Serendipity in Berwick Street

I have yet to find the woolly equivalent of shopping heaven.  Imagine if you will a street where you find the little crafty shops of Bath, your local wool shop and John Lewis wool department all in one side street with a shouty market (which sometimes smells of fish) at one end. This is Berwick Street Soho, not knitting nirvana but the next best thing. The nicest place in London for fabric surprises. 

This is The Cloth House

I often make my best stash finds when I am just browsing, no pressing need to find exactly the right thing, just a gentle stroll to see what is there, a preliminary recky.  On days like this I often return home with all sorts of exciting parcels.  It’s saunter-buy-gloat-stash in that order (make up later).

I really don’t like the expression ‘killing time’.  Time is precious, every second should be savoured and not wasted.  But I did arrive in Regent Street a little early to meet my dear friend a couple of weeks ago so time to slip up Great Marlborough Street and glance in Borovick’s. 

Ignore the animal prints, shiny PVC and day-glo tulle stacked up by the door (unless that is what you seek).  Inside there are treasures, cotton percale shirting, fine striped linen and, deep in the back of the shop, silk in many colours and weaves.  The plain silks (and the PVC) are permanent residents but there are always surprises.  On my last visit, just inside the door I found a jumble of bright silks, roll ends from some designer’s workshop and bought this.

 Not exactly a random purchase this time but certainly a random amount there was only 2.2 m left on the roll.  For a jacket with deep tucks, wide facings and a collar cut on the cross that dipped halfway down my back?  By piecing the collar (the pattern so crazy that the joins on the scraps of fabric disappeared) I had just enough. 

 A whole evening sat at my sewing machine, back to JTH is a bit rude so I don’t usually get a project done in one sitting.  But last Saturday when all the boys were out together I rather forgot the time.  I just sat and sewed, finishing off the hand sewing in the sun on Sunday morning (while the boys sipped alka seltzer)

The boys had been to the stag night, I will wear the jacket at the wedding.