Fabric Shopping in Spokane

I did buy a bit of fabric on this trip. Not much, because I need to use what’s in the stash, but a few pieces here and there. The Walmart remnant racks in Spokane were a disappointment. I was surprised, as ours here in Kalispell has been kept stocked most of the summer. The Walmart in Spokane Valley, which has a large remnant rack, was full of icky polyester knits. I wondered to myself, as I looked through it, if the store was being punished for something.

The one remnant I bought was a brushed knit, enough for a Harper Cardigan.

I really do need to get started on my class samples.

At the Quilting Bee—the large quilt store—I bought a couple of yards of Essex Linen in a beautiful acid green. I scored another couple of yards at the Hobby Lobby nearby, which had a bolt of red Essex Linen on clearance. Those will probably end up as dresses next summer.

All I bought at Joann Fabrics was enough black cotton poplin on clearance to start experimenting with some pants patterns. I feel like I need to move on from jeans and save them for wearing around here.

I bought two beautiful rayon batiks at the quilt store where I taught:

Black and hot pink? Yes, please. These likely will end up as blouses for next summer, too.

On Friday morning, before class, my sister texted me with the screenshot of a conversation that looked like it came from a local Charlotte, NC social media group. (That’s where she lives.) One of the participants in the conversation had been asked to leave her Joann store while shopping because the store was having staffing issues and had to close for the day. I tucked that little piece of information away, but when I got back to the Airbnb after class, I went down some Reddit rabbit holes reading about what is happening with Joann Fabrics. The staffing issues are not unique to our Kalispell store, apparently. I found story after story about HR issues, pay cuts, unrealistic staffing expectations, and warehouse/inventory problems. Everything I read lined up with what I’ve been seeing here.

Either Joann Fabrics is seeing the effects from years of gross financial mismanagement or a private equity firm came in and is gutting it. (I think that was what happened to Hancock Fabrics.) Whatever the explanation, I have resigned myself to the fact that Joanns is not long for this world. I won’t be the least bit surprised if the company declares bankruptcy before the end of 2023.

Which leaves us with a problem. Who is going to sell apparel fabric if Joanns goes under? Or, more accurately, who is going to sell apparel fabric in brick-and-mortar stores so that sewists can see and touch before buying?

Quilt stores can take up some of the slack—most of the major quilting fabric companies also manufacture apparel fabric, although that fact isn’t well known. Moda has some lovely rayons. Art Gallery, Robert Kaufman, and QT Fabrics all carry very nice knits. Getting those fabrics would be easy for quilt stores, but quilt stores are understandably reluctant to tie up a lot of money in inventory that might not move. I’ve also found that most quilt stores, when they do order apparel fabric, tend to stick to the safe neutrals and muddy earth tones. I was very surprised to see those bright rayons at the store where I taught.

Hobby Lobby might also pick up some slack. They already carry some apparel fabrics, although I’d like to suggest to them that fewer muddy earth tones and more bright colors would not go amiss. (I sound like a broken record.) And who knows—Walmart might expand their apparel remnant rack to carrying actual stock in their stores.

[The Walmart.com website has extensive fabric listings, as does Amazon.com. Neither of them, however, has a search engine that even comes close to what Fabric.com had, which allowed searchers to drill down and find exactly what they were searching for.]

Disruption brings opportunity. I think the market is there—witness all the online apparel fabric retailers—but not being able to see and feel fabric in person before buying is a problem. I am curious to see what happens.