I had mentioned in another post that I had gone to London and was lucky enough to find the shops on Berwick Street open late on a Saturday afternoon. Someone asked me if I was going to post pictures so here they are.
For anyone in London or planning a trip there – here are the details:
I should mention that the place where I got the Liberty Cottons was not on Berwick Street but on Old Brompton Road (everything else came form Berwick or Broadwick Streets). This little store which I believe was called Galactico had almost an entire wall of Liberty remnants (as well as many full bolts). I had never seen that many varieties of this kind of fabric and in fact couldn’t really figure out what the big deal was with Liberty anyway. After being able to touch it I do see why it is so popular. It has a really nice feel to it and most of the ones that I picked up and fondled (!) were very thin but not necessarily sheer.
The creamy cotton that I bought at the Cloth House is an organic cotton and has the same touch and feel of really fine 400+ thread count sheets. It looks plain but the feel of it is luxurious.
Both of the fabrics from Broadwick Silks are spectacular. The snakeskin is a stretch fabric and is a real departure for me. Not usually something I would buy or wear but this one was just so pretty with the gold sheen that I thought as a tank top it would look nice with jeans or under a jacket.
You can’t really see the items from the Berwick Street Cloth Shop because my helper is hiding them. I could not get them to photograph well. One of the items is a silk netting that is so soft you almost can’t feel it. They were trying to get rid of their remnants and when I didn’t take this one with the first amount she quoted me, she cut the price in half. There are 4 meters of it. I have no idea what to do with all of it but I’ll find some uses for some of it.
I was absolutely blown away by the number of shops all grouped together and the variety of what they sold. I bought only remnants since they were discounted and I found that they were still fairly pricey but I am very happy with the quality and uniqueness of what I bought.
So, those of you who have taken trips and done some fabric shopping – what did you buy and where did you go? You have to download those pictures from your camera anyway so take some pictures of your souvenirs and show us for inspiration!
JT
Replies
Looks like your helper has found a bed. My dog likes to get on my piles of fabric. They just want to be close. I know you had a great time touching and buying the fabric. It was worth the trip right there, wasn't it?
Yep! That would have been worth the trip or the V&A museum would have been worth it. Having both was over the top!
This kitty is named Tiger and he's just a nut for laying on anything spread out. He just loves the silk netting. Lucky for me he has no claws or I wouldn't be able to let him lay on those fabrics for fear of having him snag them. I adopted him from a shelter a few years back and he was all-four declawed when I got him. What kind of dog do you have?
JT
Thanks for sharing your shopping adventure. I thought I would let you know that I recently saw some great art quilts made with some of that silk netting layered on other silks -beautiful. There were also some pumps made orange and pink dupioni with orange silk netting overtop!
Oh - I never thought about putting it over another fabric - just under. It's a nice creamy color so it would be good to slightly mute another color. Thank you for the advice!
JT
Thanks so much for the timely advice. I will be in London on September 7th, for a week and fabric shopping is #1 on my list (as if it isn't always). Shall now check my London street map to make sure I scan the right streets. It took me 5 years to make up a shirt from my Liberty fabric and I am actually going to wear it on my trip. I really like their cottons as they feel so silky and light. Now I'm looking forward to finding the shop where you purchased your Liberty remnants.
Anyone got tips for fabrics in Paris and Provence? That's the next leg of my trip.
The little store where I found the Liberty remnants was the only one where I didn't get a reciept or a bag with their name on it. I had to look that one up because I knew I was on Old Brompton Road. I hope you find it easily - I almost walked right past it.
I found this website (after my trip!)
http://www.upmystreet.com/UK/findmynearest/shopping/fabric-and-haberdashery/results/in/Soho-86541.html
The word for fabric in French is tissu if you have to look it up in your hotels phone book.
Have fun and post pics of your purchases when you get back?
JT
Beautiful material. Would like to see the finished projects - whenever you sew it up.
Yeah, me too. Unfortunately, I've been in a real sewing lull lately. The last several things I've sewn haven't fit well and I find that so frustrating that I have decided to step away from my sewing machine for a while. If I can get a better fit from RTW and it costs less, then what am I doing?
Still, I love to rub my hands along the fabric and dream. If I ever make anything from these beautiful fabrics I'll post pics. Maybe I'll take them to a real dressmaker and have her make me something that fits - maybe I'll learn something from the process.
JT
Whatever you do with the fabric I know you will be happy. Just looking at it makes me happy. I love beautiful fabric.
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