Shopping at Mood

By West Village Bill

On a day off from work yesterday, I visited Mood, the fabric store in New York's Garment District that everyone knows from Project Runway.

I like unusual prints, and it's hard to find men's shirts that aren't plaid, solid, or striped. And I was inspired by that show—and a guy I used to work with who made his own funky-print shirts—to "someday" give shirtmaking a whirl. My sweetie remembered me mentioning that eventual goal, and so he gave me a beginner's sewing machine for Christmas.

I've got a lot to learn about sewing because I haven't touched a machine since eighth-grade Home Ec class. I bought a book that appears to be the only English-language one on shirtmaking. And I went to Mood today to get some tools, such as fabric shears, the book said I would need to get started. And also some printed cotton fabric that will eventually become a shirt and some plain, cheap muslin to practice on.