Fabric Shopping
Below I’ve written a guide to some of my favourite places to buy fabrics. If you know of any other great places, let me know and I’ll add it to the list.
London
Goldhawk Road
This is a great place to get a huge range of cheap fabric, if you want silk, cotton, satin, organza etc. in a plain colour, you will almost certainly find it here and it will be cheap. There are also loads of printed cottons, different types of wools, lace and lots of beaded and embroidered fabrics. There are about 10 shops here so it is worth looking around before you buy anything. Each shop is absolutely crammed with rolls of fabric so do look around and make sure you check whether there is another floor or you might miss out on something amazing.
Directions
Either get the Hammersmith & City Line to Goldhawk Road, when you come out of the station turn towards Shepherd’s Bush Green and the shops are right there. Alternatively take the Central Line to Shepherds Bush. Walk diagonally across the green to Goldhawk Road and walk a few metres up the road.
Berwick Street
There are 5 or 6 fabric shops on this road selling a whole range of fabrics. You can get some very pretty cottons and lots of silk here. There are also some amazing fabrics which have already been embellished with beads, ribbons, feathers etc, but these cost £50 p/m plus. It is definitely worth coming here to get extra special fabrics that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. But don’t buy any plain silks or cottons here because you will be paying 10 times the price of Goldhawk Road. Make sure you explore the whole road as the shops are sporadically placed along the road.
Directions
Take the tube to Oxford Street (Central Line) and walk down for about 200m, it is a side street on your right.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Berwick+St,+Westminster,+London+W1F,+UK&sll=51.507434,-0.238309&sspn=0.013142,0.027466&ie=UTF8&ll=51.514685,-0.135376&spn=0.00657,0.013733&z=16&iwloc=addr
John Lewis
This is a big department store located all over the UK. There are two fabric sections, fashion fabrics and furnishing fabrics. On the fashion fabrics floor, the selection of fabrics is not great, there are a few good finds and it will always have the basic fabrics. It is not as expensive as Berwick Street but it would be more sensible to go to Goldhawk Road. They do however sell a wide range of threads, zips, buttons, beads, wool and the tools needed for creating clothes. The furnishing fabrics section is much better; they have a very wide selection for making curtains, cushions, or if you wanted to a dress!
Directions
Oxford Street: Take the tube to Oxford Street (Central Line) and walk west for 50m, John Lewis is located on your right.
Sloane Square: This is actually called Peter Jones but it is the same shop! Get the tube to Sloane Square (Circle or District Line) and Peter Jones is straight in front of you across the square.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Peter+Jones,+Sloane+Square&sll=51.517876,-0.148616&sspn=0.013139,0.043774&ie=UTF8&ll=51.493355,-0.157306&spn=0.006252,0.013733&z=16&iwloc=A
Liberty
Another large department store which designer clothes, jewellery, things, etc. The shop itself is really interesting and great just to have a look around, it’s all wooden with old creaky staircases. The fabric floor has loads of liberty prints, which are very pretty but are also costly.
Directions
Take the tube to Oxford Street (Central Line) walk south down Regents Street, Liberty is about 100m on your left.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Liberty,+Great+Marlborough+Street,+london&sll=54.110943,-4.042969&sspn=12.076314,28.125&ie=UTF8&z=15
Southall
This is a superb place to get Indian fabric and saris. There are loads of shops on the high street, so you just need to go in and have a look. I’m not sure if you can buy fabric off the role here but if you buy a sari that will give you about 6 metres of fabric. You’ll need to ask where the saris are because most of the shops just display Indian suits so it can be a little difficult to find what you want. Saris range vastly in price but shouldn’t be too expensive in Southall as this is an Indian area.
Directions
Either drive there or take national rail to Southall. Exit the station and walk north up South Road until you hit the Broadway.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=The+Broadway,+Southall,+Greater+London+UB1,+UK&sll=51.51355,-0.140046&sspn=0.012499,0.027466&ie=UTF8&ll=51.512936,-0.382547&spn=0.01314,0.027466&z=15&iwloc=addr
Paris
Montmartre
There are quite a few fabric shops here, some of them are massive (5 or so floors) but the range of fabrics is quite boring. Prices are fairly cheap and similar to London. I was quite disappointed as France is the home of haute couture but perhaps there is a better area to find more exciting fabrics.
Directions
Take the metro to Anvers (Line 2 – Blue) then head north up one of the streets; rue Charles Nodier has a couple of large shops on it.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Rue+Charles+Nodier,+75018+Paris,+France&sll=51.512936,-0.382547&sspn=0.01314,0.027466&g=The+Broadway,+Southall,+Greater+London+UB1,+UK&ie=UTF8&ll=48.885559,2.344916&spn=0.006942,0.013733&z=16&iwloc=addr
Tokyo
Tokyo is great for buying fabrics, there is so much choice. There is even a street called Fabric Street with loads of shops on it. My favourite was a shop called Tomato, which has 5 floors packed full of wonderful fabrics. The best stuff is the printed cotton; there are lots and lots of traditional Japanese prints as well as some fun animation prints. It is really cheap, which makes it difficult to choose what to get. This is definitely area is definitely a must if you’re visiting Tokyo.
Directions:
Take the JR Yamanote Line to Nippori, take the east exit
Hong Kong
This is without a doubt the best place I have ever been to buy fabric. You can literally get anything you want here. There are hundreds of shops here, some streets will be full of button shops, and others selling leather, then you have the fabric shops. Instead of having rolls of fabrics, each shop will have hundreds of cards with samples on them. You simply choose you fabric, specify how many yards you would like (the shop I went to had a 3 yard minimum) then come back the next day to pick up your fabric. The samples are free for you to take, so if you need to think about it, you can take the samples and come back. This is also the cheapest place I’ve bought fabric as it’s made in China.
Direction: Take the metro to Sham Shui Po