I can’t even put into words how much fun my trip to Paris was! I don’t mean to sound like a stereotypical children’s book but…. whatever, I’m going to say it anyway. This trip was absolutely magical and such a dream come true! — I totally mixed business with pleasure (which is technically all pleasure), and I made it a point to go fabric shopping in Paris while we were there. *excited squeeee*
I’m also going to share some photos from my trip. I love photography, and this city is just too beautiful not to share! Check out the second half of this post for more photos from my trip!
There are lots of little shops with fabric scattered all over the city. We stopped in a few to browse but found they mostly had home decor fabrics or fabrics meant for clothing…. silks. Oh my gosh, the silk fabrics… I wanted to bathe in them until my last breath. They were so fine and such good quality. You could hold them in your hands, and it felt like nothing but air. Absolutely luxurious.
But silks aren’t meant for quilting and because I was laser-focused on buying quilting fabrics… We had to keep moving.
It was a little harder to find good quilting fabric and cotton fabric in the tiny shops. The selection was there, but it was fair. Logistically, I get it. Small store, small selection for the traveling quilt obsessed tourist.
All of the above was true until… we finally hit this area. I was as giddy as a wee child on Christmas morning.
The best street corner to shop
This little corner district was absolutely love at first sight. If you’re going to a fabric shop in Paris, you have to shop at Marche Saint-Pierre.
This store is six stories of fabric. Yeah, not just a little corner shop. Six different floors of fabric for everything you could ever dream of.
I could have lived there, but I had my husband with me, so I quickly browsed each floor and touched everything. There is also this store across the street that has all the “Coupons” or deals on fabric.
Beware that while the fabric on the street was a decent value… it was not what I would consider good quality. It looked like a tourist trap to me. I mean, it is just something to hook you in thinking their prices are amazing. Just the touch of their cottons felt waxy and thin/low quality. Honestly, you get what you pay for, but they still felt overpriced.
Once inside Marche Saint-Pierre, you can find areas of every single fabric type you can imagine. The selection wasn’t huge of each type, but large enough that you could easily find something that would work.
Most peculiar was this long roll of tea towel and bath towel material. It is apparently a pretty common thing over in Europe, and in industrial situations, it was just a new one on me because when I decide we need new towels, I just go to target. I’ve never considered buying a yard of a towel. It came in several colors too… I learned something new!
Their prices were decent, and I almost had an armful of pretty fabrics before my husband reminded me that we are not rich millionaires nor do we have the extra suitcase room to bring home my treasures. Sigh…*kill-joy* I mean, he was totally right, but I was in absolute fairytale land at this point.
Fabric Shopping in Paris felt much more exotic and fun than it does here back home. I wasn’t just searching for any fabric. I was on a mysterious treasure hunt to find the most beautiful fabric in the lot. So I made it a point to buy only what my heart absolutely could not live without.
Only the most beautiful treasure would be worthy enough for the small amount of room left in my suitcase.
I was just about to leave when this embroidered denim fabric caught my eye.
Stunning isn’t it? There were about 3 yards left of it, and I snatched up all of it. I don’t know what it is about the embroidery. It isn’t my typical color palette. It isn’t my typical style, but my heart said this was the one.
I absolutely love it, and I have no idea what to do with it… yet, but it is going to be grand. Whatever it is. The embroidery is just a border along one side of the fabric. The rest of the fabric is the most buttery soft denim fabric. It behaves like a soft cotton instead of a stiff denim.
Do you have any suggestions for what I can do with this lovely Parisian fabric find?
There were so many other fabrics that I loved, but none of them held a candle to THIS one.
If you are fabric shopping in Paris, you have to make your way to Marche Saint-Pierre! It’s an absolute must. Within the same general street area, there are several smaller fabric shops that have opened their doors to bring in Marche Saint-Pierre customers. There was even a notions shop next door and a store that had nothing but silks. I regret that I was in such a fabric focused state of mind that I didn’t not get the name of any of the nearby shops. 🙁 But they are all within several hundred feet of each other. We were there on a Friday, and most of the stores had displays of fabric rolls outside along the sidewalk, so they were easy to spot.
So yes, if you have any ideas for my lovely embroidered fabric find, please do share 🙂
Now onto more pictures from my trip if you are interested in just a few photo gems!
More Paris Trip Pictures!
First of all, this guy right here… he is my other half and keeps me sane when life gets crazy hectic. He keeps me grounded and sometimes drives me crazy, but I love him anyway 🙂 This trip was just about us. No kids. He got the opportunity to take a class for work in Amsterdam and with his ticket already being paid for by work, we turned it into a vacation, and he brought me along.
I know, I’m really lucky. It worked out so well, and we had a wonderful time reconnecting and laughing at each other getting winded on the stairs… seriously… so… many… stairs… everywhere.
Fun fact: I actually went to school for Communication Design. It is a lot of graphic design with a heavy focus on advertising and marketing. I studied a lot of Art history in college. While I thought I would lose my mind memorizing all the facts and artists names and painting dates, I fell in love with it at the same time.
It has always been my dream to visit Europe and actually see these works in person… 🙂
A pretty artsy shot of the Eiffel tower! 🙂
I am a lover of delicious French foods and Macarons are totally in my top 3!
While we are at it…. the food… omg. The food! Why aren’t things this deliciously pure in America? I have never met a crepe I didn’t absolutely love.
I am more of a tea person, but I drank more cappuccinos this past week than I’ve had in the whole past year combined. It was cold outside, and coffee is warm. I drank my fair share of hot teas as well 🙂
Remember how there was a bridge where people put the locks on it, and it added so much weight over time that the bridge broke and they had to remove all the locks? yeah, that didn’t stop people. There are literally locks all over the city from people just plain ignoring all the rules. I guess Paris just accepts that they can do nothing about it at this point so why flight it? (no, we didn’t bring a lock to leave in Paris… Maybe next time we will though?)
If you have made it this far through my Paris pictures, thank you 🙂 I took over 1,600 pictures this trip. (yes, bless my husband for putting up with me trying to get THE perfect shot 900 times a day! He is certainly a keeper!) If you are planning a trip to Paris and have any questions, I’m happy to chat and share my own experience.
Au Revoir, mon ami!