My knowledge of Indiana begins and stops at Michael Jackson, Indy 500 and Hoosiers (whatever those are). But, somewhere I heard about The French Seam, maybe on social media or in Threads magazine. And, with a name like that,  it’s hard to forget. Frontier Airlines offers low fares every now and then. I told myself that next time a cheap fare came along I would book a flight out to Indianapolis and visit The French Seam. And, so it came to be.

I flew out to Indianapolis on Saturday October 12. I got in around 2 pm. Popped into my sporty Ford Focus and checked into the Hyatt Place.

I had Siri show me around the area. My first request to Siri was to take me to the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art. I figured museums would be located around great neighborhoods. I wasn’t disappointed.  I think there are two contemporary art museums, but the one I located was in the Fountain Square area of Indianapolis. It’s a cute, funky area, looked like fun bars and eateries around and several thrift and vintage stores, of which I had to stop and visit.

Next, I checked out the official downtown area of Indianapolis. Again, I asked SIRI to just get me to downtown Indianapolis. Fortunately, there was an art/music fare going on right in the center of downtown at the Solider’s and Sailors Monument.

For Saturday I mostly hung out around the downtown area. On Sunday, I headed to the River walk and Canal area and walked several miles, largely due to my not remembering where I parked my car. Love the River Walk area. I wonder what it’s like to live during the tourist season or during Indy 500. Can only image homeowners must be on some sort of lock down. If I were to move to Indianapolis I would put this area on my short list.

Before I headed to The French Seam I had to go to the Kurt Vonnegut Museum Library. Kurt and I have a weird relationship. I love his literature but Kurt visits me in these very bizarre dreams, so this felt more than a little kismet for me.

After locating my car I headed to the Indianapolis Art Museum.

IAM has a dedicated Fashion and Textile exhibit. Isn’t is time for Denver to have a dedicated Textile and Fashion space? Seriously.

This exhibit was in three rooms with various dresses, gowns from well known designers such as Dior to completely anonymous designers. the name long lost.

In one room, which was interactive, there is a wall of doll size muslins. Each  created for different fashion era, and made with exacting detail and really just lovely. You could touch these.

Finally, on to The French Seam. I met with Courtney who along with her mother run the store. Courtney explained to me that she does more of the business end of it, giving her mother more time to sew. (I should be so lucky to have a daughter like that!) The store has been open for about 5 years and they are looking to expand. Business is good. The French Seam has predominately garment fashion fabrics and all are high end. There are quilting cottons and craft cottons as well.
There is a wall of gorgeous buttons and an area for classes which are mostly garment sewing classes. There are patterns, lots of indie patterns and even a nice selection of vintage (real vintage 40’s-50’s, all looked to be in excellent condition too). I think I was there for about 2 hours. You know how it gets! We talked industry, geeked out about sewing and then of course I had to look at each bolt of fabric.

The French Seam also has a luxe line. I’m talking silk velvet type of luxe that felt so dreamy. Someday! I didn’t take a photo but you could look at the selection, with each fabric on about an 1/8 of a yard or so. There was quite a bit to choose from.
Here are my choices. The photo doesn’t do them justice. There are silks, silk wools silk linen. But, you will be seeing these soon in some wearable form soon. I really had to edit my first round. Just too many beautiful fabrics, not enough cash! But, gives me an excuse to go back!

My flight didn’t leave until 7 pm on Monday and I still had more to do. However, this post has an enough photos. Look for more if you’re interested, on IG and Facebook.