Wool Coating Deals in the Garment District

$9.99 a yard is quite the price for wool coatings. Chic Fabrics, 225 W. 39th Street.

What's the key to surviving another brutal winter? Outerwear that makes you look and feel good, not to mention keep you warm. Sewing your own coat or jacket is a lot easier than you'd think, especially if you choose a loosely-structured style without a lot of tailoring and fitting demands. And when you make your own coat, you can customize it to meet your personal warmth needs.

To the best of my knowledge, Chic Fabrics on W. 39th Street has the most attractive deals on wool coating, at $9.99 a yard. Not a huge selection and the coatings tend to be on the lightweight side, but that's a great price. Do inspect your yardage before it's cut, as I found water spots on my wool coating after I got home. (Fortunately I could cut around them.)

You can find more wool coatings on W. 39th Street at the stores west of Chic but on the same side of the street. The selection gets better but the prices do go up, starting around $18 a yard. Also, Mood Fabrics has a large selection of wool coatings at a range of price points, as do B&J, Paron's, NY Elegant and Rosen & Chadick.

Don't forget linings. For warmth, I like the flannel-backed satin linings at B&J, or the quilted satins and nylons at AK Fabrics. For a luxurious touch, add a fur collar from Mood or Prime Fabrics (W. 35th).

Happy sewing and happy holidays!

Ready-made fur collars at Mood Fabrics. Add one to that coat you're going to make.

Here's my coat in progress: Wool coating from Chic, fur from Prime, quilted lining from AK.

Gift Ideas From the Garment District

It's not too late to whip up a gift made with fabric from NYC's Garment District. Here are a few easy to sew ideas. Feel free to add your crafty gift ideas in the comments section.

 Just look at this display at Lord & Taylor and you know faux furs and faux fur collars are hot this holiday season. You can make one for a fraction of the retail price. Look for faux fur by the yard at Prime Fabrics on W. 35th, Mood on W. 37th and NY Elegant on W. 40th.

Your loved ones' fingers won't freeze as they text if you give them gloves that interact with touch screen devices. Sew your own tech gloves: Buy a pair of gloves that a sewing needle can penetrate, then stitch a little conductive padded area on the index finger and thumb pads. Reader QuiltB alerted me that you can buy "Conductive Sewing Thread" from Leader Thread Corp., 252 W. 37th (3rd Fl) for $9.95 a spool. (Tech Knit gloves available at Saks Fifth Avenue.)

 Now who wouldn't appreciate a vintage-style apron like this? Fancy fabrics abound in the Garment District. Try the shops on W. 39th St if you're looking for bargains. (Vogue vintage apron pattern.)

Know someone who's getting an iPad for Christmas or Hanukkah? Stitch them up an iPad sleeve like this one from Bertie's Closet. Try B&J Fabrics and Rosen & Chadick for interesting cotton prints.

Make Your Own Winter Coat This Season

Fur Collar Trench by Boy by Band of Outsiders. Trench style wool coat with removable fur collar and self tie belt. $2,240 at La Garconne.

A winter coat is one of the most satisfying and cost-effective things you can sew for yourself: You can build it exactly to your specifications, and not skimp on linings like even some of the better RTW companies do. And you can save lots of money when you make your own coat, because even on sale winter coats are still pricey.

This season I am really taken with the above Boy by Band of Outsiders winter coat and am hankering to make one like it. First, I can repurpose a fur collar from an old coat that's been languishing in my closet. Second, how great is it that it has a quilted lining. Our NYC winters have been cold lately and this winter I'll be prepared with a quilted lining.

Lucky for us wool coatings abound in the Garment District. Shop around, trying W. 39th Street first for bargains before heading to standbys like Mood, B&J's, Paron's, Rosen & Chadick, Elliott Berman Textiles, Lace Star and NY Elegant. You can find quilted lining fabric at Mood, B&J's, A.K. Fabrics and NY Elegant. Now get sewing and finish that coat before the first snowflake falls in the tri-state region. (Oops, too late.)

Quilted fabrics at NY Elegant...

...and at Mood Fabrics.

NY Elegant Fabrics

Note: This store has changed, improved, and been explored much more thoroughly since this post was written, and a deeper explorations have yielded so much more information about their offerings.  More updated reviews have come since, but I leave this post here, since Meg's post is equally valid - just a different perspective!

Meg's review from 2011 is below:


NY Elegant Fabrics is another Garment District store I wish I could wholeheartedly recommend when people ask me about must-visit stores in the area. If my recommendations were based solely on the friendliness of the proprietors, then I'd say yeah, definitely go here because I really like Charles Yoo.

But honestly, readers, I don't enjoy shopping at NY Elegant the way I do at some stores in the Garment District. The layout is confusing. The lighting is poor. The bolts are stacked too high and it's difficult to pull a bolt out on your own unless you're really strong. And—this is the kicker—the prices seem higher than elsewhere in the area. Significantly higher. I rarely buy anything here other than linings.

NYC Fabric Store Review: N.Y. Elegant Fabrics

Address: 222 West 40th Street, New York, NYC
Phone: 212-302-4980
Hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Online store: n/a
Best for: Faux furs, theatrical fabrics, and lots of everything else

Brace yourself before entering New York Elegant Fabrics: It's BIG!

New York Elegant Fabrics has to be one of the largest fabric stores in the Garment District. With some 20,000 square feet and two levels, this store seems to have a little bit of everything. Don't let the "elegant" in the name fool you as it did me: I was expecting to find a store with only laces, brocades and materials for gowns and the like. But New York Elegant Fabrics has fabrics ranging from cottons and shirtings to real furs and fake furs. It feels more like a traditional fabric store you might find in any major city but without the notions and patterns.

Prices at New York Elegant Fabrics seem to be on par with Mood Fabrics and Rosen & Chadick: No bargain-basement prices here. I saw many of the same types of fabrics you'd pay less for at Paron's, like wool suitings. But I also saw silk charmeuses in playful prints that would be great for jacket linings, and specialty fabrics, like brightly-colored, quilted nylons that would make cute barn coats or vests for little girls.

According to Charles Yoo, the owners' son, New York Elegant Fabrics does steady business with the theatre industry, providing fabric for shows like "Wicked" and the Metropolitan Opera. You can see that costumers would easily consider this store their favorite place for one-stop shopping—it's just so big, and the staff is very helpful. New York Elegant Fabrics has been selling to retail customers in NYC's garment center for more than 20 years.

Truthfully, I was a little overwhelmed the first time I visited this store. There's just a lot of fabric to see (not that that's a bad thing). I feel I need to go back a couple more times before I can realistically assess where this store rates on my need-to-visit fabric shopping list. Until then, if you have the time and since it's just down the block from Paron Fabrics and Paron's Annex on W. 40th, do pop in New York Elegant Fabrics.

That's Charles Yoo, son of the owners, behind the counter. He's incredibly helpful and friendly.

You'll find rows and rows of printed silk charmeuses to choose from. Lots of fun jacket and coat lining options here.

Just to give you an idea of the store's prices.

I thought these double-sided, quilted nylon fabrics in bright colors would make cute jackets for toddlers and little girls.

The faux furs looked high-quality and there is a large selection.

New York Elegant Fabrics has the real stuff too.

Looking for cotton shirtings? This store has plenty of options.

You'll find loads of specialty fabrics, like this appliquéd sheer georgette.