Drummond

Disclaimer here is that I’m really rating this shop as a knitter, not as a sewist. I understand that their products and services relating to sewing machines are very good and people travel to them specifically for this. However, as a knitter…
I go to this shop fairly often because it is right near work for me, but if it weren’t, I would NEVER go. The staff hover and constantly ask if you need any help — I usually spend about 5 minutes in the shop and am asked if I need any help 2 – 3 times. It’s very off-​putting. I’m convinced they think I’m going to nick something.
They’re a little condescending as well — «put your debit card away safe now» when I finish paying, etc. (Possibly a natural reaction of the kindly granny staff to a person under the age of 40?)
The wool selection is limited. It seems very much geared towards grannies knitting either big aran sweaters for their menfolk, or cute little baby things. There is a decent selection of affordable sport/​DK baby wools, a few sock wools, cones for machine knitting, and huge 800 gram balls of Wendy aran, but no smaller aran balls. I was looking for some aran for children’s mittens, but was told that «we don’t have those dear, the smaller balls work out too expensive». Um. Well. Thank you, I guess? I’ll just go to a different shop then…
My advice: come here if you need your sewing machine repaired, if you’re a knitter over the age of 65, or if you’re planning to make large projects in neutral tones. Otherwise, go to MacAree Brothers.

In my head this is how I imagined a haberdashery to look like…
Having lucked out at John Lewis I visited David Drummond hoping to find a walking foot for my new sewing machine. I called up and after a bit of chat about what type of machine I have they promised to have a look and call me back. Thankfully they had the parts I needed, I would pop in at lunch time to collect it.
Wow.
Admittedly the shop is a bit of a jumble but OH MY GOD it is packed to the rafters with everything you could possibly want for a sewing hobby. Whilst their specialty is obviously sewing there is still a healthy selection of of stock for other needlework hobbies. I was so busy staring around in awe with my gob hanging open the poor woman selling me my walking foot had to prompt me to enter my pin twice.
I’m really glad I found this place, it has everything I could want to meet my ever changing crafty needs.

Drummond is a business dealing with sewing machines. But rather than just selling the manufacturing devices, it also doubles up as an old fashioned haberdashery, packed to the brim with balls of yarn and spools galore!
Admittedly, they specialise in sewing and knitting machines (which are all displayed splendidly) but since I can’t afford one of those bad boys I stuck to the supply section.
They had pigeon holes stuffed with wool of all shapes, sizes and varieties (including pom pom wool to knit yourself a bubbly scarf!) Towards the back, they stock knitting and sewing guides, patterns, along with hundreds of good quality spools. Here you’ll find everything you need to start your crafty business, including an ample supply of pin cushions, pins, glue, hem guidelines and Wondaweb for those of us who like to cheat *cough cough*.
I would like to move away from using Wondaweb to begin stitching clothes up the right way, and Drummond is great for lending inspiration. The staff were exceptionally friendly and made me feel at ease, even though I baltantly didn’t know where to start. With their attentive natures, I felt like I was being taken care of. I want to start making dresses out of old skirts and tops I find in charity shops, and in here I saw loads of accessories and shiny thread you could embellish a tired outfit with.
It’s great for experts as they have a ton of supplies, but equally useful for beginners like myself who don’t know their Singer from their… well, to be honest I can’t even think of another machine maker! But with the helpful staff and plethora of stock, Drummonds is a good place to start.