Spoils...

Well I did what I said I would never do.  I took a baby to the LA Fabric District.  I loooove the fabric district- having navigated the tiny shops literally overflowing on to the sidewalks with bolts of fabric and rolls of batting and digging through refrigerator sized boxes of remnants and end cuts, I ALWAYS come home with great finds.  But those tiny shops and overcrowded sidewalks coupled with haggling shop keepers, street vendors, very few bathrooms etc etc means not really kid friendly.  But I was given the opportunity to go along a trip up north- I didn't have to drive, find parking, and someone even wanted to help hold and entertain Corbin (thanks Mom!)- so I didn't feel too bad about breaking my no baby rule.

And it was great!  I think Corbin is at the golden age to make this work- he's big enough to not need to eat every three hours but can't walk yet so he has to ride along in some form.  And he's cute so shop keepers that might glare at little kids with dirty fingers grabbing at their fabrics all oohed and ahhed at him instead- some even offered to help me haul things around or finagle Corbin back into the Ergo.  Which brings me to my magic trick- the Ergo.

Corbin's primary mode of transportation through the Fabric District was via Ergo- strapped to my back (google it non-parents... its a great little baby carrier!).

I thought I'd share my two favorite stores... ahh but there are so many and still so many that I haven't made it to that are off the beaten path a little ways (but I will come to you someday!!).

 My absolute favorite place is Michael Levine Loft.  Michael Levine has two other stores- a regular fabric store that carries every type of fashion and apparel fabric and most of the top designers (and a bathroom!) and a home fabric store that has all the outdoor, vinyls, upholstery fabrics.  And I always stop in those two stores but never end up buying anything because, well there are no deals to be had, the lines are long, and I don't know... if I was looking for one particular fabric or designer, I'm pretty sure I could find it there.  But rarely am I sewing like that.  So that brings me to the Loft.

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Above the upholstery store is a very warm, open room with boxes upon boxes of fabric and remnants and scraps spilling to the floor.  There are also random bags of trim and thread, spools of older fabric stacked along the walls, and most importantly, a big ol' scale.  Because the fabric is sold by the pound!  So I dig and pile fabric and usually end up with a big stack of random fabric that I play very little for.  Yay!  Here's my stack from the Loft:

That stack is near 30 yds of fabric- and I believe I paid around $40.  Score!  I picked lots of knits in stripes and slubs, but also some gauze, a weird poly blend in a fun print, and a HUGE amount of Voile I believe... which would be awesome since that's hard to come by in the fabric stores around my house.

My other go-to store is kind of a weird one.  Its called LA ALEX Inc.  And from the outside it looks like a tiny hole in the wall store.

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Its one of the stores in this line of buildings (above).  But when you walk inside, the store just keeps going.  Now, this is not where you get high-end fabric.  But if you want a deal, go here!  Fake silk duiponi? $3.99/yd.  Poly knit? $2.99/yd.  Vinyl?  $5.99/yd.  And on and on.  I love picking up fabric that I normally wouldn't have the opportunity to sew with- for a very minimal investment.  Also, this store has a HUGE selection of notions in the back.  Like giant spools of elastic, bags of feathers, every color of RIT dye, and much, much more.  

I picked up serger thread for $1/cone, a spool of black elastic, a twin needle, and a few other things for less than $20.  The shop owner/cashier is a little crotchety but the guys running around with yard sticks cutting the fabric are very friendly.  And the prices are great.  

So an impromptu trip to the fabric district- even with baby in tow- turned out to be a success!  Can't wait to try another trip soon!

-CtF