Fabric Hunting in Paris

P aris is one of my favourite cities. I love the fashion, the architecture, the food, the people – the whole package.

After catching a train from Strasbourg to Paris, we settled into our Paris apartment for seven days of exploring.

I love the art in Paris so we went to the Musee d’Orsay to see the impressionists and we expanded our art history in the Louvre.

But one can only suck in so much culture before a girl’s mind turns back to fabric. I had done my Google research and found there was a fabric district in Montmartre at the base of the Sacre Coeur – a major tourist attraction. Glen agreed to accompany me in search of this fabric mecca.

Must throw in a Louvre picture!

Armed with our Metro map and tickets, we headed for the nearest station. If you have never experienced the Paris Metro, it is a brilliant system allowing you to get anywhere in this gigantic city. At times, however, this involves walking considerable distances within a station to locate the correct platform.

I had mapped out a course with great confidence that would get us there with only one train change. Naturally, the first train we got on was the wrong one and I had to quickly alter the plan! The new plan had us going through a major convergence of train lines. When we arrived, to locate the correct platform we walked upstairs and downstairs and through tunnels and around corners and up more stairs and down more stairs…. 5 hot flushes later, we found the platform!

We departed at the station near Sacre Coeur with a flood of tourists heading for the cathedral. It was packed! We walked in that pack for three blocks before a blessed turn to the right into emptiness. One further block and we were there!

Sacre Coeur Cathedral Paris

There are many fabric stores here selling every type of fabric and trimming imaginable. Marche Saint Pierre is the largest with several floors devoted to different types of fabric. I had read that “coupons” meant there were remnants selling at a considerably reduced rate.

One on the many Montmartre fabric shops

I was looking for things I wanted to use in quilting. I was also focussing on finding fabric that was unusual – that I hadn’t seen anywhere else. As you can see, there was certainly a lot of fabric to go through…

Discount fabric on outside trays

Of particular interest was the range of African cottons ranging in price from 3 to 7 Euros/meter. If there’s one thing I can’t pass up, it’s African fabric. I also found a number of Japanese printed fabrics using what look like art nouveau style designs. I bought a couple of those as well.

African piece (left), Japanese fabrics (mid & right)

If you are ever in Paris and looking for a fabric diversion (and a break from the tourists) visit this area in Montmartre. It was worth a visit.
Time now to get back to Glen’s favourite pastime – patisseries.

Paris patisseries everywhere you look

This is my last blog from France, I hope you also enjoyed the journey. Time now to head to some new adventures.

Au revoir for now,

Leslie..

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