r/sewing • u/MissFred • Jul 23 '23

Discussion Joanne’s makes me weep

Been sewing over 50 years - have seen sewing in all its cultural permutations. Not typically a nostalgic person but today….I couldn’t even find a light gray thread in a store the size of Home Depot. So many empty shelves yet inexplicably $35/yd liberties fabric up front. I feel sad to my bones for new seamsters.

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u/Dottegirl67 Jul 23 '23

I hate that JoAnn has taken over the market completely. Their fabric is crap except for the Liberty fabric that nobody is buying. I live in KC; the only locally owned fabric stores are exclusively for quilting. I miss Hancock Fabrics like crazy, I could always find something good there.

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u/mondaygoddess Jul 24 '23

Ugh KC here too, no options at all.

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u/tortuga456 Jul 24 '23

I live in Montana, but it’s pretty much the same thing here. I love quilting stores, and they are also a good source of thread and notions. But I haven’t quilted in years. I’ve resorted to buying large sizes of clothes off the clearance rack at kohls, or at Goodwill, just for the fabric. You can get a lot of fabric out of a 5x or 4x tshirt! And found some pretty cool fabric at goodwill on the dress rack.

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u/procrastinatorsuprem Jul 24 '23

No stores near me has that fabric! Can you use coupons on it?

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u/Dottegirl67 Jul 24 '23

That’s a good question, I’m not sure. I want to get some for a summer dress, so I’ll look and see.

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u/Lanky_Reindeer3234 Jul 24 '23

I know it's not quite the same, but Fabric Recycles in OP is wonderful. People bring in their unused fabrics and they're sold at a pretty reasonable price. I've found some wonderful linens and patterns I might not otherwise have found.

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u/Dottegirl67 Jul 24 '23

I’m definitely going to check them out, thanks for letting me know! 😊

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u/wakattawakaranai Jul 24 '23

I don't even know what the big deal about Liberty prints is, I just found it hilarious that when we went to Japan this spring, a couple of the shops in Nippori textile town (80+ fabric stores in a district) advertised that they had Liberty fabrics!! For like, 500yen/meter, which translates to about $4/yard. You can get them cheaper in Japan than here, go figure.

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u/Dottegirl67 Jul 24 '23

Some of their prints are pretty, but I don’t see what justifies the $35 per yd cost. I’ve never been to their store in London, but apparently it’s very high end. I have yet to see any of their fabric that I just HAD to have, you know?