New York, New York: A Fabric Shopper's Mecca
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 9:22PM 
What a great day I had on Saturday, despite the fact that it started at 4:30 a.m. I joined over 50 sewing friends on a bus trip to New York City for some sight-seeing, fabric shopping and all-around good fellowship. The best part, for me, was getting to gab and laugh uninterrupted with my friend Joyce for hours. Next best was getting to see some friends I don't see enough of and making some new friends along the way. The shopping was pretty fun, too, and the weather was beautiful. Here’s a little glimpse of the loot I brought home.
The bus let us off on West 38th Street, and we made our first stop at Hai’s Trimming. This store was full of beautiful and unusual trim like the two pieces pictured above. These are raw edge silk chiffon flowers stitched to a net background. I’m going to use them to embellish a couple of t-shirts. This store also carries ribbon, rhinestones, chain, buckles, and feathers. I’ve been looking for some of the latter and picked up a couple of different versions for use with my handmade flowers.
Our next stop was Metro Textiles. This tiny shop on the 9th floor of an office building is jam packed with bargains. The shop is not normally open on Saturdays but the owner, Kashi, was kind enough to open his doors to us since we let him know we were coming. There was room for about 8 of us at a time, and you need to have a bit of an adventurous spirit to shop here since sifting through the merchandise is part of the experience. I purchased four pieces that I couldn’t resist – I had them shipped to me so I can’t share pictures with you yet.
We hit a number of other places in the late morning and early afternoon but I managed to resist buying anything (which was an amazing feat at Paron’s since that is usually my downfall). A fairly long walk led us over to the bead district where we stopped in several shops. I picked up these interesting flowers at Bead Empire. I think they are made from resin and will make distinctive “buttons” on a jacket.
A little further down the street we stopped in M & J Trimmings which never disappoints. I’ve been in the market for some stretchy ribbon to use on the back of ring bearer pillows. I envisioned velvet, which they had, but when I saw all of the other options they also had I was in heaven. I came home with four different pieces. The selection in this store is truly amazing.
M & J is a colorful place and I couldn’t resist taking some pictures inside the shop (NB: when shopping in NYC, make sure you ask before taking pictures inside stores. Some merchants prohibit this).
Here’s my friend Joyce purchasing her treasures.
A souvenir button postcard from M & J
Our last stop for the day was, perhaps, my favorite. Tinsel Trading Company is a fairy tale full of vintage treasures that you just don’t find elsewhere. There is a wall, stocked floor to ceiling, with every imaginable flower and gobs of ribbon, trim, ephemera, beads, ornaments, home accessories and more. On the counter I discovered three charming flower molds. Made of cast iron, these presses were heated and used to mold silk into floral shapes. I loved the vintage glass glitter and all of the ornaments made with it. I couldn’t resist some vintage grosgrain ribbon, flowers and a bottle of pearls, beads and sequins.
It was a long day (I didn’t sink into my own bed until nearly midnight) but it was so worth every minute. There really is something about NYC that can’t be found anywhere else. And the selection of goodies for sewing fans is incomparable. I always look forward to my next trip. Please share your favorite places to shop in the city so I can start making my list for next time.
