This was not my first time visiting the Garment District. Over the yeas I have honed down Paula's list to my favorite places, and places that have to be visited. Most of them ae located between 38th St and 40th St and 6th and 7th Aves.
1. Daytona Trimmings
251 W. 39th St
Daytona has any type of trim you could possibly want or dream of. I love all of their rick rack and velvet ribbon. It's like being a kid in a penny candy store. As you decide what you want, an employee cuts it off the spool and puts it in a plastic bag with the price.
2. Butterfly Fabrics
260 W 39th St
This is THE store for silk dupioni. All of their fabrics ae from India. They have every color of silk dupioni and their prices can't be beat. They ae also willing to make 1/2 yd cuts.
3. Mood
225 W 37th St
If you have watched any episodes of Project Runway, you have head of Mood. It's where the clothing designers have 15 minutes and a certain amount of money to furiously pick out their fabric. You take up one of those old-fashioned elevators with an elevator operator to the 3rd floor. And you just can't believe what you see. What's even more amazing is that this is just one of the floors. This floor has most of the fashion fabric. Downstairs is Home Dec and upstairs is mainly wool.
Check out their silk dupioni section.
I bought some very cool drapery fabric for my guest room. When checking out, I decided to act like a total Project Runway fan, which is a bit out of character. I asked if they were casting the next season, since the last one had just ended. It tuns out that the next season is "already in the can" and they are actually stating the season after. I also found out that they now close the store when the designers come to shop. Originally, they did not.
4. Beads World
1384 Broadway
There are tons of beads and findings, but my favorite section is the one with all the different shapes and colors of sequins - great for embellishing.
5. M and J Trims
1008 6th Ave
This store is pure and unadulterated eye candy. I have to be honest - I hardly ever buy anything here. It is so overwhelming with so much to look at. I just leave happy! It is definitely a must visit.
6. Habu Textiles
135 W 29th St
This stop was for Angela. She's a weaver and this is a showroom for Japanese fibers for weaving. On the 8th floor of an office building, you enter and the room was filled with these baskets. Most of the fiber was silk, with the occasional paper and wire. I know it is a mecca for weavers, but it is not on my must visit list.
7. Purl Soho
459 Broome St
This is one of 2 shops in Manhattan that is know for its quilting fabric. (We did not make it to the other - City Quilter.) We were pretty exhausted at this point and it was raining quite heavily, so we cabbed it. Soho is an area known for its at galleries and cute upscale shops. This is a new location for Purl Soho. It is a large store for the city, but quite minimalist. The front of the store is filled with yarn. The quilting fabric is located in the rear. Their fabric is quite unique. They do not carry the ordinary. There is Liberty of London, lots of solids, imports and lots of fabric by what I call the contemporary young designers. It was a busy shop.
After meeting up with "the working girl" at Purl, we rewarded ourselves for a rough day of shopping with dinner at Perilla. Opened by the winner of the first Top Chef TV show, Harold Dieterle , it was delicious. And we even had dessert. We earned it, with all of the calories we burned walking all over NYC!
I hate to say it, but I didn't even know that purl had quilting fabric. I guess the knitter in me gave me tunnel vision. I think I'd be overwhelmed in a lot of those stores, but they sound fabulous. And of course I love Habu!
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