It’s days before your next costume event, things are not
coming together on your sewing table, it’s time to rethink your project or
maybe even start over. How many of us
have been there? I know I have, and just
recently with last month’s Titanic Tea event.
I am going to share the following information for the benefit of the
OCCG members and others.
Hidden fabric locations with the lowest prices (better than the LA
fashion district):
1)
Jenny’s
Fabrics
714)847-2202
M-F 10-8pm
Sat 10-6pm
Sun 12-5pm
Notes: 4.9 star review; 17,000 square feet of fabric
shopping, mostly cottons at $2.98py, but they carry everything from cotton to
silk at prices as good or better than what you can bargain for in LA. Look for the “flats” of fabric and be
prepared to do some digging. The staff
is very knowledgeable and helpful.
Sometimes I have stopped off here on my way to LA and found exactly what
I needed, and saved myself the time and traffic. Jenny’s is located right off the 405 at the
Magnolia exit in Fountain Valley .
2)
M & L Fabrics
714) 995-3178
*mention you are an OCCG Member to
save an extra 10%!!!
M-F 9-7pm
Sat 10-6pm
Sun 12-5pm
Notes: 4.7 star review, 23,000 square feet of fabric
shopping, the BIG sister of Jenny’s Fabric!
Same owners! Same great saving,
but an even BIGGER selection of fabrics and all things sewing related. Look for the “flats” of fabric starting at
$2.98py and remember to check out the room at the back of the store for more
great deals. The carry a full selection
from basic cottons, voile, lawn, batiste, to quilting cottons, all the way up
to silk bridal satin and everything in between.
They have two major sales per years at 50-75% off their prices.
3)
Dorrell
Fabric Outlet
714)378-3100
M-Sat 10-6
Sun 11-5
Notes: 4.5 star review; fabrics start at $5py and
up, lots of upholstery fabrics. Located
right off the 405 freeway at Euclid/Ellis in Fountain Valley .
4)
Fabric
Outlet and Crafts
714)995-2723
M-Sat 10-7pm
Sun 12-6pm
Notes: Looks just like a shop in downtown LA with
bolts and rolls of fabric everywhere!
Fabric prices are okay, as is the selection. Be prepared to do a little digging around for
things. Fabrics, trims, laces, etc are
all here. The shop help is not very
knowledgeable, so you are pretty much on your own primarily due to a language
barrier. Sometimes I have gone in and
had a good experience, sometimes I could not understand a word being said and
had to use a translator. Right down the
street from the Stanton Indoor Swapmeet.
5)
Golden West
College
Swapmeet (GWC)
714)895-0888
Sat 8-3
Sun 8-3
Notes: Sunday
is your better Fabric selection day! This is my new favorite place to buy fabrics!! Saturday has some, but not nearly as
many. Fabric runs from $1py to $5py, and
they WILL bargain! Although, when
someone is offering me fabric at $2py, I pretty much just hand them my
money! Rolls and rolls of fabrics,
mostly stretchy, but some cotton, linen, and wool blends thrown in there, poly
color change taffeta at $3py. 1000 yrd
cotton cones at $1.25 each. Edgings and
trims starting at .05 per yard. These
prices are SO MUCH better than LA, and it can save you the drive time and
traffic trouble. The trade off is
selection and service. Service is
basically measure and cutting, they really can not tell you much about the
fabrics they sell, and there is often a language barrier. I asked once about doing a burn test, and
they had no idea what I was talking about, but for $1.50py I just grabbed
it. If you are comfortable with your own
judgment on fabrics, you will do well here.
Beginner fabric shoppers, this might not be your best place to start
unless you have someone along with you that can assist. Also, if you see a fabric you like, you
should bargain and buy it, at these prices fabric moves very fast, and it
probably will not be there when you come back.
That has happened to me on more than one occasion. Buyers come thru here and buy 30-50yrds of a
fabric at a time.
So, now you have your beautiful new
fabrics and notions for your next project already to go, and you sit down to
sew and your machine is not doing its job!
What to do? Well, you can take it
to your local Sewing Machine shop that will charge you $100 just to tell you
what is wrong with it, and then another $50 or so to actually fix it, or you
can call someone to come to you!
Ron Castellanos
Industrial Sewing Machine Tech
818)381-7852
Works on: Brother-Consew-Juki
Pegasus-Pfaff-Singer
Union Special – Yamato
*also offers Scissor Sharpening
*He will drive from Riverside County
to Orange County
I found Ron on Craigslist several
months ago, and he has been a life saver, not to mention the money he saved
me. He came to my home and did a full
machine tune-up for $70!!! Very nice
and respectful man, very knowledgeable and gave me some tips and tricks on how
to better protect my sewing machine as well.
As you can imagine, he is very busy, so call him and make an
appointment, but be prepared to wait a day or two until he can actually get to
you, but his service and savings are certainly worth the wait!