I for one stopped bringing souvenirs back from holidays ages ago, but I do love a bit of a foreign addition to my fabric stash. How lovely to make a project that will not only add a great new garment to your wardrobe but also bring back memories of fantastic far away holidays!
But where are the best places to go fabric shopping when you are in a foreign city? You have Lonely Planet for travelling, but what’s our sewing equivalent?
It brings me great joy to introduce to you all an idea that has been running through my head for a while and now finally it’s becoming reality!
Please welcome ‘FABRIC SHOPS DIRECTORY’ project!
This project is my attempt at pulling together in one place all the info I can find online about best places to source fabric when travelling (be it holidays, work trips or visiting friends), but also to instigate and facilitate for new content to be created.
The main purpose is to gather local information, that is from people that live in the places they write about, and who know the most about all the little gems that you might miss in a google search. They also know what is really worth checking out and what you should give a miss.
My starter for 10 included cities I visited and fabric-shopped in already (Copenhagen, Lisbon, Vienna), my home city of London, and also a few I would very much like to visit (San Francisco, New York). It’s just a very small start, and for now, I also included visitor guides where I could not find local ones, but I know that with the help of our wonderful community, we can make this a go-to place for any travelling sewist.
Here’s a visual representation of the cities included so far.
[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1PWv2BgsZF9AMh-MW_x9V9zDd6G3kCInp&w=640&h=480]
CHECK OUT THE PROJECT PAGE for more info, the current list of cities and how you can get involved.
Let’s create guides for as many cities as sewists in the online sewing community, there is no place too small!
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED IN THE FABRIC SHOPS DIRECTORY PROJECT:
- If you wrote a local guide on your blog and I didn’t find it yet, drop me an email (contacts on the sidebar)
- If you would like to write a guide about your city, get in touch to discuss details. This is valid for bloggers and non-bloggers, you just have to love fabrics and be willing to go around the shops to take pictures. Any place in the world is welcome – even if there is a guide already, so long as there are at least a few fabric shops. Online shops don’t count.
- SHARE! SHARE! SHARE! Please spread the word Social Media! The more people know about this, the more we can help give all that amazing fabric a loving home.
SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK? WHAT CITY WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE GUIDES FOR? HOW CAN I MAKE THIS PROJECT BETTER? START THE CONVERSATION IN THE COMMENTS OR ON INSTAGRAM WITH #FABRICSHOPSDIRECTORY.
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GREAT idea, Alex! Love it. I’m sure it will turn into a really useful resource.
Author
Thank you so much, so glad you like it! Where are you based, btw?
I’m in Toronto. Perhaps I can contribute to the project…will start taking some photos whenever I’m out fabric shopping.
Hi Alex,
Great idea and initiative! I’m from Montreal and this great resource helped me find my way around the numerous local fabric shops:
http://igloovert.blogspot.ca/p/fabric-shopping-in-montreal.html?m=1
Closet Case also wrote a blogpost about local fabric shopping:
https://closetcasepatterns.com/fabric-shopping-in-montreal/
Hope many around the globe pinch in and make travelling for all of us sewists more fun!
I’ll do Perth! Quite a few shops for a small place, although very few people come here!!
Author
Thank you, Sue! I always wanted to go to Perth, I heard really great things about it. But at the rate things are going, I’m afraid it looks like it’s going to be when we retire ☹️.
That’s ok, it will give you something to look forward to. I probably won’t be here then though (or will be gaga in a nursing home!)
Author
I don’t believe that for a second, you are such a inspiration of vitality and humour and productivity!! 😘
But not immortal sadly!
Author
Bah, overated! 😬
I’m looking forward to contributing to the Minneapolis guide at the end of this month!