I'm thinking about sewing a dress that I may wear during the Christmas season. I know it sounds strange and I agree that wool is a better option (you can actually see one of my Christmas Eve pencil dresses on the blog)...But why not if it's going to be warm enough? Not sure if it'll be my Christmas Eve gown though.

This little moment of a pure happiness inspired me to finally write about fabric shopping in Tenerife.

One of the main things you need to remember about fabric shopping in Tenerife is that all the main places are in the north. You'll be most likely staying in the sunny south, enjoying the beaches, night life, water parks and restaurants. But it's quite logical that most of the fabric shops are located in the north. Tourists are always looking for ready to wear clothes, but locals may be quite willing to sew.

Canarians love carnivals. And because they take it quite seriously, they need proper costumes. What's the best way of getting them? Yes, to sew them. That's why most of the fabric shops sell a lot of fancy carnival fabrics. So don't be scared to get in the shop and be greeted with an enormous amount of glitter and neon Lycra, there are other fabrics there too, I promise! 

You will most likely have zero problems dealing with the receptionist at your hotel, but when it comes to the fabric shops chances that you'll bump into an English-speaking shop assistant are quite small. Especially In the north. So don't forget to translate the essential words into Spanish (for example, fabric composition) before heading to Santa Cruz.

Unfortunately, you won't find much written information about the fabric composition. Very seldom it's written along with a price inside the fabric roll. But you won't find nice big price tags with all information, that's for sure. And that's when you get a chance to practise your Spanish sewing vocabulary!

Most of the shops sell similar types of fabrics. In Tenerife you'll find a lot of cotton of all different kinds, some silk and medium weight wool, linen and all types of synthetic materials. Most of the fabrics were produced in Spain, some cottons are American and there are different fabrics from Asia as well.

Silks are around 15-17 euros per meter, cottons - 9-14 euros, etc.

Next time I'm going to write about the best shops that you may visit.

Do you buy fabrics when you're on holiday? Have you ever been to any of the Tenerife shops?