Replies

1. 
   midnitesewer | Sep 09, 2005 10:40pm | #1

   This is great news. More money spent on home sewing may save our favorite stores and our beloved Threads. Sewers unite!

2. 
   mimi | Sep 10, 2005 05:40am | #2

   I read this yesterday too and immediately thought MORE FABRIC STORES!!  Or at least a better selection of fabrics.

   mimi

1. 
   sbsterling | Sep 10, 2005 10:48pm | #3

   If we're lucky!

2. 
   madameblue | Sep 12, 2005 12:22am | #5

   Amen to that! There's really only one where I live!

   Bobbi

1. 
   mimi | Sep 12, 2005 02:15am | #6

   I know what you mean.  The only fabric store in our town (the state capital) is joann's.  They are starting to have more apparel fabric, but for the past twenty years if I wanted anything of quality I had to go over to G Street Fabrics in Rockville Maryaland.  That is about 80 miles away!  It has been hard to find reliable sources on the web, but they are starting to crop up. 

   Please let there be a resurgance in sewing!

   mimi 

1. 
   Josefly | Sep 15, 2005 02:46am | #7

   Amen. To more sewers and more fabric stores. The Hancock's and Joann's fabric stores in my area (Atlanta) seem to have basically the same fabrics year after year. It's very hard to get inspired anymore.

1. 
   mimi | Sep 15, 2005 03:51am | #8

   josefly:  you would think that more fabric would be available online.  I don't think anything could beat the rush of feeling the perfect fabric with your own hands, in just the right color (and on sale to boot!) though.

   mimi

2. 
   kjp | Sep 15, 2005 04:02pm | #9

   We do have a fabric store nearby, and I live close to NYC, but I have been buying most of my fabric online for the past year. 

3. 
   mimi | Sep 15, 2005 08:04pm | #10

   kjp:  That is wonderful news.  Do you have any sources that you would recommend?

   mimi

4. 
   mrjac | Sep 20, 2005 07:40pm | #11

   For wonderful, quality fabrics, I recommend Les Fabriques in Charlottesville, VA. It is not online, but if you call them, they will send you swatches in the fabric type you desire (silk, cotton, etc.)

   I have never bought anything from them that wasn't superb in quality. It is worth the phone call, the wait, and the price (not discount!). Give it a try. You can get the phone number over the Internet by using the name of the store and location.

    

    

5. 
   mimi | Sep 20, 2005 08:28pm | #12

   Thanks for the contact, I will look into them!

   mimi

6. 
   mimi | Sep 20, 2005 08:50pm | #13

   josefly:  I would have expected a big city like Atlanta to have more fabric stores, but my daughter agrees with you, it is just the chains.  What a disappointment!  Now that she is out on her own she is starting to sew (yay!) and I am taking my old Kenmore down to her this weekend.

   Are there no independent fabric stores in the Atlanta area?

   mimi

7. 
   Josefly | Sep 21, 2005 04:42pm | #14

   Hi, Mimi. There are precious few garment fabric stores I've been able to find in the Atlanta area. There IS a good one on Cheshire Bridge Road--Gail K Fabrics. They have wonderful wools and linens and silks, and the largest supply of fancy fabrics for formals, wedding gowns, etc., I've seen around. They're willing to order, and have a number of books of fabrics for that purpose. This is the kind of shop you have to prowl around in -- bolts of fabrics, especially the out-of-season ones, piled high to the ceilings. Cottons, including batistes, are in the back of the store, mostly, in a dark area. I've seen people carrying flashlights in there, and I think it's a good idea. These cottons and rayons and blends are not the same old stuff you see at the chain stores, but it is hit or miss. They also have the best selection of buttons I've seen. They have a few old pattern books, mostly, I guess, for estimating yardage, but few actual patterns. What kind of sewing does your daughter want to do? There are also some quilting shops and several wonderful large home textile stores - Forsyth Fabrics, Lewis and Sherron, Calico Corners.I haven't bought fabric online, yet, but I plan to start shopping. As you suggested earlier, though, the feel of the fabric is important -- the drape, the crispness, the weight, sheerness, texture, are hard to determine by sight alone, and can the color seen on my screen be accurate? I would need to get samples before I ordered, I think, in most cases, and that adds to the time of the project.Hope your trip to Atlanta is a good one.Edited 9/21/2005 9:48 am ET by Josefly

   Edited 9/21/2005 9:57 am ET by Josefly

3. 
   Elaray | Sep 11, 2005 12:50am | #4

   Well, I'm certainly happy to hear that more people are sewing. It's a wonderful way to spend free time. (Or it's wonderful reason to Make time and put off housework!)