Good-bye, Elna Lotus + How Did I Not Know About Botani Trimmings?

Friends, I sold another sewing machine this afternoon: my Elna Lotus.

Even though she had cosmetic issues (and who doesn't), she was a very solid stitcher and quite quiet.  I never could get over the fact that to reverse, you had to turn the stitch length dial all the way to the left and then back to your original stitch length position -- a headache, imo.  I never warmed up to her.



I've now sold three machines and donated one; I'm proud of myself.  Unfortunately, I still own a dozen others.  Since some of you may wonder, here's what my collection currently consists of:

3 black Singer Featherweights (practically silent and oh-so-smooth)
1 white Singer Featherweight (unnecessary; not as quiet as my black FWs)
1 Kenmore 158.1040 (another unnecessary machine, never sewn anything with it, but cute)
1 Kenmore 158.141 (my go-to zigzagger, great for straight stitch as you can adjust the stitch plate)
1 Singer 15-91 (beloved)
1 Singer 201 (also great)
1 Singer 66 treadle (I should use this more than I do. A wonderful machine, but I'm lazy)
1 Singer 66 Lotus decals (lovely to look at; never use)
1 Viking 3240 (no-frills zigzagger; I wind EVERY bobbin on her, that's all she's used for)
1 Bernina Record 930 (My best free arm)



The next to go would have to be the white Featherweight and the 3/4-size Kenmore (158.1040).  It would hurt to sell the 66 with the Lotus decals, but it takes up a lot of room and is never used.  We'll see.



Today I found a great source of high-quality rib knit -- Botani Trim. (A big thank you to Clio for mentioning it to me in a comment yesterday.)

How did I not know about this absolutely jaw-dropping trimmings store that's only eight blocks from my house?  I visited today with my Canadian friend Jo, who's been vacationing in NYC this week.









Botani (263 West 36th) is huge -- an entire city block deep!









Their collection of zippers (particularly the Italian brand Lampo), buttons, snaps, buckles, rivets, and more, is enormous, and they have a great selection of rib knit trim -- precisely of the weight and quality I was looking for.

Their colors are largely limited to conservative mens outerwear colors -- navy, gray, camel, black, browns, forest greens, and beige (solids, no stripes).  But it's the real deal.  (Pacific Trim had a wider variety of colors.)









Even though I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the Garment District, like many (most?) people, I tend to frequent the same stores.  For example, I never walk down 36th St. (I'm mainly on 38th & 39th, with occasional forays to Elliot Berman on 35th.  I also hardly ever go east of 7th Ave.)

Speaking of Elliot Berman, we peeked in there too, primarily to visit Eugenia, my favorite fabric store employee (along with Diane, who works the register at Mood).  I was surprised to find a bolt of this leopard-print knit: look familiar?



And that's it!  Thank you for your many suggestions about rib knit sources yesterday.  Who knows -- there may be something even better than Botani out there.

Have a great day, everybody!