Belgium - Puces de Couturiers in Ruette

Now that I have a bit more freedom, having a drivers licence, I've started going places without my husband and I loved it! Don't get me wrong, he is a more than average patient person and doesn't complain much when he has to come with me to brocantes or second hand shops or small events or fairs, but I always feel the pressure of his boredom. 

So on Saturday I snack out of the house for a girl trip to Puces de Couturiers in Ruette, Belgium, maybe a 30 minute drive from Luxembourg?, 15 from Arlon. It was a market for the people who love to embroider, to sew, to make their own clothes and not only, for people who are into hand-made, particular the one related do threads and cloth and needles. As the couturier is a tailor.

The market looked small, but if you are passionate about this stuff put aside two hours to see all, to buy all and to haggle for it all. Also it is on the backyard of Atelier Patchwork in Ruette and the atelier is a heaven for all that is hand-made. Only the shop and the back room, took us an hour to discover. It is filled with wonderful small bits and bobs all to marvel upon and take pictures with.

So in this very tiny village, which took me 10 years to discover, is a place where I found fellow sewing enthusiasts. I am aware that not everyone who reads my posts is passionate about embroidery, so I will leave you with photos.

This is the tiny market, but don't be fooled by its dimensions, it will take you a while to discover it all

This is the back room where the workshops are held. If you follow their website, which I'm sure I've linked somewhere, you will see what workshops are there and when.

The room is filled with knick-knacks and books, but they are for displaying purposes only, so are not for sale. But if you are like me, you would want to see, touch and photograph it all. 

An embroidered rabbit from 1828? Why not.

I did not know these toys existed and I don't plan on buying one for Ilinca, but more for me :) 

Also I hate ironing, that's the irony :)

I almost bought a box like this once in Ireland, many moons ago, now I regret not buying it. There are countless toy sewing machines, some vintage or antique some not, but they are all lovely and of course I wanted them all :)

What was really amazing to me was that there were books in English and also magazines. I did not take a picture, but if you like sewing, embroidery or pattern magazines, I'm sure you will find something you like there and also I understood that if you want to have a subscription to an English written magazine, you can order it to be delivered there.

We as a collective, group of friends, are there days into bees. If you are patient, the story will end up eventually on the blog. So when we saw these embroidered pillows, we all wanted at least one. They are not for sale, but are lovely.

Some threads from the shop

Some antique threads from the market

An embroidery stand with a sampler on it

This is my tiny haul, with things I bought at the market: an embroidered heart with a lovely frame, an embroidery hoop which I plan on using as a frame, two sets of needles, a thread sheep, for Ilinca, old glass blue buttons to use for my next Romanian Blouse and a Belgian lace collar, because this year I am into collars and into lace on linen and this is the sum of both.

The picture I've took of the presentation flyer

The lady from the shop does an amazing job with social media and posts regularly on her blog and just so you know, the next Puces des Couturiers is on June 3rd 2023. Until then, I'd advise you to subscribe to her newsletter to follow the sewing activities.

As always, I hope you liked reading the story about this tiny place as much as I loooved writing it and for more up to date stories and pictures find me on Instagram @mademoiselle.ralu