Quilt Shop Scraps at Thrift Prices in Sunset Park: FABSCRAP

A scrappy quilt needs volume more than perfection, and the cheapest volume in New York sits on the fifth floor of a former military warehouse in Sunset Park. FABSCRAP, the textile reuse nonprofit, runs its Brooklyn warehouse in Building B of the Brooklyn Army Terminal at 140 58th Street, and anyone can walk in to shop the cuttings, yardage and scrap packs that more than 800 fashion and interior brands send over instead of throwing away. It is not a classic quilt shop near me with calicoes on bolts, but it is where frugal quilters fill a tote.

FABSCRAP began as an answer to a question nobody at City Hall could answer. Jessica Schreiber was working at the New York City Department of Sanitation when fashion brands kept asking her how to recycle their excess fabric. There was no good answer, because commercial textile waste is handled by private carters rather than the city. She built one, pitched it on Lifetime's Project Runway: Fashion Startup, secured grants, and launched FABSCRAP officially in 2016.

Camille Tagle joined as co-founder in 2017 and brought the redistribution side, the part that matters to quilters. Tagle now leads the team, which says it has diverted more than 2.2 million pounds of textiles from landfill for reuse or recycling. The organization is a 501(c)(3) that flips the usual nonprofit model: brands pay a service fee to have their waste collected, and that fee lets FABSCRAP sell the usable material to students, artists, designers and crafters cheaply.

The scale explains why the shelves change constantly. FABSCRAP says it receives at least 5,000 pounds of new material in an average week, sorted by volunteers into what can be resold and what gets shredded into shoddy, a mixed-fiber insulation and filling. Whatever pattern you loved on Tuesday may be gone by Saturday, so buy it when you see it.

FABSCRAP describes its pricing as thrift-store level, selling some materials by the pound and others by the piece or by the yard. For quilters, the most useful categories are fabric scraps and cuttings, which are perfect for string blocks, crumb quilts and log cabins, and the yard packs that bundle several remnant lengths together. Natural fibers are sorted separately from mixed and synthetic goods, which makes it easier to find cotton for piecing.

Bring a seam gauge and patience. Because the stock comes from apparel and interior design studios, you will find shirting, canvas, linen, denim, lining and upholstery alongside quilt-friendly cotton, often with designer headers still attached. Test the hand of each piece, avoid stretchy knits unless you plan to stabilize them, and wash everything before cutting, since mill finishes on sample yardage vary more than on quilting cotton.

Trims, leather hides, cones of yarn and embellishments round out the warehouse, and they are worth a look for quilt labels, hanging sleeves and binding experiments. FABSCRAP also runs an online store with free shipping on fabric orders over $100, excluding yarn cones, faux fur, upholstery, leather hides and wholesale items, but the in-person bins are where the real hunting happens.

The building is part of the adventure. Enter at the pedestrian gate on 58th Street between First and Second Avenues and Building B is the first big building you see. Walk to the back of the lobby, where Pete's Cafe sits on the right, then through the glass doors into the long skylit atrium with old train tracks running through it. Follow the center path to the very end, take the elevator on the right to the fifth floor, then turn left and follow signs to Unit 5H-3.

From Pier 4 parking, walk toward the buildings labeled Brooklyn Army Terminal, pass the first one, go up the ramp and under the arch, and Building B is the second large building on your right, farthest from the water. The whole route is accessible with ramps and elevators, which matters when you are hauling a heavy bag of yardage back out.

The warehouse is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm and closed Sunday and Monday. Saturday is the only weekend day, so weekday mornings give you the calmest aisles. Keep an eye on the events page too: FABSCRAP lists a November 1 sample sale at the warehouse, and it hosts warehouse tours, workshops and themed sorting sessions throughout the year.

If you are clearing out your own stash, individual drop-offs are scheduled in advance from Tuesday to Friday. The recycling fee for individuals is $2.00 per pound, though staff can waive it for readily usable material such as clean yardage or trims. FABSCRAP accepts only pre-consumer textiles, so used clothing, bedding and linens are turned away, and fabric shipped without prior consent is refused.

Volunteering is the insider move. Sorting sessions are open to the public through FABSCRAP's registration system, and regular volunteers get an education in fiber content that makes every later shopping trip faster. You need an account to sign the waiver and code of conduct before your first shift.

Walk up the hill on 58th Street and you reach Fifth Avenue, the commercial spine of the Sunset Park neighborhood, a long run of small shops and restaurants heading toward the park itself. Sunset Park, the green space between 41st and 44th Streets, rises high enough to give a free view across the harbor to the Manhattan skyline, and its benches are a good place to sort your haul.

Industry City, the restored waterfront warehouse complex a short walk north of the terminal, is the other easy pairing, with food halls and design shops under one roof. Or skip the subway entirely and ride the NYC Ferry on the Rockaway and Soundview route back toward Manhattan with your fabric in your lap.

FABSCRAP Brooklyn Warehouse is in Brooklyn Army Terminal, Building B, Unit 5H-3, 140 58th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11220. Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 9 am to 5 pm, closed Sunday and Monday.

Subway: N or R train to 59th Street. Buses: B9, B11 and B37. Ferry: the NYC Ferry Rockaway and Soundview route stops at the terminal. Cyclists can use the bike lanes on Fourth Avenue and 57th Street and lock up for free at the Building B entrance. Parking is available on Pier 4 from 6 am to 11 pm, with limited space during special events.