Where to buy beautiful fabric in Paris
 

My hubby and I will be in Paris this Sept and I would like to buy some fabric to make pillows for our home. Where is teh best place to buy fabric?

Thank you so much!

Rue Jacob has some great fabric shops.
Pierre Deux and others are there.

Jamikins, there are many fabric stores in Montmartre in the area northeast of the Anvers metro stop onward to Marche St. Pierre. My wife has purchased wonderful fabrics from which she has made decorative pillows. You will be amazed at the quantity and the variety of the fabrics available.

Thank you for the quick responses! I am getting so excited, and have 5 more months to wait!!

A second for the Rue Jacob area...you'll find several top quality fabric shops. Prices won't be cheap, but the richness of the colors and fabrics is unbeatable.

I just bought some fabric at BHV which I am going to use to make pillows and a table runner. They also have a great selection of tassels. Not too expensive (mine was 12€ per meter). It's on the same floor as the great door/cabinet hardware department. This is the third time I've bought hardware there - in fact my husband is right now making a new storm door so I can use my beautiful French hardware on it.

Pierre Deux is known as Souleiado in France, and both it and Les Olivades are on rue de Seine. These fabrics, are, of course, the provencal cotton prints. Les Olivades are slightly less expensive than Souleaido.

On rue Jacob you can find Pierre (think that's the correct first name?) Frey for dressier, more sophisticated fabrics. The Maison d'Ivre is also there.

Thanks for asking the question, jamikins! My husband and I will also be in Paris in the end of September and I like sewing for my home, too. Who knows? We might bump into each other in some fabric shop somewhere.

Thank you grandmere! I got my Pierres confused! also on the corner of rue Benoit and rue Jacob , another wonderful fabric and design store.

Thank you all so much!! I cant wait to start looking!

dln, wouldnt that be hilarious, now I'll be on the lookout..we'll be there Sept 10-18, you?

pierre Fray 22 rue Royale 8th
for top of the line.
Also Madura but lost the address as one opened here in Boston.

jamikins,

Just returned from Paris on Tuesday.
While in Paris I also purchased some fabric to make some pillows.

As others have posted the Rue Jacob area is wonderful. I also can highly recommend some other areas to check out.

In the 18th at the base of Sacre Coeur, you can take either the Abbesse or Anvers metro and walk to Saint Pierre. This area is known as fabric alley, they have one fabric shop after another and much to choose from. It will boggle your mind.

I discovered a wonderful fabric store last year while in both Germany & Paris and purchased all my fabric for my living room and dining room from KA International. Just beautiful fabrics!
They have 4 stores in the Paris area. I have posted their website and addresses for you.
() 58, rue Pierre Demours
? () 17, rue de Passy
? () 61 rue de Rennes
? () 5, rue Edouard VII
http://www.ka-international.com/nuev...sh/default.htm

Madura is another wonderful shop and they have many pillows already made and at great prices.
http://www.madurahome.com/sommaire.html
PARIS 6ème
66, rue de Rennes
Tél. : (33) 01 45 44 71 30
M? St-Sulpice
St-Germain-des-Prés

PARIS 8ème
6, rue Tronchet
Tél. : (33) 01 47 42 92 92
M? Madeleine, RER Auber

Bouchara is also another wonderful shop
located in the 9th at 54, bd. Haussman.
It is across the street from Galleries Lafayette on the same side of the street. Also, Galleries Lafayette just opened their new home store and had some fabrics to choose from.

BHV is also a great fun place. Just love this store. Be sure to check out the lower level. Bought some wonderful
French signs this trip. They are located at 52-65 rue de Rivoli, metro Hotel De Ville.

Hope this helps.
kjl

I agree with Bouchara and all those stores below Sacre Coeur. Just walk down rue de Steinkerque and all the sidestreets off of it and you'll be in fabric heaven! If you're interested in the Provencal cottons, I can add one more, Le Rouvray, 3 rue de la Bucherie in the 5th, not far from the Shakespeare Bookstore. Have fun!

th stores below Sacre Coer are great for fabric. Do your homework first and visit a Calico Corners in your area first. Many french fabrics can be had for the same price. But, when in Paris look for the double wide bolts...you can have beadspreads and sofa coverings with no sems...the fabric is a healthy 88 inches wide....a good buy too

Jamikins, I've just checked our tickets (arrived via FedEx last week--we're really really going) and we get into Paris on the 23rd. We'll just miss each other! But maybe if I'm really lucky and you're not too wiped out with jetlag upon your return, you'll post your fabric finds??? Good luck shopping and I hope to hear about it!!

One word of caution. I haven't bought any lately, but it used to be that European fabrics were generally sold by the square meter, not the linear meter. That means if it says 50 euro per meter, and the fabric is roughly 59 inches wide (common in European fabrics) then it really costs you 75 euro per running meter, as it is one and a half square meters.

I've bought (way too much) fabric in the UK and in france and have always been charged by the linear meter, not square. Bring a cloth tape measure with metric on one side, inches on the other. I find this handy when trying to remember how big something is and how many meters/yards I need, I mean want.
If you're trying to match a sofa or certain colors try to bring a fabric swatch. The range of colors is so much greater and the palette can be different.

As a mentioned it's been quite a while since I did so, so things may have changed. Apparently so, because I thought they sold fabric by the yard not the meter in the UK, so it shows I MUST be out of date on the issue. By the way, when I did buy fabric in Paris by the yard, they were then the very new wide width fabrics, so they may have been trying to prevent "sticker shock" by showing prices in square meters rather than linear meaters.

I have bought wonderful fabric all along Steinkerque Street and the side streets off it. The best buys, I think, are in the trimmings, the braid, fringe , tassels etc. They are more unusual and much cheaper than you can find here. As someone else mentioned, the double wide material is great. I have used it for tablecloths, drapes and not having extra seams is a great convenience. Last year at our hotel, I met a woman who had worked for a fashion magazine and her daughter who were there buying all the material for her daughter's wedding, bride, bride's maid and mother of the Bride. Of course here, the good question is, who do you get to do all the sewing!

In Paris in the last two years, I have also only purchased fabric by the linear meter. I was also amazed at the widths available. I got some gorgeous reversible fabric for curtains that is 9' wide and was a very reasonable cost.

Hi, We are off to Paris tomorrow, so I will hopefully look up the fabric shops recommended here. I am particularly looking for dressmaking stuff, so will report back if I find any interesting outlets. Don't know if the French are into crafts so I will look there too.

I love the idea of having some fabric made into something to remember my trip to Paris. However, I don't sew!

Is it in appropriate to ask on this board if someone give me an idea of how much fabric to buy for throw pillows, whether in meters or square meters or doublewide or whatever.

sherry1,

I sew, but the answer depends so much on the width of the particular fabric.

If you have an idea of the size pillow you want, perhaps you could figure out the size in centimeters, then the person selling the fabric could figure out how much you need to get.

~Liz

I think the last suggestion about getting help there is great one. Just figure out in cm the dimensions of the pillow, take that with you and ask. People will be happy to help!

If you buy a pattern--Vogue, Butterick, whatever--the metric conversions are listed. You can bring the pattern instructions with you and you'll have no trouble getting the correct yardage.

This makes me think of something! If Europeans don't sell fabric in yards, as we do, what do they call "yardage?"

sherry1, Look at pillows before you go and decide which size you like, measure it, then add a couple of inches. You need at least 1/2" for the seam allowance all around, but I would get a little extra. (And of course you need enough for two pieces unless you plan to use something else for the back of the pillow.) I just carry a small retracting tape measure in my purse so I don't have to worry about changing to metric! Then I can actually measure the fabric and know I'm getting enough.

Also, if you want fringe on your pillows, you will find lots of that as well in those stores along rue de Steinkerque.

The other thing I meant to say was that you can't depend on the clerk in the store speaking English, so I like to be able to measure the fabric to be sure we're understanding each other as far as quantity.

I live in Paris for a few years now and i ll give only one Place to go ! MADURA ! First time i was there I almost passed out... Wonderful ... You can find the most beautyful colors and quality for a reasonable price ... You can find them here :

PARIS 6ème
66, rue de Rennes
Tél. : (33) 01 45 44 71 30
Subway St-Sulpice
St-Germain-des-Prés

PARIS 8ème
6, rue Tronchet
Tél. : (33) 01 47 42 92 92
Subway Madeleine, RER Auber

You can also check their website :
http://www.madurahome.com/

enjoy!