Ray Stitch

Lovely shop with great supplies and fabrics. Highly recommend them for their offerings and courses! The staff and instructors are kind, knowledgeable and attentive. I came here to take an intensive sewing course and was blown away by the quality of the course and instructors! They were sooooo good! I learned so much in 3 days and walked away with new bags (you make bags in the course), new friends and excitement for my next project. The staff helped us choose materials and were so patient answering all our questions. They also made sure were comfortable and fed, and having a good time. Thank you Ray Stitch! ✨

During a recent holiday to London, my wife and I visited Ray Stitch in Islington, and it was an absolute highlight of our trip. The shop has two floors, and we were amazed by the spacious layout. One of the best parts was the entire room dedicated to patterns, complete with a comfy sofa to relax on while browsing. The fabric selection is fantastic, with so many beautiful options, and the haberdashery section was a dream. The staff were hands-off but incredibly friendly and approachable when we needed help. We left feeling inspired and will definitely return on our next visit!

Had a really great experience at Ray Stitch. I am completely new to embroidery so these shops can feel a little overwhelming, but I was instantly greeted by very welcoming staff. Ruby was SO helpful with helping me find what I needed to achieve my embroidery project, took the time to explain options and gave me great advice. Prices are reasonable too. Oh, and they are dog-friendly which helps me loads! Thank you!

Love this shop! The staff are always very knowledgeable and eager to help. I’ve taken a couple of their classes, and today went to a quilting class. It’s so much fun, and I’m learning a lot. Highly recommend!

Fantastic store full of fabulous fabrics, all sorts of notions, embroidery kits, and lots of wonderful patterns. They also offer classes. Staff was kind and helpful.

A great selection of fabrics. Staff were super friendly and knowledgeable. There are sewing classes hosted on the premises which gives it a nice buzz. Lots of trims and patterns available as well. Some of the patterns are made up to try on/ check out before purchasing which I thought was great. Fabric swatches are available in packs all over the place which can be super helpful when looping for a fabric pairing or when patch-working like in my case. Definitely worth the trip from south London.

I had been buying quite lot from this shop over the years but no longer! When the fabric I ordered arrived it had a very strong smell of mothballs. I tried washing, putting in the sun, etc. When I emailed Raystitch, I didn;t get an apology. Sam told me "We do not normally accept returns on fabric but on this occasion we will make an exception. We cannot refund your payment as it wasn’t sent via our website but we can issue you a gift card for the appropriate amount." I had to point out that under statutory consumer rights I was entitled to a refund before I received my money back. Not a word of apology. Needless to say I will never buy from this shop again. And now that I have read the reviews about racism I regret I ever spent a penny! Kate

I attended the one day 'Pattern Cutting with Alice Prier - Perfect Fit Trousers Block' course. As an intermediate sewer, I had disastrous results making trousers in the past, but found this course to be excellent. It was like being let into the 'Magic Circle' world of pattern cutting secrets, which turned out to be not that difficult and not that secret! Alice is an excellent tutor and I ended the course with a perfectly fitting trouser block and the knowledge to use the pattern to make many styles of trousers in the future.

Sunny day and good coffee, what else could one hope for?? It is certainly located at a really convenient spot in Islington. I'm also in agreement with the "Eco Ethos". Will repeat!

This cute little fabric shop is undeniably at a very convenient spot in Islington. I am very fond of this place for the 'eco friendly' concept behind it. I adore their bamboo silk and fair trade cottons. However, what stops me from being really passionate about this place is their distinct limitation in both - their range and staff and owner's knowledge about their goods. Worse then this is, they do not like being asked. That happened to me several times already they simply snap at me for asking something basic like: 'Is this stitching hand made or machine made?' or 'Where is this fabric from?' Also shortly after this shop opened I just googled fair trade fabric in the UK and their supplier's website showed straight as a first option. Their supplier's range had nothing more and nothing less to Ray-Stitch offer. It spoilt my illusion about this shop being customised or special in any way as no one seems to be bothered with selecting the shop's range with love and trade knowledge. Now I see it more like empty concept and good shop to pop down to for a set of new threads or fancy ribbons.

This shop is pretty, but past that I don't think it's so great. The prices are really very high (any place that sells Liberty fabrics for more than Liberty itself really puts me off). Apparently it used to have coffee, but that seems to not be there now. I saw a small section of Cotton & Steel (a popular fabric line) and, as I've been on the lookout for a specific print of theirs, asked if they had any more. The employee seemed really confused and pointed out their fabrics in cotton. I feel like not knowing the brands you carry - especially as an independent shop - isn't good salesmanship. They did have some nice fabrics, but their prices are just so high - even compared to other independent shops. Also, "Klona" instead of Kona - but at least as expensive? Nope. Not impressed.

In this day and age, coffee will be served just about anywhere, my favourite and most recent new find is within this gorgeous little haberdashery. Ray-Stitch initially enticed me with it's sun-soaked outdoor tables and chairs- somewhat a rarity for Islington- too many bars occupy the morning sunshine spots I've come to notice, and hands down this is a massive draw...(when London, does of course agree to not rain for a few precious minutes). The walls are beautifully swathed with coloured fabrics alongside sewing patterns and other home-craft paraphernalia. Ray-Stitch offer sewing courses too, and the option to hire a sewing machine by the hour... I can't comment on the classes, as I mentioned, I was here for the cafe side of the affair... So the coffee is good, they also offer a selection of small treats and pastries, plus the guy working there was very charming indeed so for me, this is definitely a reason to return. I think it said free wifi in the window as well.

Ray Stitch is a cute little coffee/haberdashery shop (surely a combination which will never be repeated) on Essex Road. I am not really qualified to comment on the haberdashery part (although everything looked very pretty) but my coffee (in flat white form) was suitably creamy and my Chelsea bun was perfect with lots of currants and a well judged level of sweetness. The other cakes and pastries looked of equally good quality. I understand that they also offer a range of classes to educate those, like me, with limited sewing ability. Not sure those are my cup of tea but might fit the bill for others!

New place for amazing items for sewing & crafts, beautiful fabrics and high-fashion patterns, buttons, etc. I don't sew but this shop makes me want to start! I only tried a coffee there, they use Climpson & Sons beans. I had a latte which was quite lovely, and they offer a few different kinds of milk (skimmed, full, soya) which is nice as some of the nicer coffee places only have one kind. Pastries also looked amazing, and they had fresh bread and gourmet sandwiches. They are closed Sun&Mon, which is a bit of a shame, but I will be stopping by again, a good addition to Essex Rd.

Very rude staff. They lie and do not answer the phone once they know your number . I waited for a phone call all day in order to get refunded. They do not want to refund me which is against law. I ordered organic cotton fabric which arrived different from photos, stinky and with hair on it.

Part of my morning ritual. Drop in to Ray Stitch and have good coffee with Sams freshly baked muffins. Great looking haberdashery shop with lovely people. Everything from multi coloured buttons to fabric to coffee.

For fabric, haberdashery and pretty much everything crafty in London this is the place! They have an incredible stock of fabric - all of it well chosen and in line with the style of their Islington location. It is a beautiful shop with great people delivering fantastic service and sound advice, all with a smile. I've done a number of classes in their basement classroom and they've all been more than worth the cost of the class - I've learned a lot but I've also had the chance to spend time in a really creative place with likeminded people, with lots of tea and biscuits. I can't recommend this place highly enough!

They have the most amazing Tortano Crown.

It is a very nice shop but my opinion was somewhat lowered recently. I bought some fabrics but realised that they seemed to cost more than I had worked out. So I went back to the shop where I asked to go through what I had and how much. They admitted to making a mistake and offered a refund on the difference. In the end I agreed to make up the difference with some other goods from the shop. This was all well and good until after I realised still all be it a small sum I still paid to much for what I had, but by that moment I didn't want more confrontation...it was not about the money was the principle. Perhaps a further mistake? Is very sad because I like to support independent and local shops but they really let down.