Do you love to sew, craft, or otherwise create? Do you love DIY? If you are heading to New York City, here’s the top 10 creative hot spots for fabric, trim, bead, and yarn shopping you won’t want to miss. Make sure to bring an extra suitcase so you can bring home all your fabulous finds!
Shops to visit in the Garment District.
Between 34th street and 42nd street and 7th avenue and 9th avenue is the Garment District aka The Fashion District. Take an afternoon to wander and you’ll find all sorts of wonderful little jobbers with great deals on beautiful and unique fabric and trim. I’ve listed my absolute favorite shops in the Garment District below which are all within walking distance of each other and a 20 minute walk from BlogHer 2012 or quick bus (M7 or M20 down 7th & M5 or M20 up 6th to get home) or subway ride (N/R from 57th to 34th street):
Mood Fabrics
225 W 37th St, 3rd floor (between 7th and 8th ave)
212-730-5003
By far my favorite fabric store in NYC (even before Project Runway fame). Wonderful selection of designer fabric and trim with helpful staff and the prices are reasonable.
Monday – Friday: 9:00 am – 7:00pm, Saturday: 10:00 am – 4:00pm, Sunday: Closed
B&J Fabrics
525 7th Avenue (corner of 38th street) 2nd floor
212-354-8150
Not cheap but it is professional, organized and carries gorgeous, high-end fabrics from all over the world including the popular Liberty of London line.
M-F 8am-5:45pm Sat 9am-4:45pm
M & J Trimming
1008 Sixth Avenue (between 37th & 38th)
212-391-6200
This place is true eye candy for the sewer/crafter. You won’t find the best prices in the garment district here, but you will find a huge, well organized and inspiring selection of trims (I heard they have neon nailheads right now!).
Mon – Fri: 9AM-8PM, Sat 10AM-6PM, Sun 12 PM-6PM
Daytona Braids and Trimming
251 West 39th Street (between 7th and 8th Ave)
(212) 354-1713
Where M&J is trim display eye candy, Dakota is the down and dirty place to get great trims and notions at a great price. This was my go-to trim shop. I always found what I needed (and then some). Their collection of ric-rac and hard-to-find old jacquard trim is AMAZING. . Call for hours.
Toho Shoji
990 6th Ave (between 36th and 37th)
212-868-7465
I’m not sure a more comprehensive selection of beads, chains, and other jewelry making accessories exists. To see the rainbow display of dog tag chain in every color is worth the trip alone.
Weekdays 9am-7pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-5pm
Tinsel Trading Company – NOW CLOSED 🙁
1 West 37th Street (between 5th & 6th Ave)
212-730-1030
Gorgeous selection of vintage and new trims, millinery flowers & all displayed so beautifully, you may never want to leave. Martha Stewart has called this her “favorite store in all of the world” (can’t decide if this makes me love it more or less). If you have the time, the history of the shop (which began in 1933 with a man who loved shiny and bright, gold and silver thread) is worth the read.
Monday-Friday 9:45am-6pm, Saturday 11am-5pm
Shops worth the trip out of the Garment District
Lion Brand Yarn Studio
34 West 15th St (between 5th and 6th Ave)
212-243-9070
An inspiring shop and education center full of gorgeous Lion Brand Yarn (including stuff you don’t see in the stores). The window displays alone are inspiration to fuel your passion for fiber arts for the next year.
Mon-Wed 11:30 am – 7 pm, Thurs 11:30 am – 8 pm, Fri 11:30 am – 5 pm, Sat CLOSED, Sun 11:30 am – 5 pm
Purl Soho
459 Broome Street (between Greene and Mercer)
(212) 420-8796
Just like it’s popular online counterpart, the Purl Soho shop carries gorgeous, unique supplies related to your every crafty desire whether it be yarn, fabric, knitting, sewing or needlework. Monday through Friday 12-7; Saturday and Sunday 12-6
Jem Fabric Warehouse
355 Broadway (between franklin & leonard St)
(212) 925-4488
This place has changed ownership since I visited last, but talking with the new owner (son of the original owner) it’s still going to be well worth the trip. What you’ll find there is an “artist run fabric shop full of love and creative energy” and hopefully still a good deal. It is jammed packed with all sorts of fabrics and trims and a huge bin of loose buttons you can’t help but run your fingers through.
mon-fri: 9-7 Sat: 10-7 Sun: 11-6
The City Quilter
133 West 25th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues)
(212) 807-0390
Not only does this shop carry more than 4000 bolts of 100% cotton fabric, they have wool, felt, and literally hundreds of books & notions. The City Quilter also specialized in New York-inspired products making it a perfect place to pick up a crafty, NYC souvenir. You’ll also find the only art quilt gallery in NYC. Even a non-quilter will find this shop and gallery seriously inspiring.
Tuesday to Friday, 11 – 7 pm, Saturday, 10 – 6 pm, Sunday, 11 – 5 pm, Closed Mondays. Quilt gallery hours: Tues-Saturday, 11-6pm.
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{ 9 comments }
I live so close to most of these shops! Can’t wait to see you soon!
Please define “jobber”
And I feel like the LBY Studio hours you listed are incorrect.
And CITY QUILTER recently had a total rehab, so it’s pretty great….better than before.
And I want to go to B & J, heard of it, but never stumbled on it…I will go there with you.
This is Carrie
Twitter: thisiscarrie
Reply:
July 25th, 2012 at 7:53 am
Jobber: One that buys extra/leftover fabric/trim from clothing manufacturers and sells it to to the public or other clothing manufacturers (as opposed to a shop that buys fabric and trim from fabric/trim manufacturers and sells it to the public). Jobbers are usually able to sell product for a lot cheaper and have a wider and more creative selection since much of it is custom colors and prints made for clothing companies.
I just copied the Lion Brand Store hours from their website!
kage Reply:
July 25th, 2012 at 8:02 am
cool. For some reason I thought LBYS was closed on Tuesdays, but it’s possible the hours change with the seasons!
See you soon.
I just found you through Make and Takes — yay! I was in NYC last week, and would have loved to have this crafty guide. Bookmarking it for my next trip to the city!
regarding: “Daytona Braids and Trimming 251 West 39th Street (between 7th and 8th Ave) (212) 354-1713 Where M&J is trim display eye candy, Dakota is the down and dirty place….” – is it Daytona or Dakota?
This is Carrie
Twitter: thisiscarrie
Reply:
May 27th, 2013 at 8:09 am
It’s Daytona. Sorry for the mistype!
There’s certainly a lot to find out about this
subject. I like all the points you made.
I am not sure where you are getting your information, but good topic.
I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more.
Thanks for excellent information I was looking for this info for my mission.
What happened to PARON FABRICS since 1940.
Hi – wonder if you can help: I’m a class parent at a school here in NYC and we’re about to start a weaving unit in kindergarten, and the art studio is looking for yarn donations. Are there any places that sell ‘yarn scraps’ in bulk? We don’t need particular colors just lots of yarn as there are a total of almost 100 kids working on it.
Thanks for any ideas!
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