I'm back!

Well, it's been over a year since my last post.  Things in my life have changed; and that is an understatement.  As of my last post, I was working as a Design Assistant for a wholesale company; not really doing much sourcing as that was mostly what the interns would do.  However, I did source enough to keep posting for a little while.  As of June, I lost my job.  So now, I only source for my personal projects; which is actually more than I was doing when I was working.  I wasn't making any clothes when I was working, but now that I'm not working, I have started sewing again.  And, as anyone who sews knows, muslin is the thing that is most important to me.  I use it to experiment on the dress form and to sew a 'first draft' of any garment I plan on making.

When I started sewing again, I figured that muslin would be pretty much a no-brainer to find, as it is the most basic fabric you can possibly buy.  And, for the most part, I was right.  Almost every fabric store has muslin available.  The tricky part, is finding muslin for a reasonable price.  Previous to moving to New York, I would just head on over to Jo-Ann fabrics and pick up some 36" wide muslin for a buck a yard.  I'm not delusional enough to think that I would be able to find the same price in New York, however.

The first place I looked was Mood (on 37th street, between 7th and 8th Avenues, 3rd Floor), because they have a huge selection of pretty much everything.  Turns out, the muslin is only $2.75 per yard, which is quite reasonable as far as I'm concerned.  They also offered to get another roll from the back if I wanted more than was on the bolt.  I decided though, that before buying, I would check around in my usual fabric haunts to see if I could spot a better price.  I ventured over to B&J (on the corner of 7th Avenue and 38th Street, 2nd Floor).  While there, I learned that the store is best used for cotton prints, heavily embellished fabrics and laces, and denim.  I was directed to the area of the store where muslin was supposed to be, but there were no bolts of muslin.  Disappointed after triple-checking the area, I left and went to my no-fail spot: Elegant Fabrics (on 40th street, between 7th and 8th Avenues).  Nine times out of ten, I can find some fabric that I would like to use.  They have a good selection of most fabrics and I figured that they would have cheaper fabric than Mood (considering that Mood is generally a little pricey).  I was absolutely shocked to find out that the muslin was $3.75 per yard; a full dollar more than the muslin at Mood.  Now, normally a dollar per yard difference wouldn't bother me so much, but when you're buying 10-15 yards at a time, that makes a difference.

I would also suggest trying out some of the smaller fabric stores along 38th and 39th streets in midtown.  You can occasionally find a good deal on fabric, but they also have the tendency of trying to rip you off. However, Metro Fabrics (on 37th street, between 7th and 8th Avenues, 9th Floor), is another good alternative for a place to get muslin.  The store has very good prices, but not a big selection of fabrics.

Moral of the story:  Mood is a great place to get muslin.  The price is right and they always have the yardage that you need.  An added bonus is that they have plenty of other fabrics to choose from for other projects.