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When our daughter was out of town for a Week without Walls trip. My husband and I hopped over the Mediterranean Sea to Athens, Greece. Prior to heading over, I did a little research to find any fabric shops near where we were staying or easy to access. I discovered the fabric district was located along Kalamiotou & Metropolis Streets. So one afternoon, we were in the area of Monastiraki Square and the Hadrian’s Library (lots of restaurants, shops, and street vendors in the area) and off we headed to the fabric district. It was a short 5 minute walk.
I was able to use google maps (I just put in Kalamiotou Street). If you don’t have cell service when you are there from Monastiraki Square turn right onto Ermou Street. You walk straight until you reach the Panagía Kapnikaréa Church. There you turn left onto Kalamiotou Street. Go straight on Kalamiotou Street and after you cross over Athinaidos Street you will notice a number of cafes and shops with rolls of fabric outside the doors. You have arrived! My husband found a cafe to get a coffee at and I went exploring.
There are a ton of shops all right next door to each other. Most of the fabric was intended for clothing rather than quilting. At times it was a bit overwhelming of all the options and trying to find things (I am not a Goodwill/Marshalls treasure hunting type person and I like tidy shops…lol).
I did get a few cuts of fabric. At one shop, I picked up 2 meters of a floral fabric and an aqua/polka dot fabric – both seemed to be cotton based (not sure if it is a 100% cotton or not). I’m planning to use the floral fabric for a guitar case for my daughter and I used polka dot for the backing on my weekend charm quilt. At a shop specializing in upholstery and curtain fabrics, I picked up the Frida Kahlo fabric (it’s somewhat canvas like) to make my other daughter a tote bag.
In one shop, the guy cutting fabric only spoke Greek. He was cutting a ton of satin fabric for a woman who spoke English luckily. She translated for me that I wanted two meters of each of the fabrics I had. The other shop, the woman spoke English and I was able to easily get one meter.
In case you are worried, you can get steps in going to all the shops along the street. There’s shops at street level and below street level. The hubs grabbed this picture of me descended into a sea of fabric.
I totally recommend exploring the fabric district when in Athens, Greece!
