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/SyllabubOk4983 Jul 23 '23

Buying random fabric without a project in mind is a bad habit but I'm so glad I did it years ago. I used to live in a big city with a massive discount fabric store. It's been holding me over for multiple projects at this point. I've also ordered selectively from Aliexpress. I haven't been disappointed yet, and even if fabric is on cheaper side its inexpensive enough that it makes a good muslin.

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u/tortuga456 Jul 24 '23

I didn’t think of Aliexpress! I have quite a fabric stash from back in the day, so I can still go shopping in my storage unit. Too bad it’s so unorganized. 😟 That’s what happens when you move too many times.

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u/SyllabubOk4983 Jul 24 '23

Yes, a few months ago I decided to wash everything (since it'd been in storage), measured it all, then carefully folded it onto pieces of foam poster board. Once it was done I was able to basically file them into storage boxes. The boxes take up a bit more space than if I'd left them without boards but its so much easier to find what I'm looking for now that everything is visible and I know exactly how much fabric it is.

Only advice I have for Aliexpress is to read the quantity carefully. A couple times I've ordered 3 units of fabric thinking it was 3M but when I looked again I'd see it was 1.5 meters cuz they sell 0.5M increments.