This weekend the crafting and sewing world faced the reality of the beginning of the end for a retail staple. The retailer Joann entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy for a second time in less than a year. Liquidation sales began in the 500 stores slated for closure under the agreement with another 300 or so remaining open,... for now.
For many people, going to the fabric store with a mother, grandmother or aunt is a cherished memory. Many people are posting on Reddit and other social media sites about their memories of sitting at the pattern bar while Mom/Grandma/Aunt looked through the pages of patterns to find the right one. Then it was off to find the fabric, get it measured and cut, find the notions recommended and any trim, and head to the checkout.
In many ways, this is a bygone time when it was more common for women to be stay-at-home mothers, and to sew - often taking on the sewing of clothes for special occasions, as it was much more affordable to get a quality piece of clothing that way.
Times have changed, drastically, and that has played a part in the demise of Joann stores. Few women have the luxury of NOT working, and the opening up of the global markets (including the scourge of "fast fashion") has reversed the reality that making one's clothes is more cost-effective than buying them. With the better apparel fabrics costing $20/yard and more, spending close to $100 to take home a not-even-started piece of clothing lost its appeal.
The TIME factor was also a problem. Full-time working people have a good 50 - 60 hours of every week tied up in working, including the commute. Then there are the usual household chores, running kids to extracurricular activities, laundry, meals,... and getting up the next day to do it all again.
Joann and other similar stores saw this trend and began to expand their offerings to appeal to the "just in time" shoppers, dialing back on fabric and sewing while ramping up cheap home decorations and crafty items. I understand the need to evolve with the times, but I do question going so far in on the cheap decorations and the FLEECE (tons of fleece). I kept thinking that someone MUST be looking at sales figures to keep ordering all that fleece, but it wasn't SELLING like there were sales figures. Perhaps it was fabric that could fill up the store, and was extremely CHEAP to buy wholesale.
I don't know that, but I do know that there's a LOT of really ugly, and strangely-patterned fleece in most Joann stores that are not going to sell, even at deep discount prices.
We are living in very disruptive times. There's a lot of uncertainty, everywhere we look and so when something that has been a part of our lives for decades closes down, it adds to that sense of disruption. It's not the first time sewing aficionados and crafters have lost a valued store. When I was in high school, and my mother was still sewing special occasion clothing for my sister and I, Piece Goods Shop was the go-to place for patterns, fabric and notions. At that time, we could not conceive of a time without a sewing/fabric store. Many larger cities had multiple retailers, and there was at the time enough demand to sustain them. But, as we know, things change.
Today, as Joann stores across the nation begin to liquidate their existing stock, and the employees look for new job opportunities, people that sew will be wondering where to go and what to do. Online shopping for fabric is less than ideal, and many areas do not have local fabric stores. Even in areas that do, the fabric is often more suited to crafting and quilts than apparel, and the coupon-trained Joann customers will have to adjust to the price differentials or resort to online.
Sewing has been a significant part of my life since I was born. My grandmother made us nightgowns and pajamas, and sewed clothes for our dolls when we were little. My mother sewed clothes throughout my life, up to and including my wedding dress in 1985! Although I sewed a lot of clothes for my kids when they were toddlers, I am not that adventurous anymore, mostly due to the fact that I have a full-time job and a couple side-hustles that take a lot of my time. Still, as I have showcased on this site, I enjoy sewing and love finding projects that I can fit into my hectic schedule and that help keep my "sewing chops" sharp.
As it relates to Joann, I could probably live on the stash in my craft room and never run out of fabric (or yarn!). Still, I will miss the quick trips for something that I got an idea about, and as a place to browse when I am feeling "blue".
I will shop for yarn and fabric at local shops, but I know it won't be as often. Maybe that will be a positive thing (for me, personally). Less browsing, few to no coupons, and it's possible, even LIKELY, that I will stop ADDING to my stashes and will crochet, knit and sew from the supplies I already have on hand. That's a GOOD thing for me, so I am pivoting to that when I feel sad about the disappearance of Joann from my travels and shopping.
I am sad for the people whose small businesses counted on Joann for their supplies, but more than that, I feel deeply for the employees who are being let go into a most uncertain economy. Let's all take EXTRA care to be nice to these folks who are serving us as we scoop up any bargains or deals in Joann's liquidation sales. There's absolutely NO issue that we may have as a shopper that is more important, or life changing, than what these folks are facing. Let's make sure we are KIND and considerate and channeling ONLY our decent human being selves.
Here's to the original intent of the founders/owners of Joann stores. We appreciated you for decades, and will miss what we remember of the GOOD times shopping with you, even as we mourn the mess that was made of your business once it left your family's hands. Thanks for the many memories and opportunities to express our creativity through the medium of fabric, yarn and other crafts.
(C) 2025 Stitch 'n Dish
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