How to fabric hunt in Athens Greece
How to fabric hunt in Athens Greece is a little tricky. While you are breathing in the wondrous aromas from tasty street treats if you are a fabric junkie you will scout out tiny alleys with stacks of textile delights.
My experience was only with the metropolitan area of Athens Greece on a short trip on the way to Italy. Likely, there are several other fabric stores in Athens Greece, like in the suburban areas of the city but if you are an American traveler like me, this is what you’ve got.
Location of Fabric in Athens Greece
Many of the shops are scattered about. Our hotel, the Zillers Boutique Hotel was near a fabric shop. It was the only one for several blocks and then I spotted a few others. The fabric s one near the hotel was extremely expensive. “Silk” for 90€ a meter. No thanks. Honestly, I’m not even sure this was real silk but I passed.
There is however a single alley with 2 by 2 New York City that my DH found. Let me provide some context. A trip to Europe equals 20k steps per day for us. It’s nice to see the city on foot, air, and sea but we almost always walk everywhere.
We started walking and the streets in many parts of greater Athens are super narrow. As we walked, the street became quiet and dim. And at some point, I told DH I felt uncomfortable, and that the area looked sketchy. He says, “turn left” and there it was bolts of fabric dancing down a narrow road.
Pricing of Fabrics in Athens Greece
You will not believe me if I tell you that I didn’t spend more than 100 Euro total on my haul. I don’t know why the fabric in Athens Greece is inexpensive. When I got to the room, I did my lighter burn test to fabrics sold to me at silks or cottons. As you all know, synthetic fabrics like acetate and polyester should melt and cottons burn and smell like paper. All fabrics purchased tested correctly.
The pricing for these fabrics was between 2-5 euros per meter, nothing like Joann or other US-based fabric stores. Now, let’s talk. I did have to surf through a lot of fabrics in Athens, Greece to pick up my jewels.
If you are looking for ready-to-go type fabric shopping this is not it and I didn’t find the notions to be priced any differently than any other notions shops in the US.
Types of fabrics
I saw many home decor shops. Typically, I do not buy home decor fabrics on my journeys. You need a lot of fabric for home decor projects and they tend to be heavier making it difficult to transport home.
Amongst all those reasons, I usually sew garments so I skipped all of these fabric stores in Athens, Greece.
Remember, it’s hot here and sort of chilly in the winter so you can get silks, cotton, linens, and wool just like in the states. In fact, I even saw shops selling all kinds of fur coast, etc.
Another tip is to bring your own bag and shop in Euros in cash. These are small shops and you may be able to negotiate some if you have cash and bring your own bag. When I’m in Europe I always bring my own recyclable shopping bags. Life is super simple this way. Shop owner are likely to work a quick and dirty deal with you when your are friendly, quick and cash in hand.
Have you been to Athens for fabric? What shopping tips do you have?
