A Fabric Lover's Guide to Lisbon and Porto, Portugal
Whenever I travel to a new place, I love to check out the local fabric stores and sewing scene. When I visited Portugal in fall 2022, this was no different. Between eating and exploring the history, I made time to visit a few fabric and sewing stores.
So why Portugal?????
I can’t remember how I first learned about cork as a textile but back in 2015 I discovered this durable renewable textile. It is produced from the bark of the cork tree and made primarily in Spain, France and Portugal. About half of the worldwide production of cork is in Portugal. I got my very first pieces of cork from an Etsy vendor who was based in Portugal and boy was it super expensive. About a total of 2 meters cost me a little over $100 after everything was said and done with taxes and shipping, etc. Given the durability, sustainability, and beauty of cork, I was hoping to use it in a line of accessories but the pricing would have been crazy. So I put it on my list of things to do to visit Portugal and connect with vendors and factories to help reduce the price. As I did my research for the trip, I discovered what a beautiful and culturally rich country Portugal is. By the time I planned the trip, the focus changed a bit. I didn’t make it to the factories but I did get to explore two of its beautiful cities- Lisbon and Porto.
Overnight bag designed by me and made out of Portuguese Cork. Cork products are ubiquitous in Portugal. There are cork purses, wallets, shoes, placemats, coasters. If you can think of it, they have it in cork.
Lisbon
I didn’t get to do too much fabric shopping in Lisbon. Unlike New York and Paris, I didn’t find a central location where fabric stores were in close proximity to each other. I did, however, stumble upon a store in Rossio Square named Feira Dos Tecidos. The name translates to “fabric market”. I quickly learned that they were a chain with stores in Porto as well. In the same vicinity of Rossio square there is also Londres Salão, Casa Tavares and Tavares, and Ourotexteis.
Views of the fabric stores near Rossio Square
Porto
My first stop on the fabric shopping journey was a store I hadn’t even found during my search. I stumbled upon it as I was walking. Riera Alta is a cute little store that had a wide selection of fabrics and notions. This was one of the stores that did have cork fabric for sale. They had a great selection of purse making supplies so I bought a bronze purse frame. During my visit, they just so happened to be having a workshop.
My next stop was Feira Dos Tecidos. My favorite part about this store? They had bins and bins of remnants at great prices. Their general selection of fabric was pretty cool as well. They had some beautiful linen at 14 euro/meter but also had suiting, outerwear fabric and everything in between. My other favorite thing? The zippers that I got for 15 cents each!! Though it was a bit odd to me, I thought the bins of towels by weight were cute.
Mundo dos Tecidos (translates to “World of Fabrics”) is a multilevel store that just so happens to be located across the street from a Pfaff/SInger/Husqvarna Viking dealer and around the corner from the Bolhāo market. They had a small selection of Ankara prints (from the bolt, not in the traditional 6 yard pieces that I am accustomed to), cottons, special occasion fabrics, fabrics for home sewing, cork. Their special occasion fabrics were a highlight.
Fiore Fabris and Fashion had a spectacular selection of special occasion fabrics. Nearly everything I saw in the store would make a dream gown or other type of evening wear.
A few stores that I didn’t get to check out because they were closed were Casa Rocha, Armazém Dos Linhos. I had an absolutely amazing time checking out all the shops and hope to catch the ones I missed the next time. If you visit an of these, I would love to hear about your experience!
