My dear buddy Ann was in town and we had set aside today for a visit. She asked to go to the garment district. She was looking for two specific fabrics. One was a basic navy blue rayon knit. The other was a pie in the sky desire a beautiful embroidered mesh that Ann had seen made up into a fancy t-shirt.
The rayon knit ended up being an easy find. In fact, we found exactly the right knit in two different shades of navy in two different stores, one at a not bad $6 per yard and the other at an even better $5 per yard. Ann bought both because a plain blue rayon knit is one of those things a girl can't own too much of. As much as we are all seduced by fabulous, outrageous fabric, what we wear most often is the basic stuff.
So we used the embroidered mesh as an excuse to focus our looking as we wandered from store to store. Depressingly we noticed that several stores on the north side of 39th street are all shuttered up. But went we went to 38th street we were both happy to see the two nice men who used to run Chic Fabric ensconced in a new store. Ann found one of her navy knits and a really beautiful navy guipure lace off-cut for a nearly silly price of $8 per yard. She left the store happy but still dreaming of the embroidered mesh.
A few stores later, she found exactly the fabric she had been dreaming of.
It was a gulp-inducing price but far less than what Ann had seen quoted on the internet. After some thinking, Ann bit the bullet and bought the fabric.
We then went to visit our friend Kashi at Metro Textiles. Kashi is Iranian and Jewish and escaped to New York in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Kashi is well known to readers of Pattern Review. Kashi stocks his store with a wide range of high-quality fabrics at really wonderful prices. Until recently if you wanted to shop from him you could do it either in person or by phone. Now Kashi has a website Metro Textiles.
The fabrics on the site are a tiny fraction of what he has in stock. I would suggest that you be in touch with Kashi if you don't see exactly what you want. I do want to add that I am not getting a kick-back from Kashi. I know that he will treat you as nicely as he has treated me over the years. So my request is that you shop from Kashi if you are looking for a fabric and don't find it in your local shop.
I did buy some fabrics from him today because I simply could not resist. This is a terrible picture of a textured striped rayon knit with a slight stripe. The color is a deeper brickier color.
version of Ann's.
The rayon knit ended up being an easy find. In fact, we found exactly the right knit in two different shades of navy in two different stores, one at a not bad $6 per yard and the other at an even better $5 per yard. Ann bought both because a plain blue rayon knit is one of those things a girl can't own too much of. As much as we are all seduced by fabulous, outrageous fabric, what we wear most often is the basic stuff.
So we used the embroidered mesh as an excuse to focus our looking as we wandered from store to store. Depressingly we noticed that several stores on the north side of 39th street are all shuttered up. But went we went to 38th street we were both happy to see the two nice men who used to run Chic Fabric ensconced in a new store. Ann found one of her navy knits and a really beautiful navy guipure lace off-cut for a nearly silly price of $8 per yard. She left the store happy but still dreaming of the embroidered mesh.
A few stores later, she found exactly the fabric she had been dreaming of.
It was a gulp-inducing price but far less than what Ann had seen quoted on the internet. After some thinking, Ann bit the bullet and bought the fabric.
We then went to visit our friend Kashi at Metro Textiles. Kashi is Iranian and Jewish and escaped to New York in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Kashi is well known to readers of Pattern Review. Kashi stocks his store with a wide range of high-quality fabrics at really wonderful prices. Until recently if you wanted to shop from him you could do it either in person or by phone. Now Kashi has a website Metro Textiles.
The fabrics on the site are a tiny fraction of what he has in stock. I would suggest that you be in touch with Kashi if you don't see exactly what you want. I do want to add that I am not getting a kick-back from Kashi. I know that he will treat you as nicely as he has treated me over the years. So my request is that you shop from Kashi if you are looking for a fabric and don't find it in your local shop.
I did buy some fabrics from him today because I simply could not resist. This is a terrible picture of a textured striped rayon knit with a slight stripe. The color is a deeper brickier color.
This sweater knit is deliciously soft and drapes like a dream. Often boucle knits are nasty to the touch. This is from an Italian mill it also comes in a brown.
This flame stitched knit has a nice drape and a nice sheen.
It is just different enough on the face and back of the fabric to create some nice design opportunities.
Kashi also had a less expensive version of the fabric my friend Ann had purchased earlier in the day. It's wasn't as finely embroidered as Ann's but as long as we don't stand next to one another while we wear our garments, no one would know that I was wearing the knock-off
Wow! Thanks! Can’t wait to shop from Kashi all the way from North Texas! Best news I’ve had all day!
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