Last weekend we took a 48 hour cruise to Helsinki to celebrate my mother’s 70th birthday. Helsinki is a really nice city to visit for a short trip, as the city center is not all that huge which makes it accessible by foot. We walked mostly in the city center and in the hipster neighbourhood Rödbergen, where a lot of local designers sell their goods. I also asked for fabric shop suggestions on Instagram and got two that was located smack in the middle of the city centre. That’s unusual for fabric stores, as they are often delegated to less expensive locations. At least the good ones that doesn’t charge an arm and a leg to make up for the high rental fees.
Anyways, let’s take a look what sewing related stuff I brought back from Helsinki!
We visited a book shop in Rödbergen and in the sale bin I found this little cute note book. Yes the cover is reprinted McCall pattern from the 70’s. And the back has the complete back envelope print. Inside there are buttons printed on each page, perhaps this note book is indeed made for jotting down sewing related notes.
Next stop was Materials, a small and nicely curated fabric and pattern shop near the main street. I bought this Italian cotton batiste print. The fabric is very light and will be perfect for a summer blouse.
I ended my little shopping trip at Eurokangas, which is a huge fabric store right in the city centre. It has a funny entrance, i.e. it is hidden on the second floor and you have to take an elevator up and when the elevator doors open you are in the store. The print silk selection was a.m.a.z.i.n.g. but apart from that the fabric selection was very similar to what I can find in Swedish mega-stores, so I didn’t end up buying a lot. But two things came home with me: A high-viz orange sports mesh and a reflective fabric that I have not seen in Swedish stores. It is very soft, has lycra in it and is windproof. I will use that fabric for reflective inserts on a sports jacket that I plan to make in the future.
Hanging with my kids in front of the Helsinki cathedral. If you haven’t already I highly recommend visiting the Finnish capital. It is quite grand in an somewhat Eastern European way and has some very impressive architecture. That said, Copenhagen is my favorite Nordic capital (but I have yet to visit Reykjavik). Stockholm is of course wonderful too, but it is the only proper “big” capital in Northern Europe and I prefer the smaller ones where I can walk and not having to rely on public transport.
