Donjiadu Lu Cloth Market: While the focus here is on silk fabric more and more cotton has been turning up as shirt fabric stalls have become more popular. There is no rule that says patch workers must confine themselves to cotton, however. Brocades, velvets and washable suedes can all be used to wonderful effect. This market also contains stalls selling buttons, thread and beaded trim, although the selection of these items is limited.

Renmin Lu west of Henan Lu (just North of Yuyuan Garden): Haberdashery bliss. Stall upon stall selling very reasonably priced buttons, bells, beads, thread and needles, ribbon, and any other notion you would like to plop onto your quilt or work into your knitting.

Qing Fang Market, 1618 Cao An Lu:: A bit of a hike if you live in Pudong, but well worth the trip for someone seeking cotton cloth. Lots of calicos, stripes and solid colours, and you can often find some great prints for making children’s quilts. In the colder months their flannel comes out, and it generally goes for the very reasonable price of 7-15 RMB a metre depending on the quality and width. This is also a good place to come for batting for quilts and stuffing for toys, etc. You can also find a some reasonably priced yarns here. I recommend stall 10-31 for yarn and stall 9-33 for flannel.

BATIQ-LOVERS TAKE NOTE: one stall in Qing Fang market has started selling a great selection of reasonably priced blue nankeen and batik. At stall 7-32 you can get blue cloth for 15 rmb per meter, batik for 38 rmb a meter and other minority fabrics for 48 rmb per meter.

Quilting Shop: Shanghai Mart, 2299 Yan An Xi Lu in Hongqiao, 8th floor, 6256 8306. Run by a Japanese woman, this is Shanghai's only quilting supply shop, and therefore the place to go when you need a rotary blade, self-healing mat, or sturdy quilting thread. There are some quilting books (although most are in Japanese) and expensive but very nice quilting fabrics for sale. This shop also is a licensed distributor for Brother and Bernina sewing machines, and holds frequent quilting workshops.

Fabric Shop, 193 Nanchang Road: This little store is tucked away on Nanchang Road between Shaanxi and Maoming roads. It’s worth a stop if you’re in the area as the staff are nice, they have a good selection of patterned calicos AND, uniquely in Shanghai, they sell a decent selection of plain (as in not printed) flannel.