fabric Archives - Page 2 of 4

Lucinda February 13, 2013

There’s an Awesome Fabric Store In My Back Yard

How is it that I’ve been living in Massachusetts for (almost) five years and I’ve never been to this store until now? Granted, Fabric Place Basement has only been open for two years and the original Fabric Place closed shortly after I moved here in 2008, but still. This gem has been hiding under my nose.

I popped in after work to pick up some buttons for my Beignet skirt and a seam ripper since I snapped mine in half while trying to open up buttonholes on said skirt, and the minute I walked downstairs into the retail space I was stunned. It was huge! There was a section for fashion fabric! Home dec! Quilting cotton! Even yarn! I was skeptical though – the name “basement” implied in my mind that I would find cheap, low-quality fabric of the cheesiness variety.

Hell to the no: it’s really nice stuff! After I found what I came in for, I started making my way up and down the aisles and that’s when the drooling began. I found gorgeous poly prints that would make great blouses, fancy fabrics (without glitter – glitter does not transform fabric into evening-appropriate, JoAnn’s), rolls of pure silk, and leather hides. The home dec, not that I’m into it, was impressive (you can buy fabric from the Shabby Chic line!), and the quilting cotton consisted of really nice stuff from Windham Fabrics and Rowan, just to name a few.

If you’ve been reading my site for awhile, you know my obsession with knit fabrics – I love them and can’t quite seem to get enough. Well now, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem since I’ve found Fabric Place Basement. There was a rainbow of knit jersey, ribbed knits, sweater knits, ITYs, and even 100% lambswool knit fabric. Um, yummy and drool worthy!

But looky what I found:

Sarah’s fabulous Missoni dress popped into my head the moment my eyes landed on this funky zig-zag sweater knit. I pulled the bolt out to see what the price was and noticed that it was labeled “Designer Knit Fabric.” Now, at $6.99 a yard, I don’t think that it actually is a Missoni, but nonetheless, it inspired me to make a fun dress that would be great for transitioning from winter to spring – some kind of simple scoop neck dress like Sarah’s dress. And you know what? I’m still going to call it my “Missoni Dress” when I’m done!

This fabric will be a test as to the quality of what it sold at the store, but I’m crossing my fingers that all goes well since I see Fabric Place Basement as a good substitute for running to JoAnn’s for notions and the selection is much more diverse. It’s nothing compared to fabric shopping in NYC but it’s pretty great for the suburbs, especially when it’s so difficult to find a place that sells dressmaking fabric. If you’re in the Boston Metro area, I highly recommend checking them out.

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Lucinda July 5, 2012

Fabric Shopping in NYC

I was lucky enough to go fabric shopping for my birthday a few weeks back in NYC! Let me show you what my favorite stores are and the haul I picked up (some of which you’ve already seen on the blog).

First stop: Mood Fabrics

(I really could have taken a better picture but I felt like such a dork taking one in the store. This was taken from the entrance where no one could see me snap a quick pic.)

What is there to say about Mood that hasn’t been said already? They were crowded when we got there around noon and even a tour group was making their way in when we were leaving. I always try to hit up Mood first before any of the other stores in the garment district since they have everything you’d need for a project in one place. Plus, if you can’t find it at Mood, it probably doesn’t exist! I love perusing their cottons and wools as well as the designer fabric.

I found two fabrics: a navy blue and white twill fabric that I just unfortunately used for this dress and a multi-colored striped cotton that I’m planning on using for a McCall’s 6554 sundress.

Since it’s right down the street from Mood, we then went to Metro Textile.

So it doesn’t look like much from the outside, but let me tell you: this store is fantastic. It’s a hidden gem, way up on the 9th floor on 37th street, and I never walk out with empty hands (more like empty pockets!). Kashi, the owner, is incredibly helpful and doesn’t leave your side when you’re looking through fabrics. It helps to know ahead of time what exactly it is that you’re looking for since he can dig and pull out from the shelves exactly the kind of fabric you need. I went in with the idea that I was looking for knits (his selection is awesome, I go their specifically for that) and I walked out with a ton of knit fabric as well as a cotton. His prices are incredibly reasonable for the quality of the fabric he sells, too – I was amazed at what I got for what I spent. Plus, he can even ship your fabric to you if you don’t want to carry it around. I can’t recommend this place highly enough

Look at all of that!! They’re all beautiful knit fabrics, except for the blue and green floral at the top which is a woven cotton. I’ve got plans for maxi dresses, wrap dresses, summer skirts, and knit tops out of that lot. It should keep me busy for a good chunk of the summer I should think!
(Psst: a lot of this fabric is sold on Gorgeous Fabrics)

The last place we went to was a place my mom wanted to go to: The City Quilter

I’ve never been, but after this trip, this store is on my “must-go” list. It’s such a comprehensive and beautiful quilt shop and has a quilt gallery located next door. Their website says that they stock around 4,000 bolts of fabric, and I definitely believe that.

This is just one section of the store, btw.

I wish I had a project in mind when we were there because the selection and assortment of fabrics was amazing. You name it, they carry it. I loved their section of Japanese fabrics from Echino, Kokka, and Yuwa – most of those fabrics I’ve only seen online, and it was neat to see and feel them in person.

Since they’re also a Bernina dealer, I took a look at the feet they had and picked up a rolled hem foot for my 1005. I haven’t tried it out yet, but it’s one of those feet that I’ve been meaning to get. They also had a great selection of books, many of which made me really want to start quilting, but I decided to get Sue Kim’s Bags book.

So those are some of my favorite places to shop in the Garment District in NYC! It looks like I need to go to New Jersey for work in two weeks, so it would give me a good excuse to swing by and get some more fabric…

Mood Fabrics

225 W. 37th Street, 3rd floor

New York, NY 10018

212-730-5003

Store hours

Metro Textile

265 W. 37th Street, Suite 908

New York, NY 10018

Store hours

The City Quilter

133 W. 25th Street

New York, NY 10001

212-807-0390

Store hours

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Lucinda June 25, 2012

A Lesson In Fabric Choice

This post originally started out as a “On My Cutting Table” post to show what I started working on this weekend. Sadly, it ended up as the new title of this post or, “A Lesson in Fabric Choice.”

Yes, my sewing friends, I goofed big time.

You see, the above pattern, a Vogue DKNY pattern that came out last summer, was meant for a lightweight seersucker or cotton lawn-type fabric. When I attempted this last summer, I didn’t have enough seersucker to fit the skirt pieces.

Fast forward to this summer: I bought the above stripey fabric at Mood and for some reason, maybe it was fabric sensory overload, I thought that this little number would be perfect and cute and nautical looking and all of those silly thoughts that run through one’s mind when they find the right fabric for a project. What I didn’t take into account was the weight of the recommended fabric for the pattern and the weight of the fabric I was purchasing. This twill-like fabric does not lend itself well to a pattern calling for voile-like fabric.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

What I ended up with after I stitched up my dress was a big, stiff, blousey sack dress. Major ugh. It looked nothing like the softly draped and gathered dress on the envelope and didn’t come close to the versions that I found on PatternReview. Plus, to add insult to injury, my stripes were horizontal, not vertical like I somehow thought they would be (how the hell did I end up making that mistake??). So not only did I have this blousey sack-dress thing going on, with a top that made it look like I sneak a bag of popcorn in to the movies and no one would know, but I also had stripes going across the whole thing that added on quite a bit of bulk, visually.

Moral of the story – always check to make sure the fabric you’re going to use is:

a) is similar to what is recommended on the envelope

b) works for the design of the garment

Or you’ll end up a sad panda like me with a big, ugly dress.

On the plus side though, I now have some fabulous leftover striped fabric for a pair of jazzy nautical shorts!

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Lucinda February 12, 2009

Flash Your Stash!

Re: “Tell us about your stash” via Sew, Mama, Sew!

* What do you usually sew?

It varies based on my mood…during warmer weather I tend to gravitate towards cute little tops and dresses, but lately I’ve been making lots of useful items for around the apartment like placemats and rugs.

* When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? (i.e. If you see something beautiful, but you don’t have a use for it right away, how much do you buy?)

I tend to buy lots of fat quarters. They’re a great size for a multitude of sewing projects, and it gives me a chance to sample lots of new fabrics. If I like the print, I usually go back for more.

* Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need?

Usually I have a color in mind or a theme, like floral or retro, but sometimes I stumble across fabrics I never thought of before!

* Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you’re ready to use it?

Recently I am; I used to just start cutting and stitching before washing the fabric. But now I take the time to wash and iron out all the wrinkles before folding it up and tucking it away for later.

* Do you iron it?

Yes and it can be a pain if I don’t take it out of the dryer in time.

* How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.)

Unfortunately I don’t have the luxury of a lot of space to have my fabric all organized by color or collection. If I had the room, I would definitely organize it by color!

* Do you have any special folding techniques?

Nope. Whatever makes it look the neatest.

* How do you store your fabric?

Again, not a whole lot of space in a one bedroom apartment that I share. But for now, it resides in a storage box from Ikea in my bookcase in the living room.

* What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash?

I started out collecting fabrics that I thought were interesting or with patterns and colors I really loved. Now that I’m starting to quilt and not just make garments and bags, I understand the need for filler fabrics that give the eye a place to rest. You need a fair balance of both.

* When do you say enough is enough?

Um…I’m not sure when one reaches that point…

* What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects?

I’m loving the fat quarter project ideas on Sew Mama Sew. Or even just putting together quilt blocks with random bits of fabric is fun, too.

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Lucinda February 8, 2009

Swatch Sunday

“Apples” from the Metro Market Collection by Monaluna for Robert Kauffman. Found at Sew Mama Sew.

Wouldn’t that print be great for tea towels in the kitchen?