Friday, March 16, 2012

More Work Travel = More Fabric Shopping?

Work travel is not always fun. But fabric shopping is!

Business trips will bring me to San Francisco and Montreal in the next two weeks. If you are in either location and want to meet up for some fabric shopping, give me a holler at clio[dot]phineas[at]gmail[dot]com!  Or if you have any suggestions on fabric and notions stores in either place, let me know!!

Happy Friday, everyone!

7 comments:

Faye Lewis said...

Business travel does give you a nice change of pace. Shop on sister. Wish I could meet up with you!

K.Line said...

Oh, you're going to have fun in those fabulous cities. I don't live in either, but I can't wait to hear about your fabric adventures.

Tanit-Isis said...

Damn you, lucky lady, those are both *way* cooler than the city I am in. /sigh. And they both have wicked garment districts, from what I hear.

Sewing Geek said...

If you are going to be in San Francisco itself, I have heard Britex is the place to go. I think four floors.

T. Sedai said...

I am not in San Francisco, so can't really meet up or hang out, but since my sister goes to school there (except this year, as she is doing study abroad in Europe) I do have some fabric store suggestions for San Francisco while you are there:

(1) Britex (of course) - Top dollar prices, but high quality fabrics and unique stuff you won't find anywhere else. Almost like the Mood of San Francisco. Also, since they are in the heart of the touristy area, they are easy to get to by public transit and you can easily do other shopping/sightseeing/eating etc. while you are there.

Britex Fabrics
146 Geary St.
San Francisco CA 94108

(2) FabriX - Cheap fabric! Last time I went I left with well over 20 yards and spent less than I did on 5 yards at Britex. Sometimes you can find silks for around $10/yard and lots of other fabric for $4/yard or less. Nothing is more than $10-15 per yard. Though it can be a bit hit or miss on quality and is more difficult to get to than some of the other stores I always find something cool here, and the prices can't be beat. Also, the staff has always been very pleasant and helpful when I have been there, so I like to recommend them.

FabriX
101 CLEMENT STREET@ 2nd AVENUE
SAN FRANCISCO,CA 94118

(3) Satin Moon - down the street from FabriX, within easy walking distance. They also charge top dollar prices, and have very limited operating hours, but have interesting and unique high quality fabrics. I have never bought anything there, but I do appreciate looking through the store.

Satin Moon
32 Clement St
(between Arguello Blvd & 2nd Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118

(Also, if you are on Clement Street you MUST eat at Le Soleil Vietnamese food - 133 Clement Street San Francisco, CA 94118 - it is absolutely amazing! And, if you are up to walking down the street a ways (sort of a hike) you can find Green Apple books - 506 Clement St - one of the most amazing used book stores I have ever been to anywhere.)

(4) Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics - I haven't actually been to this store, but I hear good things and I really want to go. It is not really conveniently in the city though - you might need a friend with a car to get there.

Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics
2518 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94704

(5) Cliff's Variety - This is a general store that has a lot of fun things, including fabric. Every time I visit their stock is different - some quilting cottons, some garment fabrics, some home dec. And it is located in The Castro area, so it is very easy to get to, and you can visit other fun places while you are there. (Like Hot Cookie... yum).

Cliff's Variety
479 Castro Street
San Francisco, CA 94114

(6) Mendel's/Far Out Fabrics - Lots of crazy fabric here. This is the fabric store I would take Peter from Male Pattern Boldness to (well, here and FabriX) because they had a lot of crazy stuff that he would enjoy, though they did have other more practical fabrics too. And they are on Haight Street, which is also easy to get to by public transit.

Mendel's/ Far Out Fabrics
1556 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
Between Ashbury and Clayton Streets

There are other fabric/crafty stores in the area, but those are the big ones I would recommend. Anyway, I hope you manage to get some fabric shopping time in on your travels - always fun to hear about fabric adventures in foreign cities!

Reethi said...

Pattern Review went to Montreal a couple of years ago - the fabric shop discussion is probably still on the board. Most of the fabric stores are right next to each other - on St. Hubert, I think?

Clio said...

Thanks, everyone!

T.Sedai - Wow! Thanks for all the info!

Reethi - Good thinking!