Does anyone know

barbara · 2003-12-30T04:01:56+00:00

why so few fabric stores are out there today?I am not talking about stores that cater to home decorating or crafts,quilting, etc. Those stores are available everywhere. I am referringto stores that have a good selection of fabric for ladies sportswear,coats, and tailored suits. During the 70s and 80s I sewed out of necessity for my family. Neverhad any problem finding fabric. Even department stores offered fabric.Now that I am retired and have lots of time to sew I find the pickingpoor. I find myself wondering how the pattern companies stay inbusiness when so little fabric is being offered. What am I missinghere? Barbara

Dec 30, 2003 22 Replies

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m8tey 22 years ago

I feel like cryinging after reading an article in our local newspaper's business section today. JoAnn's is planning to cut back their fabrics and put more focus on crafts. In our area we do not need more crafts. We have Michael's (no fabric), JoAnn's (who already devotes half of the store to crafts), A.C. Moore (no fabric), the Rag Shop (who devotes 3/4 of their footage to crafts), and the areas in Walmart. Looks like we need to arrange buying trips to Asia to get halfway decent fabric. I haven't tried the computerized pattern makers yet, as I'm thinking their designs are too limited and I have no talents in that direction. However, if the pattern mfgrs don't stop cutting back in the Plus designs, I'll be forced to computerized patterns. 8-(

another Sharon

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Corasande 22 years ago

If you really look at the pattern book patterns, there are only so many patterns that can be made. So many of them are just tiny variations of another pattern. I'm a real believer in basic patterns that fit. For years I only had

5 patterns. Skirt, pant, jacket, blouse, and vest. A dress is a long blouse. Small changes to these gave me lots of choices. I go to the pattern books, and come home with no patterns, because they are all duplicates of each other. Once you get a computer pattern to fit, you have many choices.

Sandy E

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