If you've been following along here for a while, you know that when I travel I always seek out local sewing, fiber, and quilting traditions. (For previous examples, see my recaps of visits over the years to Paris, Mexico City, and the Isle of Man.) Amsterdam has been on my bucket list forever and last summer we finally made it happen with a quick 40 hour stop there with a layover on our way home from Norway. I'm just now getting around to sharing the inspiration - both fabric and food - that I found there. Plus, who couldn't use a little vicarious travel at the end of winter?
Amsterdam - A Quick Introduction
Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands - with a long and deep tradition when it comes to art, history, and culture. The city is built on a network of concentric canals (there are over 60 miles of canals and more than 1,500 bridges!) lined with narrow, tall, beautifully gabled townhouses that lean slightly toward the street. It has an iconic and unmistakably charming vibe.
The city has been a major trading hub since the 13th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Amsterdam was one of the most important textile trading cities in the world, with the Dutch East India Company importing gorgeous printed chintz fabrics from India. At one point in the 1700s, Amsterdam alone had some 80 fabric printers and polishers operating in the city. That textile history is still very much alive today - and you can literally buy fabric that connects back to that tradition. More on that in a minute!
Getting around Amsterdam is delightful with charming views around every corner. The city is walkable and bikeable, and the tram system is easy to navigate. Most of the main attractions - including the quilt shops! - are very centrally located, which makes it easy to pack a lot into a few days. (But be advised, we did get a lot of steps in those days!)
Quilt Shops in Amsterdam
One of the things I was most excited about my visit to Amsterdam is that there were actual QUILT SHOPS in the city center! In my experience - at least in the major European cities I've visited in recent years - this is rare. For example, London has the Liberty department store - but it's not specifically a quilt shop. (Although it does have more quilting-related goods in recent years.)
Other cities have a garment district with fabric for clothing or general sewing/haberdashery shops but even those are more rare in big cities - especially post-pandemic. (In my experience many of the few shops that did exist, closed after 2021.) So it was absolutely delightful to find not one, but TWO shops dedicated to quilting right in the middle of Amsterdam.
Den Haan & Wagenmakers (aka Dutch Quilts)
The first shop is Den Haan & Wagenmakers. This shop - also known online as Dutch Quilts - is lovely! There are dozens of incredible quilts from floor to ceiling to inspire. And I loved all of the natural light coming in from the big windows. It's truly an gorgeous space.
The shop is located at Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 99, right in the center of Amsterdam and very close to Amsterdam Centraal train station, which makes it easy to find. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 10AM-4PM, so plan accordingly if you're visiting on a Sunday or Monday. (I feel lucky that we were there on a day it was open, because I didn't think to look ahead of time! 😅)
The shop specializes in Dutch Heritage reproduction fabrics specifically the traditional chintz prints, called sitsen in Dutch, that were originally inspired by those Indian printed cottons imported centuries ago by the Dutch East India Company. Designer and shop owner Petra Prins has spent years researching antique Dutch textiles and developing a stunning collection of reproduction prints based on 18th and 19th century originals. There are florals, geometrics, classic small prints, border fabrics, tree of life panels, all with that unmistakably Dutch character.
The shop itself is spread over two floors of a traditional tall Amsterdam building, and both levels are draped with beautiful quilts - some antique, some made from the reproduction fabrics - giving the whole place the feeling of a little museum as much as a shop.
They also have a section dedicated to the traditional Dutch blue and white color combination. This combination became iconic in the Netherlands through Delftware - the famous tin-glazed pottery developed in the city of Delft in the 17th century, which itself was inspired by blue and white porcelain imported from China by the Dutch East India Company.
The Dutch fell in love with this color combination and it spread into tiles, textiles, and home décor, becoming embedded in the national visual identity.
Today you'll see it everywhere in Dutch design - from the classic Delft blue tiles lining old canal houses to the traditional folk costumes of regions like Hindeloopen, which feature blue and white chintz fabrics imported from India that are still reproduced by shops like Den Haan & Wagenmakers today.
As a result, they had a large selection of blue and white prints. Here is one of the most fun personal parts of my visit to Den Haan & Wagenmakers - do you see that little blue and white plaid fat quarter peeking up?
It's from my Albion fabric collection. I was SO tickled to discover a little piece of me in this beautiful quilt shop in Amsterdam!
The shop also carries books (many available in English), patterns, kits, and notions. Their online shop at dutchquilts.com ships worldwide, so you can continue shopping after you get home, but honestly, there's nothing like seeing these fabrics in person. The color palettes and fabric combinations were so beautiful - and inspired me to play with more color and patterns in my quilts.
Petra Prins Amsterdam Shop
Just steps away - and by steps, I mean right next door - is a second shop connected to the Dutch Quilts experience: Petra Prins Amsterdam. The two shops actually share a connecting door, so quilters really do get the best of both worlds in one visit.
While Den Haan & Wagenmakers leans into the traditional Dutch Heritage reproduction fabrics, this shop offers a somewhat different selection with more modern quilt fabrics and brighter colors alongside traditional styles.
They also had a handy chair for husbands or other travel partners to wait comfortably. 😉
If you do find a little something-something to take home, be advised that you need to make your purchases separately in the corresponding shops.
Fair warning for fellow Americans: fabric is significantly more expensive in Europe than we're used to at home - expect to pay roughly double what you'd pay for a comparable fabric in the US. As a result I typically don't buy a lot of fabric on my overseas travel. (Also: suitcase space.)
But I do often buy a little something as a souvenir. Here's a peek at what I bought from Petra Prins. As you can tell, I was loving the florals. The rolls are 4" x WOF strips + ac couple of pretty Fat Quarters.
I really loved the look of the busy fabric combinations they incorporated into many of the quilt samples. Lots of florals and busier prints that I usually choose to go together. So I bought this little sample pack and the Fat Quarters* to remind me of the style and combinations they used that were really different than my normal go-tos.
(*They're not Fat Quarters of a yard. Europe uses the metric system so fabric is cut by the meter. As a result, the FQ's are a little larger. These two are about 20" x 23".)
Between the two shops, this little corner of Amsterdam is a genuine quilter's destination.
Albert Cuyp Market: Souvenirs, Fabric Stalls and Street Food
Another fun activity during a visit to Amsterdam is the Albert Cuyp Market in the De Pijp neighborhood. It's one of the largest and most famous outdoor street markets in Europe, running daily (except Sundays) along Albert Cuypstraat, and it is delightful. It's a great place to pick up souvenirs. And FOOD. And there's even a little fabric.
There are fabric stalls and notions vendors scattered throughout the market - great for picking up fun finds, interesting prints, or sewing supplies at more accessible price points than the boutique shops. It's worth a wander. (Behold: more traditional Dutch blue and white fabrics.)
There is also a Søstrene Grene shop near the Albert Cuyp Market. Søstrene Grene is my new favorite European chain store. It's a charming Danish lifestyle and craft chain that's a super fun visit for sewists and crafters with affordable sewing notions, ribbon, yarn, and beautiful home décor, all discovered through a fun, winding treasure-hunt style shop layout.
But even if you come up empty-handed on the fabric front, you won't leave disappointed. Albert Cuyp Market is also a great place in Amsterdam to eat. We're talking fresh stroopwafels, raw herring (a very Dutch experience and actually really good!), Dutch cheeses, frites with mayo, poffertjes (tiny Dutch pancakes dusted with powdered sugar... ooo these were my favorite. I bought some raspberries from the fruit vendor and threw some on top. SO good!)
I also really loved the Kibbeling - it's a bite-size, deep-fried fresh white fish and it's amazing. (Don't tell the UK, but I think I liked it even more than traditional British Fish n Chips.) We could have spent the whole afternoon just eating our way up and down the stalls.
We also did this walking food tour through the Jordaan neighborhood, which we totally loved. I cannot recommend it highly enough as a way to get oriented in a new city. The Jordaan is one of Amsterdam's most picturesque and historic neighborhoods - narrow streets, beautiful canals, independent shops and cafes - and doing a guided food tour meant we got to taste our way through it while learning the history.
A Few More Amsterdam Highlights
Since I know you're not just here for the fabric (or maybe you are - I totally get it 😉), here are a few other things that made our Amsterdam trip really special.
The Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum was everything I hoped it would be and more. Van Gogh is hands down my favorite artist and this museum has been near the top of my bucket list for decades. Seeing his work in person - the texture, the color, the sheer emotion of his thick brushwork - is something that photographs cannot capture. For a quilter and fabric lover, his use of color and pattern are endlessly inspiring.
The Museum does a beautiful job telling Vincent's - and his brother Theo's - story along with the pieces he was painting during different periods of his life. You need to book tickets with a timed entry ahead of time. They sell out fast, so do it as early as you can if you plan on going.
The Anne Frank House
The Anne Frank House is one of Amsterdam's most visited and most important sites and even more profound and moving in person than I expected. Standing in the actual, very small space where two Jewish families hid for just over two years, and where their courageous friends risked everything to keep them fed and safe, is something I hope I never forget.
If it's on your list - and I'd strongly encourage it to be - you need to plan well ahead. Tickets are only available through the official website at annefrank.org, and new tickets are released every Tuesday at 10am Amsterdam time for dates six weeks later.
During peak season (March through October) tickets can sell out within hours, and there's even a chance you'll find yourself in an online queue before you can complete your booking. Tickets are non-refundable and tied to a specific time slot, so think carefully about timing before you purchase, but once you're inside, you can take as long as you need. I couldn't recommend it more.
The Dutch Resistance Museum
The Dutch Resistance Museum (Verzetsmuseum) was an unexpected surprise and one of the most moving museum experiences I've had anywhere. I'd originally wanted to visit the Corrie ten Boom house in Haarlem but we didn't have time to get out that way. In doing some research I learned about the Dutch Resistance Museum right in Amsterdam and feel SO GLAD we went.
It tells the story of how ordinary Dutch citizens responded to the Nazi occupation during World War II - some resisting, some collaborating, most navigating impossible choices in between. It's sobering, beautifully presented, and shares the amazing heroism of every day Dutch citizens standing up to their cruel Nazi occupiers. And it wasn't just Jews or other minorities in hiding - most of the population of young men ages 16-30 were in hiding as well so that they would not be conscripted to fight for the Germans.
Here is the handwork of a Dutch woman who was imprisoned by the Nazi's. This embroidery was made by Jacoba Blom-Schuh, a Dutch woman who was jailed for refusing to donate to the Nazi-controlled Winter Aid charity. When guards ordered her to darn stockings in prison, she sewed them shut in protest (!) - and channeled her experience into these stitched pieces she created while in jail. As a lover of stitchy-handwork, this one really moved me.
Here is my favorite fun quilting-related find toward the end of the museum: these patchwork victory skirts! (Sorry the photos aren't great because they're behind glass.)
After losing her husband and two sons to the resistance movement and surviving the Ravensbrück concentration camp herself, Mies Boissevain-van Lennep channeled her unbroken spirit into something beautiful: the "National Celebration Skirt." She proposed that every woman in the Netherlands make a patchwork skirt from old rags, embroidered with important wartime dates, as a way to celebrate liberation and honor the war's memory.
You can read more about these Liberation Skirts here and there is a YouTube video here if you want to learn more.
In a country devastated by poverty, the genius of the idea was that anyone could make one, and thousands of women did. Sometimes they were made from pieces of fabric that were sentimental - like lost family members' clothing. A patchwork skirt as a symbol of liberation and unity. How beautiful is that? ❤️
Amsterdam Won My Heart (and my Stomach)
I loved Amsterdam even more than I expected to. It's such a beautiful, walkable, endlessly interesting city. And for a textile and history nerd like me, it was fun to find so many quilting-related treasures. Shout out to my husband who was a great sport about the fabric shop detours. 😉
We both totally loved the learning about and trying so many famous Dutch gastronomic delicacies. If you ever get the chance to go, don't hesitate! (Just make sure you book those tickets for the Van Gogh museum and the Anne Frank House ticket six weeks out or you'll be sorry! I did not make it to the famous RijksMuseum on this trip. Because it's so huge, you do not need to book tickets as far in advance for that one.)
Have you been to Amsterdam? Drop a comment below - I'd love to hear about it. And if you're planning a trip and have questions, feel free to reach out!
Robin Kaspar says
Ah Amsterdam, my favorite European city so far. We went last spring and are going again in May but will only spend one day there, Sunday! Drat! But we’ll be on our own, no tours that day, so I can take a selfie in front of this shop as my souvenir. Thanks for letting us know about it.
Lisa D. says
Thanks for your trip recap. My daughter and I visited Amsterdam in May last year and I fell in love with the city, too. I didn't make it to the quilt shop, but I'll make a point to, next time...
Annie says
Looks incredible! Such a fun visit to a beautiful city.
Vicki Harrell says
oh I so enjoyed your description of the city. Van Gough and Anne Frank are some of my favorites! and of course quilting. now I WANT to go there!!! thank you!
Lynn K says
I loved all of the information on your Amsterdam visit ! I discovered you during QUILTER’s Paradise and loved your presentation on Manx quilting. I plan on sharing what you taught and your website with a group of quilters where I live. I hope I get it right.
Michaela Kavanah-Koehn says
We ended our Viking River Cruise in Amsterdam last March. I would have liked to spend more time there & would like to go back.
Jennifer P says
Our family LOVES Amsterdam too!! We've been twice in recent years and would go again tomorrow if given the opprotunity. Thanks for sharing all the quilty info. Definitely on my list for next time. And yes, the food is outstanding! If you get to go again, rent bikes and spend an afternoon cruising through Vondelpark. Highly recommend bringing a picnic and eating it on a quilt like we did. Bliss!
Amy Smart says
Oh that sounds amazing. Thank you so much for the recommendation!
Pam Planner says
Gosh I’m sorry I didn’t find those quilt shops when I was there years ago but like you the Resistance Museum was full of inspiring stories. I think not enough people know about visiting it.
Loved Van Gogh and the Rijks museum are amazing.
Thank you for the travel information and the quilting links - they’re great!!
Emily B says
TY for sharing❣️
I’ll probably never get to Amsterdam but your sharing your trip kinda makes me feel like I was there❣️
Awesome places, views, food & history❣️
🤗🤗
Mack says
Wow! I have a master's in history but know little about The Netherlands and have never heard of the "celebration/liberation skirts!" Amazing.
Amy Smart says
Aren't those inspiring?
Debbie says
I've been to Amsterdam, thank you for reminding me of a beautiful city and all it's charms!
Ansje Ferguson says
Glad you enjoyed it! I was born and raised there. Still make poffertjes for my grandson:). Holland is a great place to visit, but I love living in the USA.
Pam says
What a wonderful and colorful tour of central Amsterdam! Such lovely photos of stunning quilts! Thank you for sharing! I have been to Amsterdam twice and yet to manager a visit to the Anne Frank house! I am so happy you planned ahead! Love the blog!
Erika says
Hi Amy! Thank you for the guide to Amsterdam! What time of year was your visit? Thank you!
Amy Smart says
We were there in July. 🙂
Gail says
Next month we will be spending 3 weeks in Europe, including one full week in Amsterdam. This article couldn't have been more timely. Thank you.
Amy Smart says
I'm so glad!
Bette says
Thank you for bringing back memories of our visits to Amsterdam. What inspired me most about the Dutch is their resilience. Their resistance to Nazi oppression is one example. Their shared commitment to keeping up the effort to reclaim their land from the encroaching sea is another. I think we Americans have much to learn from them.
Polly Davis says
Oh thank you so much for your virtual trip to Amsterdam. I loved all the pictures and am so inspired to go now. Love your emails and look forward to your next adventures. Thanks for sharing!
June says
That sounds like quite a trip. My parents came from France to the US in 1949. I think people would be amazed to learn how resilient people were during war time.As a child I spent many hours watching my mom darn clothing. I was amazed by her perfect hand stitching. My father lost his cousin to Auschwitz. The Anne Frank house would definitely be on my list. Thank you for sharing these priceless nuggets of knowledge with us here.
ROBIN L FARLEY says
I was in Amsterdam back in 1988 0r 1989. We were stationed at Hahn AFB, in the Hunsruck, Germany. We took in as much as we could. I wasn’t make quilts then. We did see Kuckenhuf, the fields of tulips were just breath taking. As a older adult, I would like to go back now that the kids have gone off and have their own families, it’s our time to go travel and take it all in.i do hope to get back to Amsterdam to take in the culture and see the museum, Ann Frank house and markets. Not to mention the quilt stores!
Thank you for an enlightening tour
Sue says
My son and I overnighted in Amsterdam in 2000 and made the Anne Frank House visit. I was so touched by the pencil marks still on the wall which charted their growth during their time in hiding. They’re still preserved under plexiglass. Thank you for the fabric and quilting travelogue!
Amy Smart says
The pencil marks! 😪 Such a poignant sign of how deeply personal and long their hiding was. Also the news clippings of D-Day - that must have given them so much hope and makes their betrayal even more tragic.
Deb says
Thank yo so much for the wonderful tour of Amsterdam. My husband and I are going to be there in September. Now I have so many more places to visit on my bucket list!
Janet Van Noord says
Thank you for sharing such beautiful and inspiring facts and photographs! It was a delight to travel visually with you! My husband is Dutch but has never been to interested in seeing the city of his Mothers birth, perhaps this will inspire him. Fingers crossed. Thank you again for sharing.
Janet
Linda Hendrickson says
I have been to Amsterdam several years ago. We didn't have much time there but spent 10 days driving around the country. I found a darling quilt shop in Epe, north of Amsterdam. Beautiful little town, but the quilt shop was so fun! I bought a pattern and many fat quarters to finish the quilt. It's very challenging to sew from their patterns, as all the instructions are written in Dutch. I will always treasure that trip and wish to make another vacation back there again. Guess I need to stay longer next time!
Lisa says
Thank you for sharing your experience in Amsterdam. I went there in the ‘90’s and it wasn’t my favorite city in Europe, but after reading about your visit, I want to go back. Love the part about the victory skirts. Thanks for sharing.
Deanne says
My goodness how did you do so much in 40 hours? We were in Amsterdam this past October (primarily to visit our son, who was at the University of Amsterdam for a semester) and we want to go back (hopefully at a time when there's not so much rain 😉). We did a bit of traveling around the Netherlands (and 3 days in Belgium too) and it was wonderful. The train system is amazing, and there is just so much to enjoy. Thanks for a delightful itinerary for our next visit!
Cynthia Gottlieb says
Wow! this was a great read! Now I have to go back to Amsterdam to visit but not at Tulip time when it was too crowded to enjoy. The links you offered were terrific. And your fabric in a quilt shop? Fabulous!
Mari Parker says
Oh I love this! This is on my list. Every where we travel, I always look for quilt and knitting stores. Thank you for sharing your experience. The food tour looks interesting too.
Lynota Siefferman says
After a long flight to Amsterdam, my traveling companions just wanted a nap, but I knew it was my chance to find the quilt shops. I took a nice walk and was amazed by how beautiful the quilt shops were. It was hard to choose what to buy so I could sew up a souvenir!
Cathy says
I was in Amsterdam 3 years ago and also found those quilt shops. The fabrics are stunning and yes, pricey. I didn't have the best experience as a customer but maybe an off day for the sales person. I also go to London and find their fabrics expensive as well but often bring back some bits from Liberty. I've made your Union Jack quilt!
Gail says
Great post! Loved learning a bit about Amsterdam.
Those skirts were fascinating! I read the link about them and 4,000 skirts were registered. The video you linked was fun.
Thanks for sharing your visit!
Leslie K. says
I loved your description of Amsterdam.....you and your husband really did manage to experience a lot of Amsterdam in such a short period of time! We also LOVE Amsterdam....I would go back in a heartbeat. We also saw the Ann Frank House and the Resistance Museum....both incredibly moving. We were able to visit the Rijksmuseum, but we couldn't get tickets for the Van Gogh museum at a time that worked for us. (However, we saw quite a few Van Gogh pieces at the Rijksmuseum.)
We were in Amsterdam in 2015, just as I was starting my quilting journey. At that time, I didn't search out quilt shops....sure wish I had! We had to be close to those 2 shops because we spent a lot of time near the Central train station! Oh well....next time.
Thanks for bringing back such great memories!
Pamela Fitzsimmons says
Oh Amy I know the two fabric stores well but soo expensive! Amsterdam is my favourite place to visit I love the markets and boutique hotels and then you come across a little shop with the most amazing things for children !
Oh you have made me want to go back again. I’m from Ireland I first went when I was 16 and now I’m 72 oh I must go this year again . I even love the trains !
Linda B. says
Amy
Thank you for your timely post! We leave for Amsterdam in 5 weeks! We already have our tickets to the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh museum!! I am so excited to visit the fabric shops and appreciate the location of those and the market and the delicious foods to try!
😀
Cyndi says
I visited this past October and was so pleasantly surprised to find the two quilt shops. They were just beautiful! I did not know about the Albert Cuyp Market so I will be sure to check it out when we go back this December! I absolutely loved Amsterdam!
Lesley says
What a lovely write-up of your visit to Amsterdam. I had heard of The Den Haan & Wagenmakers and the Quilt - Petra Pins and they were the first two places on my list to see when I visit Amsterdam in April, before going north to visit relatives. Now I am disappointed to learn of the days they are open as I will be there on a Monday and Tuesday-perhaps I can look through the windows-at least that will save my pocket!!! At least I can see the markets.
Julie in MN says
Thank you for sharing a beautiful travelogue! I visited The Netherlands several years ago with my mil, who grew up on a farm during the war. The textiles and the Delft are two of my favorite things that come from Holland. Your tour is inspiring, and I would love to go back again. I did visit a quilt shop, too; I could have stayed there the whole day!
Jessica T says
What fun this was to find in my email today. We lived outside of Amsterdam for a little over a year. Being we were closer to Den Haag, I can also tell you both our little town, Wassenaar, and Den Haag also had quilt shops - at least when I lived there! The shops you saw in Amsterdam, I wandered into countless times and may or may not have spent some money at both while living there. I love everything about that country and area, and my bike went to many a shopping trip at the quilt stores, and also to weekly quilt groups I was lucky enough to be a part of!
Connie J Jones says
We, too, loved Amsterdam and visited the Dutch quilt shop where I also did a little shopping. The Resistance Museum was also one of our favorites. Such an amazing city. Wouldn’t it be fun to visit when the tulips are blooming!
Pat H says
Yes! We were in Amsterdam last May, and I visited the quilt shops you mentioned as well as the street market and the Anne Frank House, the Rembrandt House and the Rijksmuseum. Unfortunately we couldn’t get into the Van Gogh Museum…a reason for another visit, I’d say. Did you try the frites? Those fries ruined me for American french fries! Thanks for sharing your photos. They brought back a lot of happy memories!
Amy Smart says
Yes! The frites!
Annette Stull says
We went on a bike/barge tour starting and ending in Amsterdam April 2025. It was amazing. Went a couple of days early to explore. Couldn't get Anne Frank House tickets, but did an Anne Frank walking tour that was excellent! Tulips were beautiful! So much fun!! And yes, lots of walking plus our bike tour rode 87 miles. 🙂
Patti Adair says
Oh how I miss Amsterdam. Our daughter worked for Delta/KLM for 2yrs and we made numerous trips over. Definitely our favorite place for vacation. Thank you for helping me remember all the fun things we did. We were able to visit the Corrie ten Boom home; what a blessing that was. The love of God that the ten Boom family shared can still be felt within those walls.
MaryAnn Geertsema says
Hi - While in Netherlands for a family reunion in September, my cousin took me for a tour of the old part of the city of Utrecht. When I passed a window with a quilt hanging in it, naturally I told him we were going to step in. Oh, the fabrics! I, too, especially love the older prints, as they evoke memories of outfits my mother made us as kids, but I didn't purchased any. I should have, sigh. But I was travelling light and I could have filled a trunk! I am glad to see blue and white, and similar old-time prints, in the shops on this side of the pond.