Best London Haberdasheries
There are lots of posts out there like this but most of them are like "go to Liberty's and John Lewis!". And those aren't real haberdasheries - they're expensive boutiques with extremely limited selections.
Plus - it's London. To me, that isn't Regent Street department stores, that's Indian wedding dress fabric shops, and kente fabric shops, and weird places on street corners. Not the glossy ones. The ones staffed by real people, not brands - who know their craft - and aimed at local people, not tourists.
Forgive me my judgement. A great haberdashery is experienced staff with good advice, a full selection of fabrics, moderate prices, and aimed at people who are regularly making clothes with intent, rather than dabblers. That intent can be making clothes for friends and family, or it can be theatre/fashion professionals, but it has to be authentic rather than decorative. I like the Liberty, but it's 40 different kinds of pretty/overpriced print cotton.
Here are the stores I actually use:
Balham High Street / Tooting Bec station
An absolute treat. I live over an hour away from this store, but it's always the first place I visit.
One large warehouse sells and mends sewing machines. Inside is a huge vault of old machines, and you can see the expertise in the huge variety of machines on display there. There's also a sewing machine museum, which I've never visited.
Next door is the craft superstore. There's paints, wool, cakemaking equipment.
They sell sewing/embroidery machines, and there's a dedicated woman who knows the machines and demonstrates them. I've bought two machines from this store, and love both.
There's a large fabric section, including some leather fabric. Generally, I'd say the selection is less diverse than at Rolls and Rems (below) - it's targeted at home sewers, and therefore it's a treasure trove of never quite being the fabric I was looking for. More of a chance discovery place than a "I'm looking for this weight of linen" place. The staff are lovely.
Upstairs, there's a section for wedding fabrics and for upholstery.
Always busy, and as a result often hard to get time/attention from the sales people. That's the mark of a great store - the fabric selection is excellent, the staff know their stuff, and the customers are all locals and mums with prams and leathermen and guys coming in to fix their yacht and theatre people.
Across the road from Rolls and Rems is the entrance to the market. There's a nice little fabric shop in there, with £1pm net and organza, and lovely staff. There's also a specialist shop further in the market selling wools, ribbons and other notions. No trip to Seven Sisters Road is complete without it.
Not a haberdashery. This is one of the leading vintage reproduction brands, and it's always weird to me when I see American bloggers talking about getting something from Vivien of Holloway as if it was something exclusive and special when it's like, 40 minutes away if I hop on a bus.
Some of my readers are historic clothes humans, so if you're visiting Holloway Road pop into this one too. However, I have to say that...I don't know. You have to walk up to the door, and they let you in then lock it behind you, and sort of lurk as you look around. That makes the shopping experience far too weird for me, and it's the only store I've ever been to where staff have done that. I guess the proprietor must have had a bad experience sometime, or comes from a place where that's a normal way to run stores safely. But I've popped in once to browse, and never gone back.
Mermaid Fabrics
364 Mare Street / Hackney Central Station
Great local haberdashery - including a nice room of curtain fabrics, and of duvets, pillows etc. Selection is small, but aimed at fabrics the everyday sewer might need. I used to work nearby and relied on it as my main source for several months.
Delightful, sinful independent wool shop. Stocks the yummy import wools like Cascade and whatever that Japanese one is called that looks like multicoloured sea net filled with kelps and strange seaweeds. The shop owner is nice, and the shop is well presented and hosts knit meetups etc. It's the only place I buy wool.
The traditional "fabric shops" street in London has four or five very high quality (read: expensive) specialist shops. There's one with wools and shirtings for tailoring. Another is a theatre-maker's dream - all sequins and feathers. Couture ballgown? Look no further.
My sewing is too crappy to afford fabrics from Berwick street. But one day, perhaps.
Plus - it's London. To me, that isn't Regent Street department stores, that's Indian wedding dress fabric shops, and kente fabric shops, and weird places on street corners. Not the glossy ones. The ones staffed by real people, not brands - who know their craft - and aimed at local people, not tourists.
Forgive me my judgement. A great haberdashery is experienced staff with good advice, a full selection of fabrics, moderate prices, and aimed at people who are regularly making clothes with intent, rather than dabblers. That intent can be making clothes for friends and family, or it can be theatre/fashion professionals, but it has to be authentic rather than decorative. I like the Liberty, but it's 40 different kinds of pretty/overpriced print cotton.
Here are the stores I actually use:
South London
Wimbledon Sewing Centre
Balham High Street / Tooting Bec station
An absolute treat. I live over an hour away from this store, but it's always the first place I visit.
One large warehouse sells and mends sewing machines. Inside is a huge vault of old machines, and you can see the expertise in the huge variety of machines on display there. There's also a sewing machine museum, which I've never visited.
Next door is the craft superstore. There's paints, wool, cakemaking equipment.
They sell sewing/embroidery machines, and there's a dedicated woman who knows the machines and demonstrates them. I've bought two machines from this store, and love both.
There's a large fabric section, including some leather fabric. Generally, I'd say the selection is less diverse than at Rolls and Rems (below) - it's targeted at home sewers, and therefore it's a treasure trove of never quite being the fabric I was looking for. More of a chance discovery place than a "I'm looking for this weight of linen" place. The staff are lovely.
Upstairs, there's a section for wedding fabrics and for upholstery.
North London
Rolls and Rems
Seven Sisters Road / Holloway StationAlways busy, and as a result often hard to get time/attention from the sales people. That's the mark of a great store - the fabric selection is excellent, the staff know their stuff, and the customers are all locals and mums with prams and leathermen and guys coming in to fix their yacht and theatre people.
Nag's Head Market
Seven Sisters Road / Holloway StationAcross the road from Rolls and Rems is the entrance to the market. There's a nice little fabric shop in there, with £1pm net and organza, and lovely staff. There's also a specialist shop further in the market selling wools, ribbons and other notions. No trip to Seven Sisters Road is complete without it.
Vivien of Holloway
Holloway Road / Holloway StationNot a haberdashery. This is one of the leading vintage reproduction brands, and it's always weird to me when I see American bloggers talking about getting something from Vivien of Holloway as if it was something exclusive and special when it's like, 40 minutes away if I hop on a bus.
Some of my readers are historic clothes humans, so if you're visiting Holloway Road pop into this one too. However, I have to say that...I don't know. You have to walk up to the door, and they let you in then lock it behind you, and sort of lurk as you look around. That makes the shopping experience far too weird for me, and it's the only store I've ever been to where staff have done that. I guess the proprietor must have had a bad experience sometime, or comes from a place where that's a normal way to run stores safely. But I've popped in once to browse, and never gone back.
East London
Mermaid Fabrics
364 Mare Street / Hackney Central Station Great local haberdashery - including a nice room of curtain fabrics, and of duvets, pillows etc. Selection is small, but aimed at fabrics the everyday sewer might need. I used to work nearby and relied on it as my main source for several months.
Wild and Wooly
Lower Clapton Road / Hackney Central StationDelightful, sinful independent wool shop. Stocks the yummy import wools like Cascade and whatever that Japanese one is called that looks like multicoloured sea net filled with kelps and strange seaweeds. The shop owner is nice, and the shop is well presented and hosts knit meetups etc. It's the only place I buy wool.
Central London
Berwick Street
Soho / Leicester Square StationThe traditional "fabric shops" street in London has four or five very high quality (read: expensive) specialist shops. There's one with wools and shirtings for tailoring. Another is a theatre-maker's dream - all sequins and feathers. Couture ballgown? Look no further.
My sewing is too crappy to afford fabrics from Berwick street. But one day, perhaps.
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