Stuffed animals filter

November 7, 2006 3:39 AM

Help me create my mini-animals! Where can i buy DIY/craft material to create stuffed teddy bears and felt animals in London, UK?

Walking around Brick Lane yesterday I came across those great felt animals in a store, and I want to create them myself. I have no clue where to buy the material (I am not a DIY afficionado), so suggestions are welcome. Bonus point if I can find it in East London, but not necessary.

posted by Sijeka to sports, hobbies, & recreation (7 comments total)

Slightly out-of-town maybe, but Hobbycraft should be an excellent bet.
posted by bifter at 5:08 AM on November 7, 2006

I second Hobbycraft. They seem to have everything under the sun for general crafting so I would imagine that you may strike lucky with them if you can get to them (I'm quite lucky as I have one about 2 miles up the road from me).
posted by floanna at 5:41 AM on November 7, 2006

Hobbycraft is good but your closest one is probably Romford.
John Lewis in Oxford Street usually has an excellent crafts section. (At the moment the shop is undergoing massive refurbishment. Crafts have been relocated to the 3rd?/4th? floor and the department is a bit smaller than usual.)
The Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green re-opens in a couple of weeks. They're bound to sell kits in the shop and they'll probably run toy making courses again.
posted by boudicca at 5:49 AM on November 7, 2006

I loooved Hobbycraft when I lived in Coventry.

What I often do now is go to a cheapy shop like Primark or Peacocks for fabrics. Not felt of course, but you can find a men's XXL fleece top for as little as £4 - and often in more usable colours than the ones you get in fabric stores.

Large Co-op department stores also have felts (well the one in Brighton does).
posted by ClarissaWAM at 6:02 AM on November 7, 2006

Making your own felt is awfully fun. Just buy junk sweaters in animal fibers and wash in hot! Argyle teddies! Cashmere teddies! Think of it!
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:11 AM on November 7, 2006

John Lewis's (on Oxford Street, right near Oxford Circus) haberdashery/craft section is actually larger and much improved since they began renovation. Well worth a look. Their sister-shop, Peter Jones on Sloane Square, also has a decent haberdashery/craft section.

For fabrics, I tend to hit the various shops along Goldhawk Road. Classic Textiles, A-One and A to Z Fabrics are my 3 faves; they all ought to have fake fur and felt for less than what you'd pay in a department store. Great falafel can be found in the nearby street market, and just past the railway bridge is the Bush Garden Café, which does good food and smoothies and things.

Nearish to Oxford Circus, Barnet Lawson and Klein's are both professional trimmings shops that may well sell eyes and things (give them a ring first.) Klein's will also sell tools, if you're looking for those. MacCulloch and Wallis is expensive but well-stocked, so works as a last resort; avoid the money-pit that is V V Rouleaux. Creative Beadcraft (formerly Ells and Farrier), also near Oxford Circus, might be another good bet for eyes.

Hope some of this is helpful. Good luck!
posted by Pallas Athena at 10:06 AM on November 7, 2006

Don't know if anyone's still reading this, but I was in Peter Jones last week and noticed that they had little packs of stuffed-animal eyes and noses.
posted by Pallas Athena at 2:22 PM on October 9, 2007