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.

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.

It's Giveaway Time for STGD Readers, Thanks to Guide Fabrics

Guide Fabrics at 262 W. 38th Street is a great source for linings and interlinings.

On my way to getting some buttonholes made at Jonathan Embroidery, I stopped in at Guide Fabrics in the Garment District recently. If you're looking for linings, interlinings or muslin, this store is an excellent wholesale and retail source. They have a huge assortment of all kinds of linings in all colors--bemberg, silks, acetates, twills, organzas, cottons, quilted linings and more. Interlinings include Thinsulate, hymo, batting, fusible and non-fusible tricots; specialty fabrics Guide stocks include twill pocketing, bonded leather, canvas, etc. Their retail prices are very reasonable, and the more you buy the more you can negotiate the price. The sales staff is helpful and will bring out color cards to get you that perfect match. (Tip: Go in with a friend or two and divvy up a bolt of muslin; you could end up getting the firmer grade of muslin for just $1.50 to $2.00 a yard, depending on the type of muslin.)

GIVEAWAY ALERT!

To celebrate Guide Fabrics' fifty years of business in the Garment District, owner Thomas Loverdi gave Shop the Garment District three yards of muslin to give away to one lucky reader. Readers, this is the good stuff, in a weight perfect to muslin-up a jacket, coat or structured dress. To enter this giveaway, all you need to do is 1) become a Google Follower of this web site, and 2) leave a comment on this post by Jan. 9, 2011, 12 pm EST indicating you'd like to be entered. One winner will be chosen at random; the winner will be announced here next week. Good luck, and congratulations to Guide Fabrics on celebrating fifty years of business!