Chels Goes To London: A Guide to Fabric & Haberdashery Shops in London

*Updated*

Hello again,

Today, I'll gave you a tour of the fabric and haberdashery shops in London.

Upon doing my research of fabric stores, I was disappointed that you need to visit more than one shop to gather all the materials for a project. Vastly different from the one-stop-shops in Canada. There are a few places where you can purchase some notions as well as fabric (I'll point those out), but for the most part if you need more sophisticated items, you'll need to visit another shop. Which can sometimes be inconvenient.

I'll walk through the shops in the order I went to them.

VV Rouleaux

https://www.vvrouleaux.com/

102 Maryledone Lane, W1U 2QD

Hours
Monday & Tuesday 9:30-6
Wednesday 10:30-6
Thursday 9:30-6:30
Friday & Saturday 9:30-6
Sunday Closed

This shop carries a variety of ribbons and feathers. By the looks of it, it is a shop for millinery. They carry a range of other trims and ornaments, but you will not find fasteners, buckles, zippers, etc. here. The day I was there, it looked like there was a hat making class going on. There wasn't anything noted on their website though, so you may need to inquire in person. Go here if you are seeking high quality ribbons and feathers, loose or by the meter.

Barnett Lawson

http://www.bltrimmings.com/

16-17 Little Portland Street, W1W 8NE

Hours
Monday - Friday 9-5:30
Saturday Noon-5
Sunday & Bank Holidays Closed

This shop is easy to miss. From the street, you''' spot a sign, but there is not visible store front. It is located in the basement, so you need to be buzzed in. Here you'll find an array of trims, patches, applique and materials for millinery. I think their best output are the trims. You can find some great things here if you look. The trims are quite special, meaning they are very glitzy and bling-y. There is also a pretty good selection of leather trims here in lots of colours and finishes (like metallic). All the trims are displayed on wall hooks. A meter or so of the length is out, which you bring to the shop's attendant, and tell them how much you need.

MacCulloch & Wallis Ltd.

Soho area, just off Oxford Street.

Hours
Monday-Friday 10-6
Saturday 10:30-5
Sunday Closed

MacCulloch & Wallis is my favourite haberdashery in the Soho area. It has everything you'll ever need from millinery materials, to shoulder pads, to patterns, to tools, to strapping (I finally found a place that sells it!!!- I need it for school, so I've been on the hunt). Everything here comes in a range of colours too which is nice, as their fellow haberdasheries only carry items in black and white only. Shop here for their trims (there are so many!!!): leather, elastic, fancy topical trims, inseam trims, lace trims, etc.!

I'll definitely be coming back here again!

Berwick Street, London

Soho Area, just off Oxford Street.

Hours
Monday - Friday Most 9-6
Saturday Most 10-6
Sunday Closed

Here you'll find high quality fabric shops that sell mostly suiting wools and specialty fabric such as silks and heavily beaded and embroidered fabrics. Expect to pay at least £20 per meter for fabric and up. I was so shocked at the prices I saw. I thought the fabric must have been made of gold for it to be priced that high! Mentally, I was converting over to Canadian dollars, and doing comparisons to the shops I frequented back home. I thought there must be places more reasonable! I knew that the quality was very good, but the sticker price just got me.

While here, I did purchase some fabric. First, I bought some outerwear fabric at Misan Textiles (52 Berwick Street W1F 8SL), which I plan to make a windbreaker from. This shop lays out their fabric by colour. It was very aesthetically pleasing! The regular price of the fabrics are pricey, so pop down into their basement where you'll find the clearance section (I got 2.9m of outerwear fabric for £20!). There are many locations of Misan on Berwick Street, each specializing in a certain type of fabric. For example, the one located at 52 Berwick Street had a nice selection of knits, leather and "different, funky" fabrics. The one located at 32 Berwick Street has suiting wool and shirting fabrics. And the location at 4 Berwick Street has your specialty / occasion fabrics like jacquard.

I bought a high quality lyrca knit (flame printed) at a shop called Borovicks (16 Berwick Street W1F 0HP), which I made leggings from, and hopefully a sports bra with the remaining bits.

You also shouldn't miss out on the Cloth House (47 Berwick Street W1F 8SJ). Even if you don't need fabric, they have really nice decor, and sell a small selection of notions. Upstairs (ground level) you'll find the natural fibers: cotton, linen, wool, etc. and a lot of indigo dyed fabrics, and yarn dyed fabrics. Downstairs you'll find synthetics. The Cloth House actually has a decent selection of latex.

Goldhawk Road, London

Shephard's Bush area.

Hours
Monday - Saturday Most 9-6
Sunday Most closed

The strip of road in between Shepherd's Bush Road and Shepherd's Bush Market is where you'll find a lot of fabric shops. A collection of 9 or so stores (only 2 are showing on the map, but zoom in and you'll see more), there is a lot to look at. For the most part, these stores stock pretty much the same fabrics being in the shirting weight woven category. You won't find too many places that sell a variety of knits, however these particular stores have a selection: A One Fabrics and Classic Textiles. Prices at these places are far more reasonable than if you shop in Soho. They are more comparable to the prices I paid in Canada.

Here you'll find another location of Misan Textiles. This location is the best out of all of them in my opinion. Firstly, the fabrics aren't too pricey as their Central London locations. And secondly, you can find a decent selection of notions! Rejoice!

Walthamstow High Street

This location is a bit of a hike from the central London, but it is way, way worth it. At Walthamstow High Street, you'll find multiple fabric and haberdasheries. The fabric stores west of Willow Walk have a very nice selection of knits and heavier weight wovens (coat weight fabrics and upholstery types). To the East of Willow Walk, you'll find fabric stores packed with polyester satin, embroidered net/ mesh, stretch velvet and printed light weight cottons. Stores in this area are on the small side, but there are lots of places to visit!

As for the haberdasheries, I am happy to say I've found places that sell more than just ribbon! Items like sewing and drafting tools, basics like elastic and zippers in any length and colour, and specialty items such as prong-backed studs are available here.

The cool thing about Walthamstow High Street is that there are other specialty fabric stores including ones for carpeting, bed linens, upholstry, you name it!

Walthamstow market is the UK's longest running outdoor market.

Here are some of my favourite spots:

This shop had a lot of fabrics for 50p! Yup, 50 pence!

This is the place with the prong-backed studs!

This haberdashery was fantastic! They had pretty much everything you could think of. I bought a tracing wheel here for £1 (because I forgot mine at home)!

Right beside the shop above, Saeed's Fabrics is on the more expensive side (compared to the others selling fabric for 50p), but I really liked this stores selection. I bought 2 fabrics from here.

Another fabric store clearing fabric for 50p. This shop had nothing over £5/m!

Another one of my favourite haberdasheries in the area. You will find a never ending selection of embroidered and bling-y trim as well as sewing and drafting tools.

The Haul: