If you were to ask me if I wanted to go fabric shopping with Liesl, my answer would be, “Well, not today. But thanks for asking!” But that’s only because I’ve gone fabric shopping with Liesl more times than I care to count. Heck, I’ve even been asked to go fabric shopping for Liesl.
That happened once (and only once), years ago when I was in Tokyo for work. Liesl asked me if I could find some time to do a little fabric shopping for her. “I don’t have anything in particular that I want,” she said. “Just find a great fabric store and buy me some Japanese fabric that you think is interesting.”
I did as I was told. I had a crafty colleague who directed me to a few good fabric stores. I spent the morning before my flight left visiting several, and I bought a bunch of what I thought was great fabric. I put it in my suitcase to take home, and I was so proud of myself when I unpacked it to show Liesl what I bought for her.
She was really kind about it, but her feedback on my purchases went something like this. “Oh, that’s a great print! I saw that at Purl last time I was there. Ooooo, I really like that one. They have that at Purl too. That’s a nice print! I bought some of that a while ago and still have it in my stash.” And on and on. One cutting after another.
So for me, personally, I learned my lesson. Liesl knows more about fabric than me. (Heck, she’s forgotten more about fabric than I’ll ever know.) And having me go shopping with her or for her won’t give me a warm feeling inside, and it certainly won’t earn me any bonus points with her that I can cash in later for a back rub or an evening off doing the dishes.
But I know lots of people who love going fabric shopping with Liesl. She knows all the places in the Garment District to get interesting things, and she knows so much about fabric that shopping with her turns out to be not only a fun but also an educational experience.
That’s why our friends at Creativebug asked Liesl to take them fabric shopping when they were in New York a while ago. And you know what? You can come along. Best of all, you get to do it for free!
Creativebug has just released a new, free workshop called Fabric 101. In this workshop, Liesl takes you to B&J Fabrics here in New York to shop for fabric. She shows you a few basic fabrics that you’ll frequently see when you go fabric shopping, and she talks about what to think about when you’re shopping for fabric. Here’s how Creativebug describes the workshop:
There is a lot to consider when selecting fabric, from understanding the difference between woven and knit fabrics to grasping the fundamentals of drape. Liesl demystifies the basics, and then goes on to discuss the unique qualities of the most popular fibers available: silk, cotton, and wool. You’ll walk away from this class with a better understanding of what kind of fabric will work best for the project you’re making, and the confidence to experiment with new fibers.
There’s no cost to take the workshop. Just register on the Creativebug site, and you’ll be able to shop with Liesl!
But before you do, take something from my experience. Don’t try to buy her any fabric. She’ll be super-nice about it, but chances are she won’t really be impressed. Want to impress her? I can help you with that. Show up with chocolate. It doesn’t matter what kind or how much. Just make sure it’s chocolate.