, so I would recommend going around 9-10 am to avoid the midday heat. I would also recommend bringing water!

Address: Soai Kinh Lam Fabric Market, Đường Trần Hưng Đạo, Phường 14, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City

So let's get started,

Why is Soai Kin Lam my favourite?

One of my favourite things about this market is they have such a huge variety of fabrics so you should be able to find everything you need! From prints to pleats, cotton to spandex, knits to chiffon, embellishments to embroidery, lace to threads, etc. It really is a fabric haven.

At first glance, you will see a lot of printed synthetic fabrics but when you dig deep you should find what you are looking for. 

The fabric market is also right next door to the haberdashery market making it easy to gather all sewing supplies in one trip! 

ADDED BONUS: In the next street from the market you will find a long busy road with sooooo many decorations. They have decorations for all festive holidays; Christmas, Halloween, Tet, and many others.

The road also connects to the stationary street which has tons of art supplies!

So where to begin?

During my previous group tours, I would use the meet-up point as the roundabout. It's a great starting point, placing you directly in the middle of the fabric and haberdashery markets making it easier to navigate.

I normally head to the fabric section first to source the fabrics and then later on head to the haberdashery section. Walking to the fabric market you will see a lot of stalls on the streets and different shops you can go into. The first stall on the corner has a variety of crystal pleats and knitted fabrics.

(see picture below)

If you continue walking down this road you will see a vast amount of fabric stalls with small entrances that lead you into the main fabric market. Here you can find all sorts of fabrics.

It can be a little challenging with the language barrier, making it harder to find something specific you are looking for. However, after struggling for a while with this I came across two guys who speak English! They are extremely helpful and will assist you in finding any fabrics you need. If they don't have it themselves they will know who in the market does and will go fetch it for you, or give you advice about where you could find it. They also mentioned they could help me print my own fabrics! Their stall numbers are 26 and 39.

Once you have explored the inside of the market I would then continue further down the road where you will come across a little gem. It's one of my favourite shops, which is run by a little old lady who is extremely sweet. She doesn't speak English but her daughters are there sometimes and both speak English. In her shop you will find a variety of fabrics such as: linen, lace, chiffon, print, corduroy, etc. I love this place for the different fabric options available and they have a lot of in-trend fabrics too! Her stall is pictured below.

Now we will head back to the roundabout and continue to the haberdashery section. I just want to point out that opposite the entrance to the haberdashery section is another one of my favourite shops. This place is awesome, great for anything sparkly and fabulous! They even have feather boas!

HABERDASHERY ALLEY

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I love this street, for some reason it reminds me of Diagon Alley, I guess because of how magical and compact it is; full of trims and sparkles. Anyway, down this alley you will find all sewing supplies and crafty bits!

About halfway down this alley, you will see an entrance to the left of you that will take you into a huge building. This is where the magic happens, it's any sewists dream! Here you will find embroidery supples, interfacing, buttons, trims, pattern cutting supplies, lingerie materials, and even sleeve ironing boards!

They also have some fabrics at this market, although mainly lace and bridal.

Price 

Fabric prices vary depending on the quality but I would expect to pay between 60k-200k. The most expensive fabric I have paid for was 250k per meter, it was a beautiful sequinned, great Gatsby-style fabric. I have also seen fabric covered in beautiful 3D flowers for 500k per meter, and very thin cotton for 40k per meter, so it really does vary on the quality. As it is a wholesale market some materials can only be brought in bulk. However I have always brought by the meter, except for interfacing.

Rest assured they will not try to rip you off. I don't like to barter with them as what they are asking for is an extremely fair price.

I hope this has been useful. Happy fabric shopping!