The Late Night Sewist

Last weekend I had a chance to briefly visit Stockholm.

My mom and her two friends needed a fourth person to fill the cabin for a short cruise to Stockholm and I thought some fabric shopping in Sweden wouldn´t hurt, so I joined in.

I have visited Stockholm before and seen or visited the main attractions so this time I decided to look for fabrics and just enjoy the day.

I was so busy at work before the trip that I had no time to run a proper search for the stores so I ended up with a few I found on a random post on a discussion thread somewehere on a website, I cannot recall.

What I like the most about fabric shopping while on a trip is that it makes you go to areas and places that you would most probably not visit as a regular tourist. This is why going back to a city you have visited before can be even more enjoyable because you are free of the pressure to see the most important tourist attractions and landmarks.

With a map in my hand and a metro ticket in my pocket I ended up in Södermalm, to find a tiny fabric shop that I knew from my internet source was owned by a Greek couple. The shop is called Karmosin, they also have a very basic website here.

They bring their goods from Italy and the little place is stuffed with rolls of different fabrics, from wedding dress silk to plain printed cotton. They are also selling some dresses, that have been sewn using the fabrics on sale. Although the selection is not huge, I found a beautiful heavier type of polyester for a dress or a skirt. I love the color combination:

It was a very nice experience to speak Greek after some time away from Greece and not having used the language on a daily basis.

The other shop I was looking for, was called Red Thread in English, but I was directed to Red Cross charity shop when I asked around 🙂 I also didn´t have the precise address and was already ready to leave to go to Gamla Stan, when I suddenly noticed a sign across the street that read “tyger”. Somehow I had connected the dots and realized that this has something to do with fabric (actually it means “fabrics” in English, I now know). So I decided to check it out and ended up in a little paradise.

The shop was called Söders Tyger and they really have great stuff there! A huge selection of all types of Gütermann thread, loads of cotton fabrics in all imaginable prints, great buttons and of course, sewing machines.

Of course I could not leave empty handed and it turned out to be one of the rare times where I have an idea or pattern already in my mind and then I get the fabric as well. Usually the process is opposite, the idea appears the moment I touch the fabric,

This time I was thinking of trying to make tight fitting jean-like pants for summer (Burda magazine produced a very appetizing pattern like two months ago) and I kept my eyes open for a suitable weight stretch fabric. This is what I found:

I also got a golden coat of arms button for the pants and some Gütermann thread.

I really enjoyed the day, although I was wandering the shops alone as my mom took part in a tour and one of her friends went shopping at a big mall.

Now I just hope to find enough time to get to sewing soon!