Warning this is a long long text filled post.
Enjoy ;D
A few weeks ago I went to LA for a Big Bang Concert.
There was so much time to kill before the concert we went to the fabric district.
I've only been to the fabric district once before.
It's pretty intimidating the first time there.
There's so much fabric I didn't know where to start.
After about an hour there I got four lovely fabrics that I used in my
fashion show.
One thing about Ragfinders I didn't like is that there is a minimum on fabrics.
You have to buy 20 yards of each fabric.
I ended up getting 20 yards of two and 25 yards of the other two.
The fabric was cheap per yard $3.50 or $4.50, but my grand total was like $345 @_@
So i'd recommend them if you need a lot of fabric otherwise go to these other places.
When I first go to the fabric district I was pretty confused on where to go.
I ended up parking by FIDM.
Which was my first stop.
FIDM has a store called the Scholarship Store.
It's open to the public and I really recommend going there.
The store mostly has clothes and jewelry, but when you go to the back theres a wall full of fabric.
The best part is most of it is just a $1 a yard!
They also have trims, swatches, and so much more for a cheap price.
I got 5 yards of this nice rib knit fabric.
And another 5 yards of this other type of knit.
As well a bag of 12 zippers, for $2.00 @_@ I'm really mad that I didn't get more.
So many zippers for so cheap.
After the FIDM Store, I walked down 9th street all the way to Maple street.
If you decide to walk it's pretty far, so wear comfortable shoes.
A few places I went to
An indoor fabric mall. There
was many different stores that had different fabrics. I got some
organza for $0.99. Almost all places in the mall you can negotiate the
price down.
L.A. 99 Cent Fabric Store. It was just a small places will really cheap costume fabric.
I ended up getting 5 yards of some nice satin for I believe it was $1.25 a yard.
My personal favorite that I plan to go back to was Michael Levine's Annex.
There's two Michael Levine stores. One is the regular store, it's like a giant joanns.
They have a huge selection of fabric, closures, threads, ect ect.
Only thing it's all normal retail price.
Back to the Annex store. Its across the street from the normal ML store.
When you first walk in you have to walk up two flights of stairs.
It's pretty much a giant room with tons of big boxes filled with fabrics.
Make sure to grab a basket, and start digging through the boxes.
I spent almost two hours in there looking for fabric.
Yes, it is a pain. However I found some amazing fabric.
I got a lot of chiffon, some satin, lace, and more.
Some was just tiny scraps to up to five yards.
Best part it doesn't go by yards, but by pounds.
It's $2.50 a pound. If you get lightweight fabric its a great deal.
If you get heavyweight fabric it can get costly, but its still cheaper then retail price.
There was also giant embroidery threads for a $1.
There's so many stores around, I popped in and looked around most of them.
Some had great prices others were decent.
Here's a few tips for if your going
- Wear comfortable shoes, you will be walking a lot
- Bring some sort of cart, like the small ones. It gets heavy!
- There's some stores that do not accept card, so bring cash.
- Most places you can negotiate with the prices, don't be afraid to try.
- Saturdays is the best day to go, most stores are open.
- Most places do not refund or exchange to choose wisely.
- If you see something you like take it then, it most likely wont be there the next time.
- There aren't any public restrooms around, make sure to go before you get there.
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