Abingdon is Oxfordshire is known for its historical heritage, and indeed its love of Morris Dancing (thank you, Wikipedia) but I was there for one reason, and one reason only–Masons.
The legendary haberdashery shop comprises not one, but three stores, which are pretty much the holy grail of colourful tat in the Midlands. Scouting down even one reel of cotton in overpriced department stores is hard enough, let alone finding a whole shop, so the thought of three was pretty exciting,
And I was not disappointed. Store one, on Stert Street, is for the hardcore knitters and curtain makers. The shop is long and jumbled; to find your way to the yarny glory you have to make your way through bolts of upholstery and curtain fabric, and racks of trimmings and tie-backs straight from a Footballers’ Wives mansion. There’s an entire annexe dedicated to baby knitting, but the main room stocks many different brands, although tending towards the more unadventurous, with also buttons and knitting paraphernalia in stock too.
Next! Head round the corner to Bath Street, where shop number two boasts all the beady, sparkly goodness you might ever need, plus embroidery, cross-stitch and tapestry bits and kits, card-making and scrapbooking accessories, stickers, stamps and trimmings; and upstairs bridal gear, sewing boxes, sewing machines and a massive table hinting at the classes on offer.
Store three: finally, head a couple of shops down the road to the final store, which boasts a wide, wide range of fabrics, including esoteric choices such as glove leather, fake fur, fleece, quilted fabric and gingham, not to mention all the accoutrements: scissors, pins, shoulder-pads, bra extenders (who ever uses those?!), and lots and lots of ribbons, buttons, patches, trimmings and dyes. Oh and there are lots of pattern books, although I did overhear an overexcited girl beg her mother to buy a pattern for a prom dress, only for it to be out of stock; my mother also tried to buy a pattern, and it wasn’t available in the right size. Still, the very friendly and knowledgable staff offered a free delivery, to her house, of the right pattern. Plus, the prices are all really reasonable.
Abingdon seemed a very pretty place, albeit on a Saturday lunchtime more comatose than sleepy, but there’s also cute bookshop Mostly Books, a ramshackle department store called Stroll In, and enough charity shops to keep you stocked up in cut-glass ashtrays forever more. But it’s worth a trip for the Masons loveliness on its own.
(pic borrowed from Chrstopher).
Miss S, you have inspired me to visit Masons on my trip to Abingdon in Decemeber.
Perhaps the bride and groom wont frown on a guest covered head to toe in a buttony dress…
x