Shopping For Bouclé + "I Underestimated This Fabric Store!"

Friends, I'm not formally participating in Me-Made May since I wear me-mades almost every day.

But since it is May, just for the record, today I wore my Liberty floral shirt and Plaid Burda raincoat (above).

Moving right along, my friend Marsha (below) was in town today from Kansas City, and on her to-do list was to purchase wool bouclé for a Susan Khalje video course she has purchased, The Classic French Jacket.  We had an early lunch and then went shopping.



It may sound strange, but I actually enjoy going fabric shopping for other people more than I enjoy it for myself.  I knew Mood had an excellent selection of bouclés, so that's where I suggested going.

But first let's back up: I got to the Garment District a little early, so I decided to pop into a fabric store I often make fun of, the chaotic, disorganized, eternally-going-out-of-business It's a Material World on 39th St.  Not having been there in many months, I'd forgotten just how fun this store is. There are many bargains to be had if you know fabric, and can tell your silk and cotton from your poly.  This was one of the stores I shopped at most when I first started sewing seven years ago (and it was going out of business then), and while there are fewer $2/yd. bargains to be had, they still have a tremendous selection of $5/yd. fabrics, including some lovely cotton prints.

Here's a sample of some things that caught my eye:

Cotton patchwork: perfect for summer sewing.

Linen print

Vintage-y cotton print - nice for a shirt or dress.

Fun cotton print in a very 70's palette.

Heavy wool knit with a somewhat random patchwork design.

This large-scale "kitsch-exotica" cotton print reminds me of vintage barkcloth

Quilted lining material with batting attached --you could use this on the outside too.

There are no words...

Cotton stretch sateen: would make some wild pants!

Delicate floral cotton, very Laura Mae!

Pure poly but I love the print.

As I was looking around it occurred to me that when It's a Material World is gone -- and it ain't gonna be around forever -- I'm going to miss it terribly.  It really offers a one-of-a-kind shopping experience.

Anyway, after lunch, Marsha and I headed over to Mood and -- I was so impressed -- Marsha chose her bouclé in roughly three minutes.  I mean, who's that decisive?  Her fabric choice (below) is gorgeous, and we also picked up silk charmeuse lining which will be quilted to the wool, evidently.







Next, we went looking for trim. Not having found exactly what she wanted at Mood or Pacific, we stumbled upon an amazing store that was new to me, East Coast Trimming.  Gorgeous stuff, beautifully displayed, and excellent service.











Next time you're in the Garment District, check out East Coast Trimming.  Inspiring, whether you buy anything or not (we didn't; decisive Marsha was uncharacteristically indecisive here, but she'll be back in a few months, hopefully with her nearly completed jacket, and can choose her trim then).

And that's it.  My second-to-last Ladies Tailoring class is tonight, so I must do some last-minute prep.

Have a great day, everybody!