5 min read

Fabric Shopping in Hanoi and Danang, Vietnam

Discover the Rich Textile Scenes in and around Hanoi Old Quarter and Danang: Markets, Craft Shops, and Local Treasures

I visited Vietnam's Hanoi, Hue and Danang in the September 2024 and as with most of my holidays, I made it a point to explore the local fabric and quilting scenes.

Here are the places I visited:

In Hanoi (from north to south):

Cho Dong Xuan (Dong Xuan Market) (inside Old Quarter)
Mekong Quilts (inside Old Quarter)
Hang Bo Street (inside Old Quarter)
Flora Hoa (inside Old Quarter)
Cho Hom (Hom Market) (outside Old Quarter)

map of hanoi old quarter with fabric and sewing stores starred

Fabric and Sewing Places of Interests in Hanoi (Starred)

In Danang:

Cho Han (Han Market)

map of danang showing location of Cho Han

Location of Cho Han in Danang (Starred)

My internet search pre-trip yielded no results in Hue and we only stayed a night there, so there will be nothing on Hue in this post.

Cho Dong Xuan, Hanoi Old Quarter

Situated on the northern part of Hanoi Old Quarter, Cho Dong Xuan has a rich history dating back to the French colonial period. It is today a bustling hub filled with stalls selling not only fabric but also everything from electronics to souvenirs. It's extremely touristy and although I did see some local patrons, I felt like over 90% of them were tourists. The fabric section occupies one half of the middle floor with the other half selling ready-made apparels (mostly counterfeits but boy was I impressed with the quality of the counterfeits).

I was there on a weekday afternoon and it was already pandemonic - people literally walking all over each other to get through tight alleyways, kids crying wanting to leave while their parents engaged in communication breakdowns haggling in dumbed down English, sweltering temperatures and humidity, and most astonishingly, the local merchants (and seemingly their entire families) just lounging nonchalantly obstructing half the walkway without an ounce of bother like it was just another day in life (which to them, it was). Be prepared to shimmy your way around really tight walkways leaning heavily into mountainous piles of fabrics and coming into sweaty skin contacts with strangers.

The types of fabrics found here are mostly garment fabrics - silk, cotton, and synthetic blends. This being such a touristy place, the merchants do speak and understand some basic English. Everyone was also numbly accustomed to "touch-and-go" window shoppers and patrons who buy nothing but take photos of everything (e.g., yours truly).

Mekong Quilts, Hanoi Old Quarter

Six-minute walk southwards from Cho Dong Xuan is Mekong Quilts, located at Hang Ngang street. This social enterprise aims to provide sustainable employment opportunities for women in rural areas of Vietnam while promoting traditional crafts. In addition to its Hanoi location, Mekong Quilts also has an outlet in Ho Chi Minh City. They specialize in a range of handmade products, including quilts, cushions, bags and ornaments. I really like the infusion of Vietnamese and Southeast Asian cultural elements in their products.

Hang Bo Street, Hanoi Old Quarter

A further two-minute walk southwards from Mekong Quilts and around a bend is Hang Bo street, best known for its haberdashery shops and fabric accessories. It was quieter here than in and around Cho Dong Xuan but make no mistake, this is still inside Hanoi Old Quarter and everywhere inside Hanoi Old Quarter is chaotic.

Here you will find zippers, buttons, threads, and other notions. In true Hanoi fashion, the merchandises were strewn in clutters that spill into the pavements and exposed to the elements. Every inch of walls and ceilings were obscured by merchandises that were either so bunched up, densely bagged or precariously stacked that you would feel embarrassed to buy just one or two pieces. This suggests that they were intended for wholesale only.

Around the corner from Hang Bo street was a shop selling battings - gigantic rolls of them. The weighing scales suggest that they sell the battings by weight.

hanoi old quarter vietnam near Hang bo street shop selling batting wadding

Flora Hoa, Hanoi Old Quarter

About 900 meters southwest from the haberdashery street is Flora Hoa at Hang Trong street. Flora Hoa offers delicate, handmade fabric items, from purses to small quilts. Of all the places listed in this blog post, this was the only one that did not appear in my pre-trip research and was therefore, unplanned.

On Google map, this shop is labeled "Flora Boutique". What it really is, though, is a quaint little fabric-handmade shop that looked like it came right out of a Studio Ghibli film. The fact that it is located in an elusively narrow street only adds onto its quaintness.

Cho Hom and Nearby Fabric Stores, Hanoi

Cho Hom is located just outside and on the south of Hanoi Old Quarter, on Hue Street. In my pre-trip research, Cho Hom kept popping up as the first search result when I keyed in "fabric shopping Hanoi". In photos, the fabric market in Cho Hom looked very similar to the one in Cho Dong Xuan, so I was curious to find out what makes Cho Hom the fabric market in Hanoi.

Cho Hom turns out to be just another market in Hanoi - smaller and much less touristy than Cho Dong Xuan. The fabric section occupies the entire upper floor. The alleys were just as tight as in Cho Dong Xuan . We were there at around 10 a.m. on a weekday and we were practically the only ones on the upper floor. Some of the fabric stores were not even open yet.

The fabric variety, as far as I can see in my brief visit with the fabric market only partly open, seemed similar to those in Cho Dong Xuan. I don't know if it's because there was no crowd, but the merchants also seemed a lot more chill and friendlier.

Nearby Cho Hom, there are many shop lots selling fabrics of similar variety. They are hard to miss as you find your way around Cho Hom. Some of them front the main roads while others are located along the streets off the main roads.

In general, everyone here were smiley and friendly. Again, much less chaotic than Cho Dong Xuan (and Hanoi Old Quarter).

Cho Han, Danang

Cho Han in Danang, situated by the Han River on the west side, is very much like the other markets in Hanoi. It was just as bustling as Cho Dong Xuan, if not more so. Like Cho Dong Xuan, it has a section of fabric stores occupying one half of the upper floor. The fabric selections are also similar. However, what stood out in Cho Han were the rows of tailors and their sewing machines behind the fabric stalls, whirring away churning out ao dais in as little as 30 minutes per set. It's clever, really. You choose your fabric and have it turned into tailored-fit garments all in one place and you'd still have time to make another one (or three) if you so fancy.

Conclusion

In any new places that I visit, I always hope to find shops that sell sewing and quilting materials. But having been to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), I know not to expect much of a quilting scene in Hanoi. There could well be quilt shops in other parts of Hanoi but there was just no way for me to find out with the limited time and logistic challenges.

What I said about Saigon also holds true for Hanoi. I imagine the fabric markets are paradise to dressmakers and the first to be disappointed are quilters and small fabric crafters. However, if there is one thing common between dressmakers and quilters, it is their love for fabrics and haberdashery - and in these things Hanoi certain delivers.