Hi there!

When we were in New York last month (amazing, by the way!), I visited the famous Mood Fabrics on West 37th St. It’s such a huge shop - I was so excited! I’d actually planned to spend some time wandering around the broader garment district - but I spent so long in Mood, I never went to any other fabric shops. So that’s another thing on the to-do list for a repeat trip to NYC!

Here are my tips on how to shop at Mood Fabrics, mashed together with a diary of my own experience.

Finding the store - it’s not at street level. I walked past the shop at first because I was looking for a window display. Turns out you have to go into an office-style foyer, and take the lift to the 3rd floor. You exit the lift directly into the shop.

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In September last year, I decided to sign up to the Whole 30 Fabric Challenge: a challenge that encourages you to use or give away 30 metres (or yards) of fabric that you already own, before buying any more fabric. It is a reaction against the very consumerist notion that sewing and fabric collecting are two separate hobbies - a trap that most sewists eventually fall into.

It seemed like a great idea. I don’t have a crazy amount by some people’s standards, but I do have a lot. I do have the storage space for it, and I keep good digital records of my fabrics, so I’m fully aware of what I have, but it’s still a decently sized amount of fabric that’s just sitting there. Forcing myself to use it seemed like a good thing - for sustainability, and for my wallet.

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Last week I finished my Fashion Design course! I now have a shiny new qualification - a Diploma.

I’ve been thinking about how to document this achievement here on my blog. I wanted to write a big long essay about what I learned, how I found the course, and all the personal struggles and growth that came out of it. There’s been an awful lot of all of that. But to be honest, it’s too much. It’s been two and a half years, and navigating a creative (and deadline-free) course as an adult has brought plenty of challenges. I’m a different person now to who I was when I started, and it’s beyond what can be condensed into a blog post. Instead, I’ll just share my six-outfit collection from my final assignment:

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