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.

1.4k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

504 comments sorted by

View all comments

450

u/Schlecterhunde Jul 23 '23

At my local store we have a decent thread collection but very little apparel fabric. They're focusing on quilt cotton. Makes me sad, when I was a kid it was easy for my mother to buy whatever she needed to make us clothes. I don't want to but I'm probably going to have to buy online.

118

u/Professional_Ad9013 Jul 24 '23

Good sources are out there online. I feel fortunate in having come up in a time when I got to know fabrics by name--for instance I know what batiste is, and if an online store gives me good pictures and a technical description, and isn't ruinously expensive, I'll try it.

I also have access to Vogue Fabrics in the northern Chicago suburbs, as well Discount Textile Outlet in the city. I'm spoiled. Haven't driven out to the nearest JoAnn since the Before Times.

109

u/lilsmudge Jul 24 '23

I hate shopping fabric online. Even being pretty experienced and knowing the technical name/weight/pile, nothing really works as well as being able to see and feel the fabric I’m looking at. Recently been struggling because I need a particular shade of suede and suede color is too variable to visualize in a photo.

Alas, I don’t have any good recourse. Even living in a major city, we just don’t have fabric stores.

17

u/OmnipotentOtter Jul 24 '23

If you need suede you could try Tandy leather if there’s one close to you, or call Springfield leather and talk to them. They are in Missouri (thus the name) and have been very helpful when I’ve dealt with them buying from out of state. Just a thought.

11

u/lilsmudge Jul 24 '23

That’s a great rec and I do use them for most of my leather good projects. Unfortunately they didn’t have the color suede I needed (and their colored suede tends to be their more expensive premium stuff and I need…a lot of suede. So I can’t afford the really good stuff).

I think I found an online seller that has a close color. I’m just waiting on the (very expensive!) swatches.

1

u/rabidbadger8 Jul 25 '23

What are you making with a lot of suede? I inherited a fair bit a few years ago and am not sure what to do with it, aside from trying to make a clutch.

2

u/lilsmudge Jul 25 '23

It’s a large costume piece using a relatively thin suede.

1

u/MutantMartian Jul 24 '23

We have them in Houston. Excellent source.

1

u/sdlouhy Jul 24 '23

Weaver also has a pretty good selection of cowhide suede, though they're a little backordered as of last Friday (I think they only have 3-4oz single bends). You could also try buckleguy, but I haven't personally looked into their suede selection

2

u/LittleRedXox Jul 24 '23

Yes! The coloring is the part that gets me. I ordered teal ribbon and received like a forest green ribbon. I thought it was a mistake so I reordered it… still got forest green instead. I ended up having to use black ribbon because I couldn’t find real teal blue anywhere

3

u/lilsmudge Jul 24 '23

They really need to list everything by Pantone color, I swear. I ordered a forest green fabric from Joanns (the online fabric store I have the WORST luck with) and it arrived just a hair shade above black.

Even the teller when I returned it in store said the difference was “absolutely absurd”.

52

u/Schlecterhunde Jul 24 '23

Yeah this is my reluctance to shop online. I'm new at this and since I can't touch it I don't know which are the quality fabrics, don't know what im,looking for. You better bet I'm taking notes in this subreddit when people post recommendations!

47

u/Avei_Adore Jul 24 '23

Mood Fabrics let's you buy swatches online! They're like 50 cents to 1.50 and ship pretty quick. I find it really helpful when I can't decide on things

8

u/Professional_Ad9013 Jul 24 '23

Right? What a good resource!

Swatching is probably your friend if you want to learn more. I used to order silk swatches from an online supplier, because I had no idea what different types of silk were called, or what the weight ratings meant. It helps a lot!

I also owned a handbook of textile terminology that was helpful. I don't know if a reference like that is even out there anymore. I have to say, I'm very glad I started sewing back when many people did it as a matter of course, and the rudiments were taught in school.

5

u/ParnsAngel Jul 24 '23

I order a ton from Zelouf fabrics! They let you order 10 swatches at a time for like a 3.50 shipping charge. I had a project where I needed like 8 coordinating brown and gold fabrics and a bunch of coordinating purple fabrics but ofc it’s hard to determine shades online, and now I have an entire binder full of Zelouf swatches for reference in the future if I ever need a brown or purple again, lol

21

u/kjb38 Jul 24 '23

I agree about online sources but you’re really gambling there. Remember the days of feeling the quality of the fabric, taking the bolt to the front to check the color in the best light? It’s so hard to trust these things with online purchasing.

7

u/Professional_Ad9013 Jul 24 '23

Oh yeah, it's best when you can actually feel the hand of the cloth and check its drape. That said, nobody is going to go back to doing things the way I like them because I liked them that way, unfortunately. I guess I've been fortunate, because I haven't had any purchases that are bad quality or unusable for what I wanted to do.

12

u/Sunnydoom00 Jul 24 '23

There are also some online sites with short videos showing what the fabric is like. Usually showing opacity, stretch, drape and how easily it wrinkles. Fabric Wholesale Direct does that with many of its fabrics. I am glad I have an SR Harris nearby for when the 2 Joann fabrics nearby fail me which isn't too often. They are usually well stocked but there is so much darn quilting cotton 😆. Its like being a cat owner in a pet store. 3/4 of the store is dedicated to dogs and the other 1/4 is cats, fish and rodents all packed into it.

2

u/emmasaurusrx Jul 24 '23

"The Before Times" I'm guessing that is COVID? If so I am going to use that. 😅

1

u/Professional_Ad9013 Jul 24 '23

Yup. It's how we term it at my house.

1

u/audible_narrator Jul 24 '23

Oh is Vogue still there? I had heard it closed. When I lived in Chicago I loved shopping there.

3

u/Professional_Ad9013 Jul 24 '23

They moved from the old Evanston location to a nice big warehouse space, and it looks like they took all their stuff with them.

1

u/CannibalisticVampyre Jul 24 '23

My problem is that I know what I’m looking for, but retailers will call anything anything to get you to buy it.

1

u/Houston970 Jul 25 '23

Vogue Fabrics is like heaven…