I know some of you hate wal mart but...

but for those of you who ever buy craft supplies there, the lady at the craft counter told me they are selling all their fabric and once it is gone, no walmart is going to carry fabric..........................

damn it!

 

I love looking for fabric at thrift stores...

It's cheap too cheaper than wal-mart

 

"let's not lose our cool else we are no better than machines"
derek zoolander

 

funny... i've heard the same dire warning from the "ladies who knit", but my local Wally World still has a ton of both, and seem to be restocking weekly. Maybe its only a US thing.

 

must be a US thing cuz I haven't heard anything about that either and I was just there last Thurdsay. I hope not...it's the only place that I can get any fabric at all...there's not thrift stores or anything around here other than that.

 

Maybe its just the walmart in your area. I bought fabric today and asked when a particular fabric would be in stock and the woman behind the cutting counter told me in a week. That to me implies that they are going to continue to carry fabric. Also, the shelves are always full and alway have bolts of new fabric at least once a week. Granted the walmart here is one of the largest because we are close to the walmart headquarters in Bentonville but I don't believe that ALL walmarts everywhere are discontinuing fabric.

 

I live very close to the Mal-Wart headquarters and the company spokesperson has been saying in the local papers for weeks that they are "not going to end fabric sales" but that they may reduce the size of the fabrics area. They say it is because fabrics takes up a lot of floor space and use too much employee time in relation to the amount of profit it brings in. Lots of their employees--not the corporate ones, just the associates-- say fabric will probably not be around much longer. They think the wedding stuff and other crafty things will stay, but items that need to be sold by the yard will go away.

 

http://www.nwaonline.com/articles/2006/12/04/business/120506wmfabrics.txt

FYI--this is from my local paper. There are many comments from WM employees.
I personally don't buy fabric from Mal-Wart unless I can't find what I need any where else. I try not to buy anything from them. I see everyday how poorly their employees are treated and I know from experience that the customers are often treated poorly. I try to shop other places when I can.

 

I was told the same about the fabrics in walmart. Shame they had nice prices.

 

i do buy at thrift shops when i can but i buy so much, i never can find all i need there so it is a once a week trip to all the local thrift shops and it takes a lot of my sewing time and costs so much in gas money... i buy sheets and stuff from the thrift shops when they dont have fabric and when the sheets are in good condition the only thing is a lot of the shops sell sheets with stains and some of them smell like pee, and i dont even bother with trying to buy em and clean em up...........


sweetersappe i know they treat customers poorly, i had a customer service woman make fun of me with another customer while i was trying to return something, i had to call HQ and she was let go over the whole situation...

but its the only place here to buy fabric at less than $7 a yard... I want to start ordering in bulk but the places i have contacted have been rude and told me that i can not order untill i have a brick and mortar business which is bullshit. i have a tax id, that should be their only concern

 

Have you tried Hancocks fabric online? I don't disagree that its always a score when you can find fabric at thrift stores but it can be time consuming and that cuts into your sewing time. I have been ordering online from hancocks whenever they have a good deal and the best part is I can do it late at night so it dosn't get in the way of work or other everyday things. They also have free shipping a lot and have a nice selection. This weekend they had a huge sale and I got 8 patterns at 99 cents a piece and a ton of great fabric with free shipping - all in all I got over 20 yards of fabric and my patterns for under 80.00, they also sell muslin by the bolt. Don't quote me but I believe I paid 9.99 for 15 yards, again it was on sale. Just a suggestion but it beats driving all over and wasting all your gas and not finding what your looking for.

 

havent been there, only been to hancocks store and they are pretty "upper class" here

i will have to check out their site

 

Wal-Mart is closing out their fabric and crafts department in order to use that space for large appliances. As far as I know, it's a corporate-wide move, and I'd expect the switch around New Years.

I rarely ever buy at Wally world, because I've found a lot of their fabric to be of poor quality. Every once in a while I stumble upon something decent for cheap, though. For the same basic reason, I don't shop thrift stores for fabric. I don't want to end up with questionable quality, or not know the fiber content for sure. I figure, if we're putting so much love and energy into this work, and people pay good money for it, I want my customers to end up with a garment that will last a good long time!

 

haha, I love that movie! "Zoolander"


Off topic: Last time I've been here you had trouble with your finger how it feels now?

 

I think you can buy fabric on-line from Jo-Anns as well. And maybe Hobby Lobby. I really like the Hancock's here. It's a bunch of sweet old ladies. I use coupons and watch the sales flyer and I can get some pretty good deals.

 

i go to joannes online sometimes but they just dont have deals on what i need... ever =( maybe once in a blue moon do they have something like cord on sale for a good price.........


my finger is fine now, no problems with it at all.....


why i liked wal mart is i'd find really thick durable corduroy for $2.44 a yard... and this was stuff that you can wash 800 times and run it over with a car and it wouldnt fall apart LOL

 

The thing to do with Jo-Anns, is not shop online but at a store. Find the fabrics that you like and most like to work with, and SAVE THE SKU #! If you do that, and keep an eye on the deals (every item there goes on sale for half off at least a couple times a year) you can have your local store order fabric for you in mad yardage.

My partner has been working for them for years, and over time we've learned how best to play their deals. And his employee discount applies all the time, so if someone custom orders something that'll require buying fabric we at least have that.

 

hate to say but WalMart also has a good selection of yarn, and it's cheaper there than at Michael's, and a better variety then at Zellers (the Canadian version of Target)... so 9 times out of 10 I'm at Wal Mart buying my yarns.... like every day stuff.

For fancier yarns or better variety I do go to Michaels, which I'm sure ain't much better than any other chain etc....

 

If you want some great yarns check out the handmade yarns on Etsy. I've been slowly going through my current stash of store bought yarns so that I can start purchasing my yarns strictly off of etsy.

I have bought some fabulous handspun, handpainted yarns from Australia, Pennslyvania, Colorado and Wisconsin. All from sellers on Etsy.

I highly recommend supporting small indy businesses and purchasing handmade, becuase atleast you know your money is going to an honest source.

 

funky, you can sometimes buy great cord at jo-anns. I once bought two different cords and an entire bolt of something velvetty (and quite sturdy) for 88 cents a yard! That was one of the best fabric scores! I was during one of their "clean sweep" sales. Humblebee probably know all about those.
I just do as much shopping around as I can--not only for fabric, but for groceries and everything--so I can avoid mal-wart. I shop at the little grocery in my town, dollar general, aldi's, various markets and health food stores. The only thing I always buy at wal-mart is my alergy medicine. And I'm looking for a different place to buy that.