Great habadashery and art shop in the northern quarter, recently added a bit upstairs so the layout is a bit less crammed down in the basement, there’s something for every craft imaginable! And the staff are very helpful too.

Can’t really add anything to the other reviews other than, if you go to their website, you can order a free catalogue if you live elsewhere. Cheaper by far than Hobbycraft and obscure things here like cane for basket making and leather skins etc. Enamelling kiln and equipment, jewellery findings and absolutely everything for making soft toys.

A royal gem of an Arts and Crafts emporium.
Fred Aldous is one of the largest supplies of arts and crafts supplies in Manchester. I’ve always found a reason to pop in here if I’m in the area whether it’s just for a few pens and pencils; a huge bag of polystyrene balls; or a selection of art paper.
We usually take a trip here to pick up arts and crafts for the children and there’s hardly anything you cannot get hold of here.
I had a small project for a camera of mine (constructing a matte box) and found everything I needed to build on here. Press studs, rivets, fastener and the tools to facilitate this construction were all here (guided by the very helpful staff).
A 5 min nip in here turned into an hour – it’s a Willy Wonka emporium for satiating your artistic desires.

I haven’t enough space here to list just how varied and large their stock is, but hobbies such as: metalwork; needlework; flower making; lampshade making (another of my ‘to do’ lists this year is to make my own lampshade!); stamping; textiles….and so on.

The large, basement store itself is a visual treat – think ‘Are you being Served’ crossed with ‘New York Artist Pad’ and you’re about there. An echo to the past when the Northern Quarter was the epicentre for Manchester shopping. This section of the city (despite creeping gentrification and regeneration) still recalls that era of shopping – material shops/sowing machine shops in huge Victorian warehouses, but I guess their time is running out. Hopefully though, Fred Aldous will remain as and where it is.

I love Fred Aldous, it has alsorts of stuff to browse through. I could spend all day in there! The staff are really friendly and helpful too, I got lots of information on making moulds and casting my hand. Got some free information sheets too.

Fred Aldous is a treasure chest for crafters. Walk down the ominous stairs and inside is rows and rows of buttons, embroidery supplies, sewing materials, paints, brushes, fabric, pom poms, stencils, glue, beads etc. The list is endless and it can take a while to find what you need.

They also run workshops to learn a new skill, so these are worth checking out of you want to personalise your cards and gifts for people!

Also check out their online site for purchasing, if you cannot face the looking thorough all the items!

Fred Aldous is a gem of a discovery. Walking down from street level you pass lines of posters and flyers advertising various events in the area, but once on the shop floor you notice a wide open space and everything imaginable for artistic pursuits lines the walls. If you like 'making stuff' as i put i, you'll get lost in a world of stencils, embroidery silks, paints, artist supplies and much much more. And i did get lost, and want to buy the whole shop. I always pop in for a little inspiration. Prices aren't as high as you'd think either..