Sew Saturday: what’s in store?

It’s less than a month until the stitchiest event of the year, and we couldn’t be more excited to reveal the ways you can get involved with the Sew Saturday celebrations! The Sew team have travelled across the country to discover what shops are taking part in your local area and beyond; four of the haberdashery shops eager for October 6th to roll around are Leicestershire Crafts Centre, Dragonfly Fabrics, Gilly Bee Designs and The Sewing Cafe. Read on to see what’s in store for you…

Dragonfly Fabrics co-founder, Dorte started sewing with her grandmother at a young age and has been in love with stitching ever since! Dorte and her husband, Simon, moved to Sussex many years ago and decided to set up Dragonfly Fabrics: a store that aims to source affordable, high-quality fabrics which will allow customers to make long-lasting garments.

The pair are also big fans of shopping locally: “We have a very loyal customer base who love having a fabric shop right on their doorstep.” The duo also recently opened up their studio to the Mayfield Art Trail, meaning Dragonfly Fabrics now displays and sells local artwork alongside its materials! “It's a great way of integrating with the community and encouraging visitors to explore the area,” says Dorte. When chatting about Sew Saturday, Simon revealed that Dragonfly Fabrics will showcase lots of special offers, as well as giveaways and home-made cakes on the day – yum!

Another shop taking part in Sew Saturday is Gilly Bee Designs in Norwich. The haberdashery store owner, Gilly, started crafting when she was five and went to college to study Pattern Cutting and Design: “Sewing just makes so much more sense when you know how the pattern is constructed!” Like a lot of us, Gilly crafts as a way of relaxing, but it's the customers that help her to unwind after a day at the store: “Everybody I meet is so lovely, and it's fantastic to see stitchers feel a sense of accomplishment when finishing a handmade garment.”

Gilly was interested in joining Sew Saturday because she wanted to entice locals of varying abilities into the shop. Gilly also believes that: “Sew's event is a great chance to encourage people to buy locally. It's so important to support small businesses near you, and there's nothing better than feeling fabric rather than looking at it on a screen!” This year, Gilly Bee Designs will be donning the theme 'Bags Galore', so be sure to check it out for yourself on the day!

The Sewing Cafe believe that Sew Saturday is a fantastic day for celebrating the crafting community, and we couldn't agree more! The Hinckley-based shop's co-founder, Becky tells Sew: “The event is our chance to thank our little corner of the stitching world for their unwavering support.” Last year, Becky and co-founder, Fay, had a jam-packed Sew Saturday: “We ran eight mini-workshops where stitchers made pretty little purses. We also had special offers, a prize draw, sweet treats and a sit 'n' sew session with Sew Dainty's blogger, Kathy.” This year, The Sewing Cafe have even more fun ideas up its sleeve!

Don't forget – this is just a taster of what's available in your local area. For even more stores, visit the Sew Saturday map.