Fabric Shopping in Paris

As promised, here's a round up of the fabric shops we visited in Paris a few weeks ago:

Anna Ka Bazaar
17 rue Jean Beausire, 75004 (metro Bastille)
I fell head over heels in love with this delightful boutique, run by the same people who design Atelier Brunette fabric. It’s teeny tiny but everything in there is so well curated, from pretty stationery and Japanese books to fabrics and trims.

Lil Weasel
1 passage du Grand Cerf, 75002 (metro Étienne Marcel)
Freya was a bit concerned as I dragged her through the red light district looking for this shop, but suddenly we turned a corner into a magical arcade with a glass roof and decked out in fairy lights and all was well. Lil Weasel occupies two shops opposite each other. One is dedicated to knitting, with shelves brimming with beautiful yarn. The other focuses on sewing, with a gorgeous selection of fabrics, trimmings, and indie patterns.

Marché Saint Pierre
(metro Anvers / Barbès-Rochechouart)
The area just South East of the Sacré Coeur is bursting with fabric shops. Many of them sell “coupons”, pre-cut lengths of fabric, with the length and price attached to them. There is tons is choice and it’s a great way to pick up a bargain, although does mean rummaging through piles and piles, which get messy very quickly!

Sentier area
(metro Sentier)
There are quite a few fabric shops around this area, some selling high end fabrics at similarly high prices, others for a steal. Be warned that some sell wholesale only, so it’s worth asking their minimum metrage (is that a word?) when you go in. Be sure to pop by Maison Sajou while you’re there (47 rue du Caire), a boutique stocking their own range of beautiful vintage-inspired haberdashery. And if you’re peckish, I stumbled upon this Kosher cafe where the very welcoming Harry made me the most delicious sandwich I’ve ever eaten… yum.

Brin de Cousette
2 rue Richard Lenoir, 75011 (metro Charonne)
A lovely shop offering a wide selection of sewing books and indie patterns, as well as fabric, sewing machine hire and workshops.

Mercerie de Charonne
69 rue de Charonne, 75011 (metro Ledru-Rollin)
A great place to stock up on buttons, ribbons and bias tape in all the colours of the world.

Malhia Kent
19 avenue Dausmesnil, 75012 (metro Ledru-Rollin)
If you’re after something special, this place is a real find. They produce fabric for haute couture fashion houses, and sell remnants at bargainous prices. We got a bit high-pitched in here, swooning over Chanel-style pieces (although if you’re dry cleaner-averse like I am, you may not end up buying much). Be sure to check the baskets near the front of the shop for small scraps which they’ll sell you for under a euro – great for making accessories, or just stroking lovingly.

A huge thank you to Carmen and Julie for showing us around Paris.

Have you been fabric shopping in Paris? If you know about other places we should visit, please do share in the comments...

Sewing Bloggers and Readers of the World, Unite!

Photo by Joost De Cock

A couple of weeks ago I went on a fabric shopping trip to Paris. To Paris! 



I got the Eurostar with my friend Freya and headed straight to the Eiffel Tower, where we joined about 25 sewing bloggers and readers from around the world - from the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Finland, the US and Canada (did I miss anyone?). I love blogging meet ups - it's always great to catch up with old chums and meet new ones. I love the fact that you can walk right up to someone you've never met before and start touching up their outfit, rubbing the fabric between your fingers and sighing, "Ooh... silk habotai..." Ordinarily that might be a creepy thing to do to a complete stranger, but luckily people who sew are (for the most part) exceedingly lovely and friendly.

Plus, who else will march round fabric shop after fabric shop with you for two days without getting bored? No one! Many years ago, I lived in Paris for a year, but I wasn’t into sewing back then, so I had no idea what to expect from the fabric shopping scene when I returned this time. Mon dieu, it was amazing!

Tea at Maison Sajou

Meeting one of our lovely stockists, Carine from Lil Weasel

Carmen organised a cracking schedule for us on day 1, complete with maps, Champagne pizza dinner (you can't get better than that) and amazing goody bags, which she'd machine embroidered with our names - so sweet!



I stayed in an apartment that Kelly booked for us, along with Freya, Emmie and - all the way from Nashville, Tennessee - Lauren! I love those ladies. Not only are they AWESOME to hang out with, but they are so colourful that you can't lose them in a crowd.

Idea for a programme - Eight sewing bloggers and a baby

Vanessa and Annabelle from Anna Ka Bazaar / Julie from Jolies Bobines

On the second day a few of us hardcore fabric shoppers wanted more, more, more. We kicked off at my dream shop, Anna Ka Bazaar, where we were met by Julie (kindly indulging me in the above photo with her signature pose), who kindly showed around some other gems of town.

This is what I came back with. How incredible is that hand-print fabric? I'm thinking it'd make a super cheeky/creepy coat lining.

Planning a fabric shopping trip to Paris? This is where we went.

The trip whetted my appetite to go on more international fabric shopping trips. You coming? Where shall we go next?

How to Sew Piping into a Seam

Sewing piping into a seam is a great way of drawing attention to unusual style lines, such as the raglan seams on the Francoise dress. It’s so easy to do and can lift your dressmaking project from ordinary to extraordinary!

You can buy ready-made piping, or you can make your own by cutting a strip of fabric on the bias (ie. at a 45 degree angle to the selvedges), wrapping it around some piping cord and sewing it in place.

Here’s how to pipe a seam:

1) Cut the piping so it’s a bit longer than the seam you want to sew it to. Trim the seam allowances on the two seams that the piping will be sandwiched between so that they are the same width as the fabric part of the piping.

2) Pin the piping to the right side of one of the seams (ie. the side that will show on the outside of your garment), with the cord running along the stitching line and the raw edge of the piping aligned with the raw edge of the fabric.

3) Attach a piping foot or adjustable zip foot to your sewing machine and set the stitch length to 4mm. (You can use a regular zip foot if you don’t have a piping or adjustable zip one, but I find the latter much easier to use.) Baste/tack the fabric part of the piping to the garment within the seam allowance.

4) Re-snip any notches that have been hidden by the piping. Pin the seams of your garment together as normal, with the piping sandwiched between them, matching any notches.

5) Using the piping foot or adjustable zip foot, stitch the seams together, with the needle as close as you can get to the piping cord without sewing over it. Like, really close, which is where the piping or adjustable zip foot comes in handy because the foot doesn't get in the way of the needle – push the piping cord right up against the edge of the presser foot as you sew. If your first attempt isn’t quite close enough, no worries – just try stitching another line even closer.

6) Trim the ends of the piping, and finish your seams as normal. And you’re done!

Here's one I made earlier!

#SewingFrancoise: Sew the Hem + (Optional) Tab

Sewing the Francoise dress? This is the last step – hemming!

Okay, so it’s actually two steps if you’re making the tab, as we’ll sew that part too, but they’re both so quick that I’ve combined them into one post.

Catching up? Read the previous steps in the Francoise sewalong.

Let’s do this!

Hem the dress

Try the dress on and check you’re happy with the length of the hem – there is a 3cm (1 1/4in) hem allowance included in the pattern, so the hemline will be 3cm (1 1/4in) above the raw edge. The dress is designed to be fairly mini, landing mid-thigh on an average height person. If you prefer a shorter hemline, you can chop a bit off. If you prefer a longer hemline, you can lengthen the dress pattern next time you make it (or you could even sew on an extra panel around the hem).

Once you’re happy with the length, turn the hem under by 15mm (5/8in), wrong sides together, and press. Turn it under another 15mm (5/8in), press again and pin.

Topstitch the hem in place, close to the inner fold.

Make the optional tab

You should have two tab pieces, one of which should be interfaced. Pin the tab pieces right sides together.



With the interfaced piece on top, stitch them together, leaving an opening between the small circles. If you set your machine to a shorter stitch length when you sew the rounded corners, it should make it easier to create a smooth curve. Trim the seam allowances and snip small triangles around the curved corners – this will help reduce the bulkiness of the seam allowances when we turn the tab right sides out. Press the seam allowances open.

Turn the tab right sides out through the opening. Use your finger or a blunt butter knife to shape the curved corners.

Fold the seam allowances at the opening to the inside and press the tab neatly. Topstitch over the opening to seal it, close to the edge.

Try your dress on. Place the uninterfaced side of the tab against the right side of the dress, and pin the tab on or above your waistline – wherever you think looks nicest on you. Take the dress off, check the tab is straight, then hand sew two buttons through the tab and the dress.

Give everything a final press and…

Woop! You’ve made an adorable Francoise dress!

I can’t wait to see what you’ve made! Please tweet me a photo or submit your dress to the Maker Gallery.