Wee Birdy Q&A: London craft and haberdashery

Q: I'll be in London in May and wondered if you knew where I could buy felt? I tried finding a shop in London like Spotlight (craft supplies) in Sydney but didn't have much luck. Any ideas? That sweet shop looks amazing! Thanks, Trixi

Hi Trixi,
I’m not surprised you didn’t have much luck in finding a craft supplies chain store in London – it’s sorely lacking in this area. However, I did find some other good options for you to check out in May.

Firstly, I headed to the fourth floor of John Lewis on Oxford Street. Back in its glory days, John Lewis’ haberdashery department was apparently THE place to go for this kind of thing. Sadly, these days you’ll find a much smaller and limited version of itself. But I did find a good selection of felt in white, black, ivory, red and green at £6.50 per metre.

Large bunny rabbit feltidermy, US$120, from Girl Savage’s Etsy shop.

Your best bet, though, is London’s marvellous Cloth House. It has two large retail shops on Berwick Street in Soho and sources a spectacular range of fabrics from around the world. You need to head to the shop at number 98, which has a fine and extensive range of felt.

In fact, Cloth House produces its own line from a mill in the French Alps which has been making felt for over 300 years. They have two different types of felt: a woollen viscose that comes in over 30 colours at £15 per metre, and a pure woollen felt at £25 per metre.

Gray kitty feltidermy brooch, US$30, from Girl Savage’s Etsy shop.

And if you’re up for a trip to London’s East End, you would also be in luck at Dalston Mill Fabrics. They stock over 15 colours in acrylic felt at £4.40 per metre, and a woollen felt in black and navy at £17.50 per metre. Good luck and don’t forget to buy a bag of bon-bons from Hope & Greenwood!

Silver gray doe feltidermy, US$45, from Girl Savage’s Etsy shop.

John Lewis
Oxford Street
London W1A 1EX
Nearest tubes: Oxford Circus and Bond Street

Cloth House
47 and 98 Berwick Street
Soho, London
W1F 0QJ
Tel: 020 7287 1555
Nearest tubes: Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road

Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Dalston Mill Fabrics
69-73 Ridley Road
Dalston, London
E8 3NP
Tel: 020 7249 4129
Nearest rail: Dalston Kingsland

p.s. OK, it's slightly off-topic but I love these hilariously cute “feltidermy” hand-stitched pieces by Girl Savage on Etsy. And I needed something to illustrate this post. Genius!

Brown mouse feltidermy brooch, US$30, from Girl Savage’s Etsy shop.