Fabrics & Fabrics

Space. Size. Variety. COLOR!!!

If you are a real-life tactile shopper, this is a place for you.  If you love color, this is the place for you.  If you shop with friends, wanna make a bit of a ruckus, and wanna make it a shopping party, this is the place for you. Many price ranges.  Don't be afraid to ask, but don't challenge the answer, either!

Very helpful staff, great inspirational photos, showing how fabric was used by designers. Really creatively inspiring display and organization.

Prepare to be overwhelmed. Have time to spend. Buy it when you see it, because it will likely be gone when you come back. (Ask me how I know...)

Great for lace, standard and unusual formalwear fabrics, luxurious home dec, antique bridal trims, interesting novelty fabrics, silk prints, brocades, a boatload of wonderful coat and winterwear fabrics.

Fabrics & Fabrics

270 W 38th St 3rd fl

New York, NY 10018

M-F 9AM-6PM

https://fabrics-fabrics.com/

Where to find coutil in the garment district

** Reposting (From hundreds (600) of posts, it is silly never to repost, right?)

We get stuck on names and labels for things. Armed with sewing books, dictionaries and lexicons, we scour the district, searching every store for the thing we've been told we need...

Coutil (or Coutille) is woven cloth created specifically for making corsets.^] It is woven tightly to inhibit penetration of the corset's bones and resist stretching. Coutil has a high cotton content. Cotton has good dimensional stability, or a resistance to stretching, which makes it a good choice for such a stressed garment. Coutil may be made to be plain (similar to 100% cotton facing), satin, or brocade. It is common for coutil to have a herringbone texture, or a similar woven texture.

- from Wikipedia

Order coutil via mail from Richard the Thread or Farthingales

Shopper:

"Do you have any coutil for sale?"

Fabric store employee (annoyed):

"Cou- wha?"

Coutil, when sold specifically by name, is a firmly woven cotton with a herringbone weave, used for foundation garments.  

That's why no one knows what you are talking about.  

The fabric is specifically designed for use in corset-making. Can't find it? You'll have a hard time finding a good substitute, although some poeple use duck or twill when they only want to mimic the look of a corset, and not necessarily rely on its functional role in a properly made corset. Word on the street is that it has no equal. It is strong, it breathes, and not many other fabrics will serve as a suitable substitute.

So, where do you find coutil in the garment district?  In my experience so far, you don't!  Order online from Farthingales or Richard the Thread, but get the rest of your supplies right here in NYC.

Now, once you've got the  right supplies to make your garment function as it should, get as fancy as you like with supplies to make it beautiful from some of our favorite garment district haunts:  

• B& J Fabrics
• Fabrics & Fabrics for beautiful laces and brocades
• Dersh Feather
• Botani
• International pleating for beautiful fabric manipulation
• Schmalberg Flowers for wonderful fabric ornamentation

All about the July 27 Speakeasy... What happens on a Speakeasy

It was a great day. We formed a small huddle at our meeting spot, where I explained how to navigate the wild fabric adventure upon which we were about to embark.

Normally, I would keep the secrets of a Speakeasy, but since there won't be another until Fall, and so much of it is "right now" information, I will happily share this time...

I am writing this post in real time today... just for fun... so this post will just be continuously updated as I write.  Enjoy... and if you comment or ask questions, I'll see them, because I'm right here!

So... what did I tell the group in the huddle?

I told them what to do/not to do when they find a fabric they love, how to know if they are getting a good price, different ways to tackle common pitfalls of the district, and got a feel for what they hoped to see, and where they had already been.

Our first stop was Paron Fabrics.  Why? Because they currently have a 40% off sale!  Deeper than their usual 25%, and in my scouting before the weekend, I saw some of the dreamiest things I could imagine!  A lovely, cozy striped jersey that defies description (one of the tour participants bought it - there may not be any left by the time you read this), a random eyelet in a great, magical coral shade, some heavenly silk prints, and a delightful silk ombre that had one of the tour participant's name all over it! 

Was that the most fun?  Nope... not yet...

There is a new trim store in the district, gradually filling in inventory.  Very neatly organized and of great appeal to the creative brain, the shelves are full of interesting buckled, crystals, beads, and embellishments of every kind.  A tour participant who makes costumes was particularly interested in the crystals.

But personally, I loved these buttons...

The store is called Lauren Trimming, Inc.  and they welcome both retail and wholesale customers.

Contact info below:

Lauren Trimming, Inc.

247 West 37th Street

New York, NY 10018

Conversations with the participants in that store led me to suggest our next stop, not originally in the plan, but necessary because we started to talk about possibilities in leather and suede:

Leather Suede Skins

251 West 35th Street

Suite 1100

We headed upstairs together, amid mumbles of "How would I even know this is here?", waited to be buzzed in, and breathed a collective gasp at the magic we found inside.  They always have fun stuff inside.  Once many years ago, I found this fabric, and made myself a baguette, to which my daughter is now desperately attached...

The baguette...

And while exploring options, it became abundantly clear that the group needed to see Manhattan Wardrobe Supply.  What a fantastic place for all the notions, supplies, and tools you never thought you needed.  Wanna feel some fantastic elastic?  You have to feel it in person to understand...  They also have a great website, and run many great sales on the website!  Don't feel left out, New York City Folks... You can even buy things on the website and come by to pick them up! When I go there, i go for the wonderful bust support products they have, that help me make swimsuits that can make the well-endowed look like rock stars!

I made this (years ago) for a HH cup -  with some help of supplies found at Manhattan Wardrobe Supply

So, by then, it was time to eat. Over lunch, we talked about many things, and I gave specific suggestions for places to fit each person's quest.  I also included some who would be particularly fun right now, because of specific things they have to offer, and mentioned the places EVERYONE knows about, if they still had energy for that afterward.

When we finished lunch, we headed over to Pacific Trimming, where people were happy to find inspiration and purchased embellishments, zippers, buttons, elastics, and such.

Pooped and happy, we ended our day at Pacific, and bid each other a very satisfied adieu!

Wanna come on a Speakeasy?  Updated info can always be found here!

Okay, I'm done with this post now. Got questions or comments? Let me know in the comments below!

A Teen's Perspective

If there's one thing I know about my daughter, it's that she loves the color combination of purple and yellow.  I bought this lovely purple fabric at Fabrics & Fabrics a while back...

Sheer, light, soft, and playful! (That's my hand beneath it)

and hesitated to cut into it because I wanted to make sure I chose the right project.  

The question, "What do you want to wear for the prom?" (an 8th grade dance in the school gym, really) was met with shoulder shrugs and a general lack of interest.  

So, I had to go it alone.

I found the right yellow to make it "pop".

Actual colors, not enhanced.

And created a swirly, twirly, simple dress!

Yes, my friends... it appears my daughter's "prom" dress was a stash creation.  And she loved it. And she had a great time, too!

Yesterday's Speakeasy - the Unspoken Truth of the Garment District

What can I tell you about yesterday's Speakeasy tour?  Well, it was a lovely and intimate gathering of fabric enthusiasts, with my wonderful friend, Cindy, along to add her professional experience and expert guidance during the afternoon portion of the day. The participants were an absolute joy to lead, and our fabric finds were awesome!  While the regular secrecy was important before our excursion, as usual, I curated the best spots before this trip to see who has great stuff right now, and we actually bought the LAST yardage of some of the things we found, so no harm in you knowing some specifics!

From Paron Fabrics

One of the participants spotted this lovely stretch knit fabric at Paron, and, while trying to stifle my pangs of longing, I photographed it, stroked and tugged it... and alas, after she bought her yardage, some the rest of it came home with me!  Paron, by the way, is currently having a huge summer sale with deep discounts.

From Metro Textiles - delightful, tough, stretch fabric perfect for a slim skirt or shorts/pants.

At Metro Textiles, I found this funky fabric (above), and, no, there is no more.  There was no leaving it behind.  Let that be a lesson to ya, since frankly, you would have had to physically fight me for it anyway... 

and I woulda won...

But now, with this fabric at home, it appears I will have to fight my daughter for it.  We'll see who wins that battle.  It's tough, but she doesn't usually beg too much... so maybe... 

I said MAYBE.

Also note, Metro Textiles has prices you have probably only dreamt about for some of the fabrics of your dreams.  No lie.

While out and about, we saw some great cotton prints, priced well below $10/yd., Cindy showed the group some fantastic ponte knits, Metro Textiles had some things to die for you gotta see to believe, and some scuba that blew my mind, and there are some pretty amazing offerings in the trim stores, too. We also saw some pretty wild fur fabrics at Fabrics & Fabrics... and get this... in a store that HUGE, one of the tour participants, with no suggestion from me, bought yardage of a wonderful fabric I also fell in love with and already have at home, in my embarrassingly large stash! 

Hers was a deep pink grid, but same fabric!

Of course we visited other places, and found great things in those places, too, but if you wanna know everything, come along on the next one, or buy a map!

Spare me the details...

* I love making/redesigning/altering things, and while I enjoy reading blogs that explore the making process in excruciating detail, here I'll simply share results/photos for inspiration, and guidance regarding where to buy the materials/instructions/supplies, when relevant.  If you have any specific questions regarding the HOW aspect of anything I show here, feel free to ask, and I'll answer!

After putting on her newly altered dress, she admired herself in the mirror... "Why don't they make dresses like this anymore?" she sighed.

The back of the pretty vintage dress.

Pictured above, is the back of a beautiful dress, owned by a vintage-loving client of mine, made of a dreamy metallic brocade.  Since it was made for a broader figure than hers, it needed to be altered it significantly to fit her figure, which I achieved by changing the seaming (adding a princess seams where there were none on the original dress), reshaping the bust and armholes, and added some side boning to give it a smoother look. My client will use it for a choral performance on Easter Sunday.

The dress itself, looks similar to the center view of the dress below, with a natural neckline, rather than the square neckline pictured.

This dress pattern, for sale on Patterns of the Past

The original dress was handmade, using two layers of fabric together as one.  There was no separate lining layer, and large seam allowances and perfectly pinked raw edges made this dress a dream to alter. The precisely cut organza layer had the perfect resilience and crispness to smoothly fortify the shape. 

"Well, THEY don't... but someone can!" I thought.  Fabrics & Fabrics has a particularly spectacular selection of brocades, and there, you can find a beautiful gold metallic brocade like this one, as well as wonderful organza to use as lining.

Now... let's say I were to make a similar dress for myself... all I need is a place to wear something that fabulous... Well, a girl can dream, can't she?

About Friday's Speakeasy

Friday's weather was perfect, and the fabrics we saw were beautiful.  I find myself repeating this statement every time I lead a tour.  Yes, I bought some fabric of my own, and the others found equally beautiful things... Sigh...

I've mentioned this broken grid fabric from Fabrics & Fabrics and cottons from Rosen & Chadick before.
See the Facebook page for more info.

Beautiful cozy sweater knit from Metro Textiles.  Also mentioned today on the Facebook page.

Sought out a rhinestone zipper for one participant at Daytona Trimming.

Beautiful day, wonderful people, fun and delicious lunch!  I wish we could do it again tomorrow! Short post today, you'll understand why when you see my next update!

Until then, sew on, my friends!

The September 26 Speakeasy

I'll start with this:

I don't know if I can adequately convey the beauty of what we saw on Friday.  

I met our intimate group at our starting point on Friday morning, and immediately explained our Speakeasy shopping strategy.  Beautiful weather, our collective enthusiasm, and easy conversation created a solid, instant rapport. I shared some tips for navigating the district, negotiating with the salespeople, and the "speakeasy" elements of the stores we were to visit. Then I explained in detail, how I curated and organized the day's list of destinations.  Some "bonus" destinations were added on based on specific requests at the end of our day.  All in all, everyone had a ball... and I left the district tired and haunted by the fabrics I CANNOT bear not to purchase for myself.  Is this an illness?  Well, certainly not if I sew it all...  Okay, so I have to sew it all or check into a mental hospital.  So I'm whipping out the scissors and turning on the machine TONIGHT. 

Clearly, I will need to return to the district to buy some of the things that are haunting me next week.  Here is a small representation of the things that specifically called out to me:

At Fabrics and Fabrics:

Hello, Lover... The magical cotton weave above called my name, and reminds me of the artwork from the Ezra Jack Keats children's books, and it needs some of that blue leather to complement it...

That fabric makes me feel like this...

This one, I call a "drunken grid" - a cotton shirt weight fabric, begging me to take it home...

At New York Elegant:

At Elliott Berman:

Silk - ya gotta feel it to believe it.

Outta this world wool.

More outta this world wool...

I think I've met this fabric before, and I'm still in love.

This says home dec in the most beautiful way...

You have to see this for yourself.

A digital print that is truly alive with color!

Two cottons at Rosen & Chadick, and one cotton print at Fabrics & Fabrics, and something that is just TO DIE FOR at NY Elegant I did not photograph (selfishly), because I want to get to them first!

"It's all cyclical"

The history of fashion tells me that everything old comes around again.  If that is so, I can't wait for these fashions to come back!  This weekend celebrated the annual Jazz Age Festival at Governors Island, here in New York City.

For privacy and permission's sake, I didn't include any close-ups of party-goers, but added enough pics here to give you an idea! There were dancers and food, live music, and lots of fun stuff that isn't shown here... Some representative shots from the event:

The pittoresque view of lower Manhattan from Governors Island

Revelers ending their day on the island

Ending the day - casual or glammed-up, it was fun for all!

Not everyone wanted to wear costumes, but there were lots of well-dressed men in the crowd, too!

So, let's say you want to participate next year, or you just dig a 20's vibe...  Here are some of the best places to find your supplies and services:

Lovely, lightweight silks in gorgeous colors: C&J Textiles
Beautiful, bold printed silks: Metro Textile, Fabrics & Fabrics
Feathers for trims, adornments and accessories: Dersh Feather
Beads and beaded embellishments: Joyce Trimmings
Other fun trims: Daytona, M&J Trimming
Hats: Hatcessory
Lace: Fabrics & Fabrics (Which is formerly Lace Star, ya know)
Hearty menswear fabrics and fabrics for ties: Rosen & Chadick
Get georgette fabric pleated by International Pleating for your skirts and dresses!

Such a fun place to go, and such a creative inspiration for all involved.