Tags
fabric, Fabric District, fabric remnants, knits, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Fabric District, sew exhausted, sewing
Shall I count the ways? 😉 1, 2, 3…99,100,101…
AMAZING FABRIC PILE!
I have been pretty busy this year but have still found TWO days to take a trip up to Los Angeles to hang out in the Fabric District. The first time we went it was New Years Day and frankly MOST of the shops were closed but I still managed to find what I went for- bright yellow fabric to make costumes for my daughters hip hop class. And I also managed to find a big bag full of fabric treasure to take home! Then last week we took a trip back thanks to some Hip Hop pant sales I made in my shop- I needed to make more!
The LA Fabric District is home to the largest selection of textiles and notions in the United States. I did my research and found there are close to 200 stores! They sell everything from fabric and notions, to beads and trims. You can buy apparel fabric or home decor fabric and prices start at $.99 cents per yard.The stores are literally next door to each other over several blocks square. Heaven for the Sewist and Fabric Junky. 😀
Do you SEE that PILE of fabric?! It is so huge my daughters climbed up ON it to rummage around. LOTS of junk- I admit it… But lots of treasure too and well worth the hunt! That piece of teal knit I am holding in the first picture? I paid a buck for it. One dollar! At those prices my daughter Kadi built up a fabric stash she can be proud of and I added to mine. Again I want to stress that there is a lot of junk but I am also willing to dig around for some good deals. I found lots of knits and sheers. They had some denim. And the store also houses PILES of buttons, zippers at 5 for $1, lace elastic and notions galore. Like I said- HEAVEN!
That was not the only store I went to. We wandered in to more stores than I can count and they have it all. Do you need lace or ribbon? Check… Do you need buttons or zippers? Check. In the market for some camouflage panty elastic? Check.I bought an entire roll of black 1″ wide elastic for $5. There are over 20 yards on that roll!
I dug around in that button box and found 12 of these little babies- for a jacket I have almost finished. Paid $1 for ALL 12. Well worth the time spent!
We had lots of fun! (Holly wants to know if you need feathers?)
And here is just a teaser of what we came home with!
I got about 3 yards of the chevron knit and paid $2 for it all… the striped was $2 also- I have a little over 2 yards and hope to be able to use it as a lining… that navy blue is a really cool muted stripe in various shades of blue and is a VERY soft knit- almost flannel like but still a knit. I paid $1! And the floral is a stretch knit that I also paid $1 for. And frankly these are just a FEW of the bargains I found. I have 6 yards of this amazing light blue sweater knit I paid $3 for! Lark cardi here I come!
More of our delights!
Kadi and I rolling in our stash. I would like to add that Kadi is just starting to sew. And she is well on her way to building a nice stash of fabrics. (A girl after her mama’s heart!) She is already chipping away at it too. She has made herself a casual pair of drawstring pants, she finished her Lark Cardigan last night (she paid $2 for a sweater knit from “The Pile”) and is working on a gorgeous kimono jacket from one of the satins she bought. The kimono jacket is from fabric that was not from “The Pile” but was still a good buy at $4.99 a yard. Her make will be about $10. and super cute!
I plan on hitting LA once a month. It means I better get busy and SEW because we made a pact NOT to buy more fabric until we have sewn 10 items. For me that is very do-able as I have a lot knits that will become tops. 😀
Let me know if you are ever in the area! I am an hour and a half away but MORE than happy to drive up for a day of Fabric Heaven.
xoxo
Laurie
PS. In case you are wondering what I am currently working on- I just finished 9 pairs of super cool hip hop pants for a competition team, have 4 flower girl dresses to make and a woman wants me to make TEN blouses for her. Oh! And last night I finished my Jungle January make which I hope to get pics of soon!
Sew Exhausted 
Wow! This is crazy! I’m sad that I didn’t know how to sew when I lived in LA! What an amazing haul!
It is pretty amazing… And makes for an awesome day! Maybe you will make it out here some day for a visit and can take a day to shop for fabric!
Wow! It sounds like you’ve been pretty busy too! 🙂
~Jen
Yes… A little more busy then I’d like! But it’s better than having nothing to do!
That is true! 🙂
That is unbelievable!
It sure is! But I saw it so I believe it!
I have a mini version of warehouse fabric stores about an hour drive from my house (down in Dallas), but I don’t think I’ve ever seen such great deals – or such a HUGE unorganized pile of fabric! Wow!
Maybe someday I’ll make it out your way for a shopping spree. And if you ever want to wander around my area for fabric, let me know! =)
I’d love it if you made it out here! And I do get Texas at least once a year but it’s usually the Houston area… But I’ll keep it in mind!
WOW! Awesome deals! I’ve been wanting to head down there sometime and check out the fabric district. It sounds like a lot of fun! And so cool that your daughter is sewing now! 🙂
It was fun! Let me know if you ever do make a trip! I’ll do my best to meet up! It would be a fabulous day of fabric finds!
O.M.G! I’m not sure it that’s heaven or hell – how do you choose which pieces stay behind??? Looks like you got some fabulous bargains, looking forward to seeing what you make!
We dig and toss the “oh I like this” in to a pile of our own and then when we have had enough digging we go through each piece and evaluate it. I know we barely touched “The Pile” but that means next time we will still have lots of surprises in store!
That fabric mountain is insane! I’d love it and be intimidated by it all at once!
It’s crazy! But crazy fun! I can’t wait to go back!
I wanna climb fabric mountain!
And you should! Every sewist should get to climb a fabric mountain!
Wow! That is unbelievable! I’m in the the UK so not much chance for me. I did go to LA a few years back but as wasn’t as seriously into my sewing as I am now. Maybe one day?
Yes! Hopefully you will get to take a trip back and take a day for the Fabric District! You will love it!
I’m turning green here. How do you choose?
Just dig in to that mountain and start pulling aside what we like. Then we take a second look when we are done digging and toss back the NO’s! Ahhh- the joy of the hunt!
Hey Laurie, do you recall which stores you went too? I will be heading up to LA LA Land next week
I park around Maple and 8th… If you want to know where the BIG PILE is it is in a store on Wall St between 8th and 9th. (I was walking from 8th to 9th and it was on the right) I shopped in that whole area though… And I also notice that some places have the same stuff but one guy will have them cheaper than the other… Like I found something that was 6.99 and then another store gave it to me for 4.99. Definitely bargain with them!
Thanks
Holy cow, that is a LOT of fabric! I guess that’s why I don’t have much fabric to choose from locally, it’s all on the other side of the country! And I’m kind of laughing at your comments about how you narrow it down, because that sounds pretty much exactly like my thrift shop technique.
It is a good technique and works for me! 😀
I went to the LA Fashion district and obviously went to the wrong stores!! I would have been in heavy to see those pile’o fabrics etc. I’ll have to explore more thoroughly next time.
The Fashion District borders the Fabric district. I usually park around Maple and 8th which puts me in the heart of the Fabric. The BIG PILE is on Wall St. between 8th and 9th… just an amazing place to dig around. Tip- get the young kid to check you out- he is GENEROUS! 😀
Gosh we don’t have places like that here. What a wonderful time you must have had. I wish we had places like that here….makes our fabric shops look boring LOL
It is a pretty exciting place and I am lucky to live near it… There are food vendors on the street and kind of a “party atmosphere”… it is FUN for sure!
At those prices, my daughter could sew anything she wants without worry of ruining fabric! I won’t let her touch mine… I’ll be there at the end of February, but it is a Wednesday. I’m guessing you work on Wednesdays?
I do but if nothing major is going on I will ask for the day off. I’d love to meet up with you! Message me the date! And I will let you know…
Holy Cats! Now that is a gigantic pile of fabric. I thought I hit the jackpot in Dallas. Way to go – can’t wait to see all of your creations.
It is quite a pile! I heard about the pile in Dallas… I guess a smaller pile is better than no pile?!
Forget Everest! Let’s add climbing Fabric Mountain to the bucket list! I’ve only been to LA once on a 30 minute layover but I will have to make a special mental note of it for the cross country trip of my dreams (which I won’t be able to take until I’m about 100).
Definitely make a mental note- and I hope you make it here WAY before you reach 100! You don’t want to be too old to climb the mountain!
Wow, I am totally impressed. I am visiting the states with my husband this summer and am on the look out for must do things!!! Cant exactly imagin him climbing “fabric heaven mounthen” though!!!! So Los Angeles is the place to go for fabric ha????
We have our 25 wedding aneversary this year and have planed this trip for years. Basically we can do what we want. Fabric shopping is definetly on the agenda some way or another…. How do I find these shops???
At the moment I am comfortably situated in my cabin with my dog. We are having a sewing week away from the family…. Just woke up, yes it is in the middle of the night, but I lit a fire and am walking around lookingg at my sewing projects 🙂
Sure enjoyed your post 🙂 Thanks for sharing…..
I have never seen a big pile of fabric like this- I stumbled on it in Los Angeles in the Fabric District. The Fabric district is where a lot of designers and clothing companies get their fabric. They sell to average people like me too- and you can get pretty good deals. This is just one of the places and it happened to be a warehouse style building with TONS of stuff… messy but fun to dig around in! There is a fabric district in New York as well but I have not been there. Have fun on your trip to the States!
Those piles are ubelievable! You found some great fabrics, looking forward to your makes!
🙂 They were pretty unbelievable- I could probably spend a whole day digging!
I wouldn’t know where to start! What an amazing place! Shame I’m in the UK 😕
I’ve never seen so much fabric in my life. Woah I wouldn’t have known where to start.
Hey! Have you been back to the pile recently? I’m planning a trip to the fabric district on Thursday and am wondering if you knew if it was still around and also if you knew the name or address of the store! I tried to google map between 8th and 9th on wall and couldn’t tell if any of those stores looked like they had a giant pile inside haha. They were all pretty small looking. Thank you!
The last time I was there (last weeekend) the pile was for the most part gone :(… It was in the warehouse building next to the zipper store. They have big bolts of fabric outside the store and inside LOTS of space with trims of all kinds and more. The pile was at the back of the store. There is still some fabric back there but not the BIG PILE I loved! Have fun! My three favorite stores are Angels Textiles (which I can’t find the correct address for), and JB Textiles which we just found- pretty new place- (836 Maple Ave)… OH, and Fabric Planet- The one at 305 E 8th St. (Don’t like the other location) Fabric Planet has a silk section and they are $5-$6 a yard! And in the back some great denims…