Where to Find the Haberdashery Shops in Naif Souq, Deira (Dubai)

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Head over to the Naif area in Deira, Dubai for a fun meander around the fabric, haberdashery, and notions shops. Tiny little shops clustered along a few pedestrian alleyways selling ribbons, buttons, zippers, thread, tulle, and so much more can keep you occupied for hours. I’ve created a suggested itinerary for you (in Google maps) along with parking, metro, and taxi tips.

Bit by the sewing bug lately, I’ve been devouring more craft and sewing blogs than food blogs. I enjoy sewing for my kids as well as helping out local organizations like Rags to Riches Dubai.

The burning desire of finding good deals to increase my stash of fabric and sewing notions led me to Naif Souk in Deira where I had heard stories about a crafters paradise where fabulous deals could be found as well as nearly everything under the crafting sun.

Driving to and around Naif in Deira can be tricky but I have provided you with a google map (see below) of the municipal parking lots and a suggested itinerary with dropped pins of worthwhile stores to visit.

The rest is up to you – meander around the small alleys filled with fabric, notions and haberdashery shops. See more parking, metro, and taxi tips at the end of this post.

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Suggested Itinerary:

View Deira Haberdashery Shop in a larger map

The above Google map contains my suggested walking path and itinerary (see the purple line in the map) for visiting the haberdashery and notions shops in Naif area of Deira. The walking path is about 900 meters (0.6 miles) if you don’t stray from the drawn line (but stray and meander you must!)

 

Start at New Stylo, then walk up to the Sabkha bus stop where you turn right and cross the street so that you are on the same side as the bus stop. You’ll pass Apsara Tex and Palace on your left which you may want to visit first or last depending on your shopping needs. They primarily sell fabric (suiting fabric downstairs and everything else upstairs) and ready-made clothing.

Continue walking up Sabkha street until you see the Sabkha hotel on the left (and a store called “Super Lazer” across the street on your right). Here there is a tiny pedestrian alleyway to your left. (If you get to Wimpy cafe, you have gone too far). Turn into this alleyway and you will find shops with a treasure trove of stuff.

From here, I love going into Al Nokhba to buy some thread and zippers, then continue down the alley to visit Al Kandari (across from Al Nokhba) for buttons and trim (including Chinese buttons).

As you continue walking down this alley, one shop you must visit is Ajwaa Al Madeena which has a unique way of displaying their buttons in clear cases on the floor. They sell all sorts of buttons and more.

Not far from Ajwaa Al Madeena, you will see a little corner shop called Sadeqeen Brothers where we often buy bias tape (satin and cotton), buttons, and cording. Turn the corner at this shop to cross Naif Street (after crossing the street you will see a corner shop called Al Tebet).

At Al Tebet, walk down the pedestrian alleyway (if this is confusing, be sure to see the purple itinerary line on my Google map and just continue to explore your way through all the shops.

Big Tip: This little Al Tebet corner store is just a taster of it’s bigger mothership store which contains 3 or 4 floors of haberdashery. Ask someone in the store to show you where the mothership is – it’s only a short walk down the alleyway and labeled as “Tebet #2” on my google map walking tour.

You can easily spend hours here just visiting all the little stores – It really is so much fun!

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Prices

If you are used to shopping in the US or UK, the prices here will blow your mind.

In the US, I buy my elastic and buttons at Joann’s or Michaels’s and zippers on Etsy. The same items in Dubai can often be a fraction of the price.

 

For example, I’ve recently bought a roll of elastic (36 yards) for just 15 dhs (that’s 4 US dollars!). I am talking thick, woven elastic in 3/4″ if you need specifics for price comparison.

This roll of button-hole elastic (24 yards) was 15 dhs and those buttons were 15 dhs for a bag of 70:

You do have to buy wholesale but in the US, $4 would only get me a few buttons, whereas in Deira $4 gets me about 70 depending on quality and size of the buttons.

Rolls of cotton bias tape can be purchased for 10 dhs or satin bias tape for 5 dhs. Polyester sewing thread (2000 yds at least) for 3.50 dhs ($1). I bought 12 in the rainbow of colors so I would always have the right color thread. Generic zippers for my son’s trousers cost me 2.50 dhs for 6 (yes, that equates to US$0.11 per zipper!).

I love the thread stores. The colorful rolls in neat shelves spanning every color of the rainbow and more. Al Nokhba sells 12 rolls for 18 dhs. I’ve picked up at least 24 different colors so far:

A friend of mine bought a generic rolled hem foot for her Brother sewing machine for 5 dhs ($1.35) and another bought a standard Janome sewing foot for 10 dhs. These prices beat any that I’ve seen on Amazon or elsewhere.

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Getting Hungry?

At the end of the suggested itinerary, is another shop – also called Tebet. This is the newer sister shop of the first and is 4 floors of haberdashery (where a friend was able to find curtain tape not found in any other store). Behind this 4-story shop are a few little cafeterias and bread shop worth visiting for a snack or lunch break.

Ali Essa Bakery sells freshly made flat bread from a tandoori oven for 1.25 dhs (US$0.35) for a huge portion.

Noor Al Huda Cafetera has regular and ginger chai for 1 dhs each plus vegetable samosas that might break the bank at 1 dhs per piece. I’ve also tried their egg sandwich wrap that is very good. Or maybe I was just super hungry from not having breakfast that day.

Dinar restaurant around the corner (walk back towards where you came and you will see little red and blue stools) sells spicy and satisfying potato samosas for 1.50 dhs.

Along the main roads, you can get Shawarmas for 3-5 dhs each and rotisserie chicken (about 24 dhs for a whole bird).

 

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How to be Successful Shopper

1. Bring a map or better yet – make sure you have data on your phone to access my Google map. That place is like a maze and so easy to get turned around.
2. Bring photos and/or samples with you. I don’t know if it was my American accent, but people had a hard time understanding me when I asked for “owl fabric” and reels of “thread” until I showed them a few google images on my phone. Also, when I was looking for twill ribbon for a Rags to Riches project, no one knew what that was until I brought a sample with me on a subsequent trip. Turns out, twill ribbon as I know it is sold as “cotton tape” in Deira.
3. Always ask about or check the quality of goods your are buying. For example: thread, zippers and elastic can come in varying brands, materials and sizes. For elastic, also check for the amount of stretch – some are looser than others. You can find YKK zippers and they will, of course, be much more expensive than non-YKK (I like stocking both for different projects).
4. Make a list of what you need. If you are just there to observe and gawk, then any purchase you make will be a SCORE! But if you are there to find something specific, be sure to write it down on a list (I like using the note app on my phone) because I find that I would lose focus and would sometimes ask myself, “What was I looking for again? {Checks notes} Oh yes! Grosgrain ribbon, interfacing, YKK zippers….”
5. Ask for a receipt and write down any details you’d need to make the same purchase again like store name, hours of operation, phone number, price, price per # of meters/yards, etc.

 

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For More Fabric Shops in Naif

Inside a covered shopping area called Naif Souq, you will find a few fabric shops. It is located on Deira Street about a block to two down from New Stylo (see my Google pin for “Naif Souq”). In the alleyways and streets outside Naif Souq you will find more fabric shops.

We stumbled upon one particular alley of fabric behind the Dubai Library Distributors shop. Follow my Google map in the area of Dubai Library Distributors (near the Naif police station) – I have dropped a pin called “Fabric Alley” for you on the map.

 

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Satwa versus Deira

The price of goods in Satwa is slightly higher but we are not talking much here. You also have to factor in the cost of gas, parking, and Salik tolls when driving to Deira.

Deira mainly sells wholesale so if you need a yard of ribbon or a few yards of elastic instead of the whole roll, you’re better off going to Satwa.

Overall, I find that Deira is great for haberdashery and Satwa is better for fabric since the stores in Satwa are just along one street so it’s easy to hit up all the stores and see what is available whereas Diera is more spread out.

 

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Parking Tip:

Park in the multi-story parking lots as street parking is nearly impossible to find. See the dropped pin on my Google map.

There are a few RTA mult-story car parks in the area, almost one on every block once you turn off from Baniyas Road (the road that runs parallel to the creek). I usually park at the one on Al Burj Street (sometimes spelled Al Borj Street). Parking is 5 dhs per hour and you can pay when you exit the parking lot.

There are usually plenty of spots in the morning when I arrive around 9-10am but when I leave around noon, it’s pretty busy. I would suggest going in the morning to avoid the crazy afternoon and evening traffic. Or take the metro.

Metro Tip:

Take the stop for Baniyas Square and then walk the 500-600 meters to Naif. Walk towards Al Sabkha main bus stop (on Al Sabkha Road) and begin your shopping journey there.

I mention Al Sabkha bus station because it’s easy to find on Google maps and (hopefully) most people in Naif will know where it is if you need to ask for directions.

Taxi:

Ask the driver to drop you off at Sabkha main bus station. Hopefully s/he will know where that is. If not, try Baniyas Square Metro station.

 

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Suggested Facebook Groups:

If you sew, crochet, knit or want to learn how, there are a few Dubai-based Facebook groups you can join to ask questions, share tips and ideas, and be a part of the creative community.

Rags to Riches Dubai – A group that puts their sewing, knitting and crocheting skills to good use by taking used “rags” like bed linen, towels and curtains and up-cycling them into “riches” like dresses, hoodies, pencil cases, dolls and reusable feminine hygiene kits. These up-cycled items are donated to those in need in less developed countries.

Want to join the cause? Donations are always welcome. Even if you don’t sew, we can always use a helping hand in cutting out fabric. Please visit the Rags to Riches Facebook page for more info.

Dubai Sewing Mums – A community of amateur sewers to share sewing tips and tricks, where to buy the best (and cheapest!) sewing items, and help with troubleshooting.

UAE Amiras – A community of people who enjoy knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving….anything that involves yarn as well as other crafts such as embroidery, sewing, painting and decoupage.

 

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More Links

And finally, here are some links to other blogs that have helpful information about crafting in Dubai:

• Sol y Sombra writes about the Haberdashery Souk in Naif:  Part 1,  Part 2, and Part 3
• Naush at Doodle Buddies has two great posts about Where to Buy Craft Supplies in Dubai: Part 1 and Part 2.
• Sharon at Desert Dubai Diaries shares her adventures on exploring Naif and its treasure trove of beads, Swarovski crystals, tassels, and more.

If you found any of this post useful, please leave a comment below and let me know about your forays into the haberdashery souk and also if you have any additions to add to my list of must-visit stores.

Also check out my other Dubai post on “Where to Find Asian Ingredients in Dubai” (includes a free map).

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