Fabric Store Travelog for Travelers
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Howdy All,
My town (Austin TX) doesn’t have a quantity of quality fabric stores so whenever I travel I *always* check out the stores.
What if we all posted descriptions of the non-chain stores in our area or places we know? Then when travelling we’d have an easier search. I noticed someone posted Cool stores in LA http://www.taunton.com:8090/WebX?13@@.ee7e321/0
area with only one message. Maybe our devoted Webmiester would be willing to make a new category?
Anyhoo,
Austin, TX
Has one really good fashion fabric store, Silk Road http://www.srfabrics.com/
great selection of linen, silk, and cotton prints
There’s also Sew Much More on Anderson Lane, (512) 452-3166: small selection of rayons and knits, Elna Dealer
Fabric Shop on Oltorf & S. Congress, (512) 442-5065: really tiny store making a good effort
The Quilt Store also on Anderson Lane, (512) 453-1145: Pretty extensive selection of quilting type fabrics, classes, etc.
Home Dec: Scotland Yards on Anderson Lane (512) 454-8115: Medium sized decorator fabric store.
Home Dec: Fanny’s Outlet Fabrics on S. Lamar, (512) 442-8255, small but cheap.
–lin
Replies
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Hi all:
I live about 25 miles west of Boston so I rarely get in to the fabric stores in the city (Di Carlo, North End Fabrics). My choices locally are Ralph Jordans and some other quiltie places, Fabric Place (a local chain store that is a cut or two above JoAnn's which I don't bother with unless I need specific notions), AND my treasure trove: Sawyer Brook Fabrics, which does mail order (their ads are always in the back of Threads), with a luscious collection in each of their seasonal mailings. I happen to live near their warehouse/office, where they have a back room with remnants that I love -- full of high-end mostly natural fibers, linens, silks, wools, some microfibers and Tencel now too. They always have wonderful coordinating fabrics. Since these are rems (well, you CAN always buy off the bolt of this season's collection, but I love a bargain) you can't always get exactly what you want, but every time I go in I come home with a treasure.
So if you are going through fabric-store-demise withdrawal, check out mail order, and it's possible that there is a mail order place located near you that is open to visitors (what DO they do with their leftovers?). Sometimes you just have to get your fingers into those bolts of linen... and even though I live less than half an hour away from Sawyer Brook's remnant room, I subscribe just because it is so neat to get an envelope full of swatches to gaze at and touch and get inspired by...
Let's face it, the world isn't supporting lots of good fabric stores they way it did 30 years ago (anyway the U.S. isn't; Canada and Europe seem to have more sewers and more fabric stores), so we will have to learn to support good mail order places!
My other favorite place to go is in Lawrence, Mass., at the Malden Mills outlet: huge bolts of polarfleece in a warehouse setting. Somewhat idiosyncratic hours (call first), and LONG lines in the weeks before Christmas (I'm not the only one planning to serge up a dozen lap robes in over Thanksgiving weekend!), but fun.
*Hi Lin, and thanks again for your wonderful advice on that underarm gusset! Great illustrations, and so kind of you to take this much time to help me out!ON topic - I am travelling to Kansas City, MO in a few weeks on business; does anybody know of stores there that I should not miss? Thanks!
*Okay, no one seems to know much about Kansas City...How about Pittsburgh?Ceil >^, ,^<
*My husband and I are going to Minneapolis in a few weeks. Years ago, there used to be a huge fabric store downtown Minneapolis. Does anyone remember it and is it still there? Are there any fabric outlets? What other great fabric stores are available in this area? Thank you for any and all help.
*Lexie - the store you may remember is (was) Amluxen's. It's been closed for years. If you're looking for BIG as in warehouse, you might try S.R. Harris. It's a ways out of downtown Minneapolis, but quite an adventure. Floor to over-your-head stacks of wool, silk, decorator fabrics, knits, upholstery. AND if you look in the Minneapolis Sunday newspaper (Star Tribune)in the Variety section, you'll find a 50% off coupon for any fabric purchase over $10.00.A small shop that carries top of the line fabrics and buttons is in St. Paul on Grand Avenue. It's called Treadle Yard Goods and is a real treat to shop in. Knowledgeable staff and beautiful silks, woolens, cottons.Of course, we have the JoAnn and Hancock stores, too, but none right in downtown.You can e-mail me directly if you'd like directions to any of these shops. Good luck!
*I'll soon be travelling to Charlottesville, VA, and I remember hearing someone talk about a really good fabric store there. Does anyone know the name and where it is?
*I am going to be going to Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok in November. Can anyone give me some advice about fabric shopping? I have heard that Thailand is the best place to pick up silk which is our last stop. Oh, most of the time I'll be with my husband (who wants to know why I need more fabric) so I want to do the most damage in the shortest time possible. Leslie B.
*If you ever are in South Florida there are several good-to great stores to check out. In the Miami area is an incredible store, Isa Couture. Very expensive, imported fabrics from France, Italy, Switzerland. Very designer oriented. This is a large 2 story building, plus a smaller one behind. Not far from here is a small shop, Abram's Fabrics. Run by a lovely woman with great taste, it is a bit less expensive and worth seeing. In a more reasonable price range is a 3 store chain called Ultra Fabrics. Always something fun to buy, plus nice tropical weight wool for suits.Out of Miami, north into Hollywood (just before Ft. Lauderdale) is an amazing store named Ben Raymond's. His slogan is "If we don't have it you don't need it!" Buttons and trimmings are his specialty, and he has tons, but I've bought a few great pieces of fabric from him as well. Also in Hollywood is about the best JoAnn's you will find. They have upgraded the selection to include silks, chenilles and some pretty good-looking stuff. A really nice staff too.Lastly, up in Boca Raton is The Fabric Shoppe. Shirley has a small store packed with everything from faux leather to sexy sheer knits. Best of all her's is the only store down here to bring in guest lecturers such as Sandra Betzina and Fred Bloebaum. So, if fun in the sun is not your speed, or you forgot to use your sunscreen and now have to stay indoors, have a great time checking these fabric stores out.
*Okay, if you are in the SF area....do not miss Britex Fabrics on Geary off of Union Square. Two floors of floor to ceiling fabrics....Wools and silks on the first floor, cottons and other on 2, all of the fabric is organized by COLOR! I live forty miles away but have red hair and find color a challenge at my local Jo Ann's CRAFT and fabric store(HMMPH!) So when I am looking for specifics I go to Britex...however they are a little pricey on the old standbys, and the salespeople are on commission. Also good is Stone Mountain and Daughters in Berkeley on Shattuck near Haste?. They have a good selection of the Hoffman prints, Ethnic prints-African, Balinese and others, as well as the real African mudcloth, Adinkra, Japanese cottons and indigo, and the guatemalans. And for those of you who travel....Thailand is great for the silks...I bought 75 meters of iridescent taffeta-orange/salmon, cream, green/blue and green/purple, that I washed to make a soft and crinkly almost georgette about $14/300-400 baht in 96 for a meter-have seen the equivalent in the states for 22-25 at Thai Silks in Los Altos. In indonesia I bought another 15 meters of batiked rayon in crinkles and otherwise for *gasp* $2-3 a meter. When travelling, if there are doubts about it being silk, take some threads and burn them...there should be ashes. Polyester will melt.
*Those of you finding yoursepf in SF: Britex on Geary st off of Union Square. If you are doing the tourist thing you will find yourself here anyway. First floor is silk and wool floor to ceiling, second floor cotton, linen and synthetics, third floor is rems and special occasions (if you are looking for blue sequined fabric they will have it) fourth floor is notions. All floors with like 14 foot ceilings with goods to the ceiling. Best of all the fabric is organized by *gasp* COLOR. Beware of the salespeople who work on commission and your husband is guaranteed to be bored out of his gourd. I go to Britex when I am looking for something specific/spectacular as they WILL have it. They are pricey on the standbys though.Stone Mountain and Daughter in Berkeley on Shattuck and Haste(?) You can take BART from the city (that is SF to you non-CA's) to close and walk the rest of the way. Good cottons for quilting and Hoffman prints, always unusual velvets and metallics(not lames) and a very good selection of REAL and imitation ethnics: Guatemalas, Japanese indigos, African prints and bokolon fini panels at reasonable prices, and some cotton prints from Japan with beautiful motifs of fans etc. Let's not forget Thai Silks in Los Altos. They are worth a visit and Los Altos is a nice little town to walk around in. And they are the only place that I know of that has REAL Thai Silk, not the dupioni/shantung type that everyone gets from China and calls Thai Silk. Expect to pay 25 a yard for this stuff but it is worth it as it sews and presses so nicely.
*I earlier asked about fabric stores in Charlottesville, VA. I have found out that the name of the store is Mr. Hank's, but I can't find an address or telephone number. Anyone familiar with the area and can help!
*If you're ever in Ontario (remember how far your dollar goes here) you must visit Ottawa Street in the city of Hamilton. About one hour from Buffalo and one hour from Toronto. Lot's of great stores. Truly a sewers heaven!
*b Toronto, Ontario andb Montreal, QuebecVisitors tob Toronto, Ontariowill love theb fabric districtlocated on b Queen Street westDue to a bus route change, which forced me to hike back across downtown Toronto I found this b wonderfull mecca for fabric-holics.I found a dazzling array of designer quality fabrics of b EVERYimaginable type fromb EVERYpart of the world:* velvets* silk* wools* laces* cottons* denimsI also stumbled onto a b ribbon shop which carries the entire line ofb Mokuba wired ribbons and trims. This is a very extensive line fromb Japan.used in ribbon art which is starting to become very popular for embellishing formal attire and home dec items.The irony was, I was so dazzled and stunned, I didn't buy a thing.b Another of Canada'spremier cities,b Montreal, also has a wonderfull fabric district. Its located onb St. Hubert streetsouth of Jean-Talon. In the 7500 range. Some shops will dicker on prices...so hem and haw a bit. You may end up with a 2 day sale in your honor!b So who can tell me about New York City fabric shops?I know there's a district...but where?Does anyone know of ab wired ribbon sourcein b NYC?Thanks!Karen
*I go to New York about once per year just to buy fabric. Paron's II at 56 W 57th St. (2nd floor) is one of my favorites. They ship UPS! Next is 39th & 40th Sts. between 7th & 8th Ave. Too many to name. Don't miss Mood Apparel on W. 39th. Don't have the street number but it is in a tall office building on the 10th floor. Look on the building directory. If you don't have sensory overload after that, try lower East Side on Sunday on Orchard Street.
*Last year or so I wrote a VERY long message about some of the wonderful places I love in the fabric disrtict. It is in the archives, or should be. For wired ribbon - if you plan to be there - walk yp 6th Ave just north of Macy's. There are several places batweern 36th and 38th streets on the east side of the street. When you get to 38th street turn east and go into all of the Millenery and trimming stores. There are probably a dozen stores along that walk that can help you. If you aren't happy with what you see walk West towards 8th Ave. Tucked inbetween the fabric stores between 36th and 40th (look especially on the more northern end of of those blocks) are trimming stores. Some are tiny and some are huge and to the trade only. If you want more advice about shopping in New York, just write and i will tell you all. Check the archives though, I wrote a pretty complete and very opinionated listing. It took a long time to write so i'm not dying to do it all again...
*There's two (actually 3 if you count Minnesota Fabrics) in the Maryland/Washington D.C area that were my favorites before I moved. One is G Street Fabrics in Rockville, MD near White Flint Mall (walking distance of the White Flint Metro stop) that is marvelous. Minnesota Fabrics is in White Flint Plaza that is walking distance from the WF mall. The other is a small mom and pop place call Anne Marie's on Viers Mill Parkway (about 10-20 drive from White Flint Mall) that if I couldn't find what I wanted it would be there. It's run by some lovely and helpful people. Address for these can be found in a Montgomery County, MD phonebook - they're all in Rockville. Enjoy
*linda x. jones and sandra betzina have published 'the material map'. it is a map of the U.S. with hundreds of independent fabric store listings. i have a 1998 version, i don't know if it still available. the contact # on my map is 301-317-8462
*Regarding Elizabeth's list of her favorite MD/Washington, DC fabric stores -- inn. Fabrics (later converted to Haycock's) in the White Flint Plaza is no longer there, I'm sorry to say.
*In my message a few minutes ago, "inn." should have been "Minn.". I don't know how to edit the message once you push the Post My Message button.
*Also "Haycocks" should have been "Hancocks". This is all a result of my spell checking. Sorry!
*If anyone is as fortunate enough to visit Rome, I found a wonderful fabric shop, Emporio Istriano, C.So.V. Emaneule II (telephone 01-6792773). I bought 3 meters of a sheer patterned wool, 6 meters of a beautiful velvet with shades of rust, gold and silver gray with a ombre effect, and 2 1/2 meters of a beautiful chartreuse velvet with splashes of dark purple and overprinted with a design of metallic gold (it looks antique). Total: about $100! This store had fabric stacked here, there and everywhere with sale tables all over the place. They didn't seem to speak any English and I speak no Italian but we managed to communicate. I was on a tour but managed to get away in Rome, Florence and Venice. I visited a couple of fabric shops in Florence-believe it's a chain called Valli and saw another in Venice. However, the atmosphere in these stores was completely different. Almost like a museum, with a doorman and men in suits behind counters with beautiful fabrics stacked neatly on shelves behind them. Not a browse and feel kind of place. Fabrics here were $100 per meter and up. Way over my head. I did miss a fabric store in Venice that supposedly specializes in the antique velvet and fortuny-look but, spending my limited time searching for an address (very difficult in Venice) was just not worth it and I had already satisfied my fabric fetish in Rome. There were stores in Venice with handmade silk scarves, velvet kimono jackets and reversible velvet purses that simply took your breath away. I would go in and inhale, then exit around the corner and sketch what I could remember.
*I am going to be visiting in North Carolina in the Northern and Central Coast regions. Are there any fabric stores I should know about? Also, I would love to visit a textile factory that gives tours. Is that a possibility in those areas?
*I'm trying to locate a store in Grand Rapids MI that I remember reading about. It carried bolt-end children's fabrics extremely cheap. I remember it had odd hours. (Only open 1 Saturday a month). I am going to be in Grand Rapids at the end of the month and want to visit. Thanks
*Kathy, I think you are thinking about the Carter's outlet place on one of the downtown side streets.. I'll email my DIL to see if she can find out if they are still open or not. I have a huge stash of cotton knits and ribbing that I bought there 3-4 years ago.
*Bad news. DIL says that the place is now closed. Too bad, they had some great buys. Glad I stocked up when I did.
*As a confirmed fabraholic (who should be in my sewing room right now, sewing, instead of here, playing on the computer) I just had a lot of fun scanning all the messages on this thread. I see that last year, someone asked about fabric stores in Minneapolis. In addition to the stores already mentioned, there is a Dell Fabrics on Excelsior Blvd. in the western suburb of St. Louis Park that has beautiful, high quality, unique fabrics. (Reminded me of a miniature version of Britex Fabrics in San Francisco.) No bargains there, but a friendly, cooperative and knowledgable staff. I live in San Diego, where good fabric stores are getting more and more difficult to find. My favorite, a local chain which featured a huge selection of fabrics in all types and price ranges, Yardage City, went out of business a year ago. This left us with Joanns, which is more craft than fabric, Beverly's, which is about half crafts and a fabric section mostly geared for quilters, and Yardage Town, which is a chain that manages to hire ONLY rude and uncooperative employees.But I have managed to find some independent stores that apparently buy remnants and overstock from the Los Angeles garment district. One is B&B Laces in El Cajon, just east of San Diego. Disorganized, but a lot of fun to browse in. A lot of junk with some wonderful bargains mixed in. Wools and wool blends, unbleached muslin, trims, buttons, lingerie laces, lace appliques, rayons, swimsuit lycras, sequins, feather boas, solid color crepes, cotton sheeting, zippers, drapery sheers, home dec and upholstery fabrics. Every few months they seem to have a 50% off clearance sale, sell off a lot of inventory, then re-stock with more stuff. I've gotten some fabulous bargains there, including the lace appliques for my wedding dress.There are a couple of other outlets in the midtown area of San Diego. Can't remember the names of them right now, as I drive there "by feel" but if anyone's interested, let me know and I'll make it a point to get the exact names and addresses, and can give pretty good driving directions, if needed.Now, my request: I'll be traveling to Denver this fall with my husband. While he attends a convention downtown, I'll have access to his van. Can anyone recommend any good fabric stores in the Denver metro area? Our tentative plan is to then drive south, through Colorado Springs and Pueblo, then through New Mexico and Arizona, and home to San Diego. Any fabric store recommendations in any of those locations? thanks
*Baltimore, Maryland: Harry Gus, Inc. Woolens and Worsteds. Great first floor of mostly wool, more wool in the basement, plus three floors of remnants, mostly high end suit fabrics, but I've come away with wool challis in some great colors. Nice staff, too. I make the pilgrimmage every time I'm in town.419 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 (410) 539-1993
*Here in the Dallas area there are many wonderful fabric stores. There are two good outlet-type stores both on Harry Hines Boulevard. Best Fabric has a lot of decorator type fabrics and a good stock of clothing and quilting stuff. It's at 10901 Harry Hines. A few blocks away is another outlet called Golden D'or or Murray Goldberg fabrics. This stuff runs from Wal-Mart quality on up to the best stuff.In Irving, (suburban Dallas) at the corner of Loop 12 and Irving boulevard, there is another outlet called Miracle (Or sometimes Haber) fabrics. It's not a very big store but selection and prices are good. SOmeone told me this is a distribution center where fabric is sent to other stores. Don't know, but have got some good stuff there.A friend told me about a new ethnic fabric store in Arlington (suburban Fort Worth-not Virginia) that carries fancy and pricy African fabrics and laces. I'll post address when I can get it. There is a decent ribbon shop on Division Street in ARlington (between the GM plant and the Ballpark).There are dozens of non-chain fabric stores in this area. If you have to bring your DH, he won't be bored. We are a four-season sports town too. The stores in Dallas and Irving are within a few miles of Texas Stadium, where the Cowboys play. We also have the Rangers in the summer and the Mavericks and Stars in the winter. Buy him tickets to the game, dump him at the appropriate stadium and you go shop. If he's a non-sports-minded guy (like my husband) he may like Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor. You can leave him AND THE KIDS that way.Need a tour guide? Give me a call. My hours are flexible.
*b LA garment districtSince LA has a large clothing manufacturing base there are lots of excess fabrics from these companies for sale in LA's garment district. The garment district is located downtown and is bordered (roughly) by 8th St/San Pedro/Pico Blvd/Los Angeles St. The main fabric activity will be found on 9th St between Los Angeles and San Pedro. Here you will find many small vendors who specialize in a certain fabric type. A large fabric store, b Michael Levine, is on Maple south of 9th. Michael Levine will validate parking with a $15 purchase (an excuse to buy fabric!) But has very few parking spaces--get there very early on a Saturday. For home dec fabrics tryb Holiday Fabrics on Wall Street just south of 9th. There's another The best time to go is on a weekday. Early Saturdays are very crowded. Many shops close in the afternoon on Saturday. Few are open on Sunday. Feel free to bargain with the smaller vendors. Some accept credit cards but bring cash. There is a lot of cheap fabric but many higher quality finds. None of it is labelled for fiber content. Know your fabric or do burn test. Check out the fantastic clothing related bookstore in the b California MART on Los Angeles between Olympic and 9th--in the main lobby. Have a fantastic (inexpensive)French lunch outdoors @ b Angelique Cafewhere Main and Spring meet just northwest of the California MART--840 S. Spring St.--weekdays only. The Califoria MART also has a clean public restrooms in their lobby.For woolens and sewing supplies:b B. Black and Sons 548 S. Los Angeles Street. M-F and Sat 9-12. This place has many imported wools and anything a professional tailor needs to sew. Premises haven't changed since the 1920's. A must see. Have fun.
*Banksville Designer Fabric Store, 115 New Canaan Ave, Norwalk, Connecticut. Better prices than New York!!!! Yes, That is right. Designer's? Ralph Lauren, Mary McFadden, Ellen Tracy just to name a few. Great laces, tropical woolens, cashmere's at under wholesale prices, great shirtings. Just to name a few things. Stop by if you are in Connecticut/New York era. Phone #203-846-1333 you wont be sorry.
*I agree that Banksville is an amazing fabric store! Also you can purchase from them by mail order--it costs $10 to join their mail program, and that entitles you to 36 free samples, by request. And when you buy fabric, you'll be credited for the original $10. Be specific in asking for what you want, though, because they have just rooms and rooms of fabric in the basement.
*I will be travelling to Columbus, Ohio for the Easter weekend from Canada and would love to have some fabric stores to visit in Columbus, can anyone help?
*Pat, I'll ask my sister. She lives near Columbus.
Prior to making a trip to Austin recently, I ran across a post about fabric shops in the area (authored by Lin). I printed the message and made a point of checking out some of the shops. I live in a large city and quality fabric shops have been replaced by craft stores. Craft stores are fine if you do crafts and quilting, but they are definitely not good sources for clothing fabrics. Of the stores on the list, here are the ones that I visited.
The Fabric Shop at 316 E. Oltorf -- What a delightful shop! The selection was small, but well worth the visit. I left with only two pieces of fabric, but if I had been a little more organized prior to the visit, I am sure I would have left with no less than six. There were several additional fabrics that I liked, but time was short. More time would have allowed me to look at the fabrics and then do some brainstorming and calculating to see how much fabric I needed. While in the store, I visited with the owners (possibly mother and daughter?). They were both very nice and gave me the impression that they loved the art of sewing. That is a rare treat today. If you are in Austin, don't pass up the opportunity to check out this store. If I ever go near Austin again, I will arrive at this shop with a notebook of ideas and pertinent data in hand.
Silk Road at 3910 North Lamar -- If you want quality fabric, this is the place to go. Their selection of very high-end fabric is amazing. They also have tons of unique buttons. I only made a button purchase here, because I am just beginning to sew for myself again after a number of years of not making my own clothing. Since I am still struggling with getting things to fit properly, I didn't feel it was wise to purchase really expensive fabric at this time. But, if you have patterns that fit and love fabric, you will have a hard time limiting what you buy at this store.
The Quilt Store on West Anderson Lane -- If you are a quilter, check this store out. It has beautiful stuff. A friend was with me that quilts, and she bought a number of pieces. She was very impressed with the unique selection and said she would have loved to buy more.
Bernina Shop at 2900 West Anderson Lane (just down from The Quilt Store) -- Again, this shop had a nice selection of quilt fabric. My quilter friend bought a number of pieces at this shop also. The newer sewing machines always grab me when I enter these stores. I love my 830 and 1300DC, but would love to add one of the embroidery machines to my sewing room.
We actually traveled to Austin from Phoenix to see Johnny Rivers in concert with the Austin Symphony. What an incredible amount of talent gathered on one stage! Our quilter friend traveled from Louisville for the same reason. I must say our Austin experience was wonderful. The concert was a unique experience. The symphony/rock and roll collaboration was incredible. If you like music as well as fabric, I would recommend attending an Austin Symphony performance in addition to visiting the great fabric shops.
Hi Audie,
What type of fabric stores does Phoenix have? We may be coming down in the fall to the area, it would be nice to know what to look for, especially now that MapQuest makes it so easy to find addresses. MarshaK.
Are you looking for quilting or garment fabric? Once I know that, I can give you more specific information. Phoenix does have a number of nice shops that sell beautiful quilting fabric, but garment fabric is far more limited. I look through the quilt shops in spite of the fact that I do not quilt. Even a breeze through Walmart's "fibers of unknown origin" section helps satisfy the need to be around fabric. If you are interested in both quilting and garment fabric, let me know and I will get names and addresses together for you. Audie
Hi Audie,
I like to look at all fabric, I'm not a quilter in the traditional sense, I do crazy quilting on occasion, but with 'fancy' fabrics-- velvets, brocades, silks, satins etc. Some of the quilting fabrics would work well for the Fabric Collage Rosemary Eichorn style. Mainly my interest is garment fabrics. I too have a wander through Wal-Mart's fabric department and have found some good pieces. I also look for yarns and decorative threads that can be used for couching and other embellishment techniques. Thanks, MarshaK.
Marsha:
Sorry for the delay, but I had to get some addresses together for you. Phoenix is a big place so I wanted to have enough info for you to be able to locate what you are looking for. Below are my suggestions.
Quilting Fabrics: Bernina Connection, 4219 E. Indian School, Phx; Sun Valley Quilts, 9857 W. Bell, Sun City; Craftmart (2 locations), 6750 W. Peoria, Peoria & 230 E. Bell, Phoenix; & 35th Ave Sew & Vac, 3500 W. Northern, Phx.
Garment Fabrics: Sally's Fabrics (2 locations), 1235 E. Main, Mesa & 2647 W. Baseline, Mesa; Buttons & Bolts, Campbell & Ft. Lowell, Tucson. (If you are anywhere near Tucson, this shop is definitely worth looking up.)
Now for a shop that I can only describe as "The Las Vegas of Fabric Shops" you should visit SAS at 1111 E. Indian School, Phx. If you can't find it there, they don't make it. They have everything from circus tent fabric to feather boas. I am sure some of the items have been in the inventory since the store opened many years ago, but it is an experience to wander around for a while.
It sounds like you do quite a variety of things. I bought Rosemary Eichorn's "The Art of Fabric Collage." I began a to collage a vest based on an air pollution theme but ended up with one similar to the vest on Page 5. Somewhere along the line, I lost my courage for putting all those different fabrics together and even enrolled in a "Color" class at the local Bernina shop to give me confidence in what I was doing. I have numerous quarter and half yards of fabrics neatly organized in hopes that I might someday get up the nerve to give it another try.
I hope this will give you a good idea of places to investigate in Phoenix. If I run across anything new in the near future, I will post them for you. Have fun!
Audie
Hi Audie,
Vacation's over, now it's time to get back to doing things that are really fun! We were out in the Spokane, Washington area visiting my mother, her ten cats and dog that has no discipline, obedience or a shred of intelligence, not what I would call a good time. Most of the fabric shops I stopped at were in Montana, managed to get to Joann's Firefly Frenzy sale with 7- 50% off coupons and two 40% ones. My supply of Sulky's Ultra Solvy is very healthy now.
Thanks for the list of fabric shops in Phoenix, I'm not sure when or if we will get down there. The one place you called the Las Vegas of fabric stores sounds interesting, but with a husband along, I never get to spend as much time in any of the stores as I would like. Of course there is also my stash of fabrics and all the other 'stuff' that haunt me when I'm looking at new items.
I haven't tried to sew anything along the lines of Fabric Collage, I keep telling myself I don't have the right fabrics--that's a laugh, I really need to do an inventory of all the fabrics and bits and pieces that I put away, and get to it.
I hope that I will be able to visit some of the places you listed, as well as some of the bead shops--- another of my addictions. Thanks again, Marsha.
Anne Maries is no longer in business in Rockville either.
G Street Fabrics has 4 locations in the DC metro area, the one in Rockville mentioned earlier and then 3 in Virginia. Exquiste Fabrics is on K Street in downtown DC.
Mary ANn
G Street also has stores in Falls Church, Woodbridge and Centreville, Va. but Rockville is still my favorite. There are also some wonderful independent stores in the No. Va. area with fabrics you won't find elsewhere. If I can remember their names I'll post them, or if anyone is interested e-mail me and I'll dig out my receipts.
Do you know any in the Williamsburg VA area? My in-laws just moved there and I felt like a fish out of water as I could not find a fabric store not even a mom and pop independent one anywhere.
Sorry, I don't. There are probably stores in the Norfolk area. Online stores may be the best bet.
Visitors to Southwestern Ontario might also want to try Len's Mills shops (http://www.lensmill.com/first.htm). They have an enormous selection of all types of fabric, and carry some that can't be found elsewhere. When I needed a pair of webbed mitts for aquafit, I was horrified to discover that they cost nearly $30. Len's Mills carries neoprene in different thicknesses and colours. I made a pair for myself, and now I have requests from others.
The rest of the store has great deals on housewares, crafts, linens and even clothes. It's worth a visit, but confirm that they are open before you go, as the hours can be a bit odd.
Both Canadians and Americans may like Textile Outfitters (http://justmakeit.com/about/who.html). They have heavy-duty outdoor fabric and patterns, plus dozens of lycras (including bathing suit fabrics), fleeces and sporting materials (including equine products). Plus, they have just opened a new store in Calgary, Alberta.
Edited 5/3/2005 10:35 am ET by Milli
Hi, Just saw your question regarding good fabric stores in Kansas City. My daughter lives there and when I visit my two favorite stores (and the best in my opinion) are Kaplans on the Plaza and Cy Rudnicks in Crown Center. Cy's in particular is a large and wonderful shop.
The Plaza is a well known upper-end shopping center near downtown and Crown Center is part of the Hallmark Company area. Crown Center also has many other unique and very nice shops to visit. I would venture to guess that practically anybody in KC could give you directions to either!
Peg
SW MO
I just got some fabulous swatches from Sawyer Brook and when I'm in Boston in August you can be sure I'll visit their warehouse.
Bernie...what's this about a fabric warehouse in Boston? My daughter is a student there and I'm sure she doesn't know anything about it. Is there a website or something where I can find information? Thanks.
Check out their website. They are located in a Boston suburb. Apparently they have a warehouse full of fabrics. If your daughter visits, let me know what she finds. They have beautiful stuff.
Thanks Bernie! I found the website. Looks like an interesting place. We'll have to see if we can find it!
Are there any good fabric stores in Spokane, Washington? Unique fabrics and buttons and trims are what I'm interested in. Any fabric outlets or mill-end stores?
MarshaK.
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