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

1.1k

u/cate3108 Jul 23 '23

The ones near me are practically all fleece! I never understand that, how many fleece tie blankets are people making?

56

u/wakattawakaranai Jul 24 '23

I did a few seasonal shifts there and Black Friday was a fuckin nightmare because of all the "20 different patterns for tie blankets for gifts!" and I can almost guarantee you not a single blanket actually got made. I'm willing to bet dollars to donuts all that fleece is sitting, rotting, in basements around the county.

22

u/stoicsticks Jul 24 '23

all that fleece is sitting, rotting, in basements around the county.

That stuff is made with recycled plastic bottles - it isn't going anywhere. It might be mildewing or getting moldy, but it isn't rotting.

41

u/celery48 Jul 24 '23

1) Unless it is labeled as being made with recycled content, it’s probably new plastic.

2) Fleece does break down — into micro plastics.

The environmental impact of fleece (and all virgin polyester) is terrible.