Sunday, June 19, 2011

Hitting the NYC Garment District with CleverGirl

I was going to start sewing NL6731. I've made this pattern before in other views but today I was going to try view D.

Two things have stopped me:
1. The fabric I was going to use is kind of wrinkly
2. The larger problem: I don't have the front pattern piece nor front band for view D in the envelope. Who knows where it went? Then I looked at the simplicity site, ebay and etsy, and no one is selling the pattern anymore. Hrm. Kind of puts the brakes on that idea! Does anyone want to give me the view D front pattern piece and front band for view D for NL6731??  or maybe swap it for another pattern I own?

So instead I will blog about the big news. On Friday Antoinette from CleverGirl and I went to the Garment District in NYC!
It's my first visit to the Garment District, and Antoinette's first visit to NYC ever.


First off, a HUGE thanks to Meg from ShopTheGarmentDistrict for her incredibly helpful annotated map, which included places to eat and specified which shops had bathrooms. It made the research prep for this trip insanely EASY!

Meg's map which I further marked with the places we were most interested in visiting.

We got on the bus right outside my house:
This way to the bus to NYC!

Antoinette was ready for the day with some comforting Dunkin' Donuts coffee, while waiting for the bus:
ATP with Dunkin Donuts coffee waiting for bus to NYC
Antoinette wore her rooster shirt, based on S4179.
The bus could not have been any easier. About an hour and a half later, we were at Paron's:
ATP at Paron fabrics

I am still thinking about a piece of fabric that I didn't buy at Paron's. Navy embroidered cotton. Sigh.
at Paron Fabrics
I'm wearing NL6807 in view E.
As we walked over to Mood Fabrics, the Garment District button and needle caught our attention:
me and the garment district needle
Flag too:
Fasthion district flag

Finally we made it to Mood. It's on the third floor of an office building so no exterior shots; thankfully Meg's guide specified that info so we weren't left scratching our heads.

Although it's hard to see here, this piece of fabric was gorgeously pinned and draped:
gorgeous draping at mood

Knits, my dream world:
hello knits at mood

Here we recreated this picture we took at Jomar in Philly last September:
recreating the Jomar picture, at Mood

Looking for the perfect striped knit:
helllo knits!

Yes! This is my section:
Me with knits at Mood

Antoinette finds her dress form double:
ATP with dressforms at Mood

And, in honor of Mary Nanna's aging rocker jacket, here is some aging rocker fabric:
Aging rocker fabric for Mary Nanna


Antoinette asked if I'd like to run through the aisles with a bolt of fabric while yelling "I need a yard and a half!" while she recorded it on her iphone.  I declined.

Mood is expensive, well organized, well staffed with friendly employees (including a bouncer), clearly labeled, clearly priced, and neat. We did not see Tim Gunn, nor did we see Swatch the dog (extra points to Antoinette for remembering the dog's name; I couldn't think of it--something with an S. Scrap? Stitch?)

Antoinette scored us both the Iconic Mood Fabric Shopping Bag as seen on many, many episodes of Project Runway, and on our shoulders the rest of the day.
waiting to cross the street
I never realized this bag wasn't a flimsy paper bag:
Thank you mood!

Then it was time for lunch at the Macaron Cafe, as per Meg's guide:
DSC06750

This "macaron" business is new to me. I have heard of macaroons but only recently heard about macarons, and they are definitely distinct from each other:
macarons from Macaron Cafe

In this shot you can see a pistachio macaron AND Meg's map
DSC06754

Here's a dark chocolate macaron:
hello macaron (note: not a macaroon)

Antoinette asked if this is the shot from the opening sequence of Project Runway; I'm not sure. I just wanted to take a picture of the sign that says "Fashion Ave".
7th fashion ave and 37th

Next up it was time to FINALLY finally finally go through a sewing blogger rite of passage. I have NO IDEA who started this tradition of having one's picture taken with Kashi at Metro Textiles, but it was a MUST DO.
A sewing blogger rite of passage--a photo with Kashi at Metro Textiles
Antoinette with Kashi at Metro Textiles
Kashi's prices are low compared to Mood and his cuts are GENEROUS. My 1.5 yard cut was 1.875; my 3 yard cut was 3.75. And it was $21 TOTAL. You have to do some digging to find what you want though, and ask Kashi for the prices.

Then we hit a bunch of stores in rapid succession:

Spandex House, which really is filled with spandex knits, then SIL Thread with the MOST number of zippers I've ever seen in one place (this is just a sliver of the zipper collection):
need a zipper?

Then Pacific Trimming, which I think was the best store of the day.
at Pacific Trimmings--I think it was the best store of the day!

Elastic, elastic, elastic:
be still my beating heart
Did I mention elastic as I have NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE?
elastic!
Grommets:
oh snap and/or grommet!
Tons of hardware there too.  Reasonable prices.

Then it was time for a stop at Baked By Melissa:
Baked By Melissa mini cupcakes
3 mini cupcakes for $3. They're not much bigger than the size of a quarter. The chocolate chip mint one was the best of this bunch:
Baked By Melissa mini cupcakes
Then we headed over to M+J Trimmings, which was much more expensive compared to Pacific Trimmings, though the store was bright, light and beautiful. AND it was the first shop of the day with carts so we could push our heavy purchases instead of lugging them around the store.
And it was after leaving M+J, folks, when the lightening and hail storm struck.
taking shelter during the hail storm
We were headed back to Pacific Trimmings to pick up a few more things when we had to take cover in an alcove.


I learned that hail hitting bare skin hurts!
hailstorm in NYC
We made a stop at Spandex World then got the bus back to home:
thinking on the ride home

here are my purchases from the day:
fabric I bought today
The two pieces on the left are from Mood.  The argyle is the most expensive fabric I've ever purchased at $18 a yard.  On the right are two pieces from Metro Textiles.  The navy is actually completely fused with interfacing, all for $4 a yard.
Elastic from Pacific Trimmings.  Why yes, I did just order 105 yards of elastic from sewsassy.com but this elastic is different.  lol.  (the pink actually has silver in it, which you can't see in the pix).
elastic from Pacific Trimmings

And I bought serger cone thread at Pacific Trimmings for my BIG DEEP DARK HIDDEN SECRET (I was given a serger that I had never tried-til Friday night!  Antoinette showed me how to use it!  But more on that later):
the serger---Antoinette showed me how to use it--tension needs work..

Also that night we made pompoms using Antoinette's new pompom maker:

pom poms made from Antoinette's pom pom maker

It was such a fun visit with Antoinette! Thank you for your visit AND for showing me how to use the serger!   I had a blast!

17 comments:

  1. What a WONDERFUL trip!! It makes me wish I had a buddy to go with me while I peruse the fabric shops and what not. I love all the pics from your trip, it looks like you had fun. I also love that you wore shirts you made!

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  2. I'm smiling at the bus stop...you rode right pass my apartment on the bus I get on every morning and every evening. Glad you had a good time in NYC and got to go to Metro. Isn't Kashi the nicest!?!

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  3. Great post! Loved reading about your trip, and some great photos (especially liked the one with you and the giant button! :)

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  4. Wow! What an awesome day you had! I loved seeing all the pictures!

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  5. I am so thankful you were committed to capturing so many details in photographs and words! I will probably reference your post often when sharing this trip. What an amazing city!!!! I can't wait to go back again. Thank you for everything. :)

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  6. What a fantastic trip. I can't even begin to imagine being around all that fabric!

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  7. What a great trip. I've never been to NYC and I live on the other side of the state!

    Email me about NL6731. I have it and I'll mail it to you if you want. I made it and it didn't work for me. My email's not on my profile. It's pdbusch8 at roadrunner dot com

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  8. Wow, you had a great time! I think I would go crazy with all those knits to choose from at Mood! THanks for sharing your trip!

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  9. Oh, that looked like so much fun! I miss Mood, and Kashi, and Paron's..Thanks for sharing! By the way- do you think you have enough elastic by now?

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  10. What a great recap of your trip! It felt like being there; I loved the pictures with Kashi especially -- and the reminder about Meg's map, which I think I'll take along next time myself.

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  11. Wow! You fit quite a lot of shopping into one day! Did you know Elizabeth is organizing a shopping day in August? Check the thread on PR.

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  12. Oh, what a fun time! Good for you.

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  13. Oh wow, you guys were here on Friday and got stuck in that awful hail storm?!! From the fifth floor of my office I watched all the people fleeing down below. That was a wicked storm!

    But you guys did great! What a fantastic haul you made. I am so glad I was able to help you out, and thanks for plugging STGD. —Meg

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  14. I just posted about your trip on Shop the Garment District!

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  15. Sounds like a great trip! I can't believe you have a serger that you never use. Your life is about to change! I can't imagine sewing without a serger.

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  16. If only I was sewing when I lived 20 minutes by subway from the garment district! Thanks for sharing the details of your trip. I especially appreciate the picture of the sign showing the hours of operation! You just saved me from a whole lot of frustration. =)

    L

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  17. I'm envious of both your living so close to the NYC Garment District and your getting to eat real macarons! Great photos.

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