What I’m reading: London Stitch & Knit

My bedside table is piled high with books at the moment. I seem to behind sharing them here but today I wanted to tell you about London Stitch & Knit: a craft lover’s guide to London’s Fabric, Knitting and Haberdashery Shops by Leigh Metcalf. The author blogs at Found, now home which I’ve enjoyed for a while so I was excited when she mentioned she was working on her first book about haberdashery shops in London. As a Londoner who loved to stitch I knew I was going to want a copy of London Stitch & Knit on my shelves.

In London Stitch & Knit: a craft lover’s guide to London’s Fabric, Knitting and Haberdashery Shops writer, photographer and keen sewist Leigh Metcalf takes you on a tour of the city’s haberdashery treasure trove.

Featuring profiles on over 45 shops divided into six London territories; from big-store titans such as Liberty and John Lewis, to little gems such as DM Buttonholes, and from the beautifully decorated and stocked Cloth House, to the fancy-free but functional William Gee.

This is a lovely book, more to pick up and dip into than read cover to cover. Haberdashery shops seem to be closing at a rate of knots so I was interested to see how many there are spread out over London. Living out on the edge of London I have to travel a long way for my fabric fix. This is a lovely guide to sewing shops, some I am familiar with, some which I’m now eager to visit. One thing is for sure, I hope they stay as bricks and mortar businesses for a long time, nothing beats seeing fabric in real life.

The book is complemented with wonderful photography of each shop, displays and close ups so this is a great coffee table book as well as guide book. London Stitch & Knit is the perfect accompaniment for anyone keen on craft, stitching and knitting supplies – locals and tourists alike!