Joann Fabrics is closing so I imagine alot of people are thinking about Where to Shop Supplies they used to get at Joann Fabrics. I am going to share some resources for online businesses that sell things not necessarily related to Quilting. ;) I will share some that are related to quilting as well, don’t worry.
Check out my Chat and Craft Episode 3 on Youtube.
Why is Joann’s Closing
Just a brief little recap of why Joann’s is closing. Joann Fabrics filed for bankruptcy the 1st time in early 2024 and was then bought by a private equity firm to try and keep the company going. They have filed bankruptcy again in Janurary 2025 and in Feburary where bought by a company that is basically liquidating them. But also with some benefits to some employees and they are hoping for a slow graceful closing. All stores are supposed to be closed by the end of May, last I read.
For crafters all over the country Joann’s closing is a crushing blow. I have heard both sides though. Joanns has been a local and inexpensive source of craft supplies for people for a long time. And alot of crafters don’t have the income to purchase specialty or higher priced supplies. There are also alot of crafters in rural areas that don’t have access to any other local craft supplies stores.
Being in the quilting industry myself I see alot of people talking from that point of view about Joanns fabric not being great quality and to shop local quilt shops. BUT there are so many other genres of crafters not covered in quilt shops. Yarn crafting, beading, painting, apparel sewing, florists, and then the average person wanting to try something new who isn’t invested in their craft yet. SO lots of people beyond quilting will have less access to crafting supplies.
Where to Shop Now
Your online shopping will probably increase alot. I urge you to look for small businesses to shop from even if you are only able to shop online. Jumping over to another big box store or Amazon is not the best route if we don’t want to be in a similar or worse situation in the futre. Think if this keeps happening, we ignore small business and the big box stores keep going under, at some point in the future we may only be able to shop in one location and that is NOT what we want.
What you can do if you are looking for somthing not covered below or one of these shops don’t cater to your needs or location. Do an online search and really hone in your search terms. Scroll down on the search page past the big box stores. Go to your map app and search in your area for craft store, quilt shop, apparel fabric store, bead store, yarn store, etc…. Broaden those search terms to bring up smaller more specialty shops. And go to the messages boards. Reddit, Instagram friends, facebook pages, look for like minded people of the same craft and ask around for where they shop. And when they ask you, direct them to the small business resouces you have uncovered. Spreading the love is the best way to get others to support the businesses you want to stick around.
Shops
All of these shops are a good online shopping alternatives. But some do have a Brick and Mortar shops as well.
Wawak.com – Supplies: zippers, thread, bag making, upholstery, decor, cutting, ntoions, some interfacing, garment constrution. Think all the supplies you need outside of fabric, batting, textiles, to make somthing sewn.
MoodFabrics.com – “Make it Work” yes this is the Mood fabrics from Project Runway and you can shop online. Apparel Fabric: Lots of differnt fabric for garment sewing, home decor, sewing notions, thread… Now I know shopping for garment fabric online is a trick. The nice thing about Mood Fabrics is they have great pictures of the fabric draped and folded and flat so you get a good idea of the texture and drape.
BlackBirdFabrics.com – Apparel Fabric: linens, block prints, rayon, suitings, notions, and patterns. They have a unqiue collection of apparel fabric, lovely photos, and small business apparrel patterns. Black Bird Fabrics is in Canada. A great resource for Canadians and other countries. I just mention location since shipping can sometimes make or break a purchase.
MakeandMend.com – is a brick + mortar shop and an internet thrift store for art supplies! They accept donations of gently used creative materials by drop-off, pick-up or by mail. You can often The are in Masschusetts for locals with a selection sold online as well.
Search for something similar to the thrift craft supply store in your area. You may be surprised with what you find.
SallieTomato.com – Bag Making: Zippers, Hardware, interfacings, webbing, patterns, and kits for bag making. A lot of their own brand of merchandise as well.
Zipit on Etsy – Zippers: So many zippers of high quality and excellent prices.
Spoonflower.com – Print on demand Fabric and Wallpaper: So many deigns from lots of Indie artists. I liked my own shop. ;) You can get any print printed on any substrate for the most part. From quilting cotton to linen, canvas to fleece, minky to sheer, spandex to denim. They have loads of substrates. Plus alot of shops sell wallpaper too. So great. I have bought and used spoonflower wallpaper and many of their fabric substrates. They do tend to be a bit pricer for quilting cotton, but seem to be on par for home decor fabric.
BenzieHandmade.com – Felt: Wool and Wool blend felt by the yard or in smaller sheets, floss, small handwork supplies and kits.
WoolandCo.com – Yarn Store: The Brick and Mortar is near me, I feel so lucky. They have an amazing website with so much yarn. Lots of different types and price points and they ship super quick.
Hobbii.com – Yarn: This store is based in the UK, mentioning for shipping reasons. Lots of yarn options and I find they have a large selction of lower priced yarns and acylic yarns more comparable to yarn from Joann. But also a nice selection of higher quality and more expensice yarns as well.
Beadinc.com – Beads and Jewelry Making: Lots of beading supplies. Very cute and asthetically pleasing online store.
Barrelofbeads.com – Beads and Supplies: Mainly specializing in a variety of seed beads.
SarahHearts.com – Woven Labels
Dickblick.com – Art Supplies: Canvas, paint, pens, markets, bruches, papers, watercolor, pencils, and lots of other art supplies including DMC floss.
Fabricwholesaledircet.com – Fleece: But also loads of other fabrics.
BigZfabric.com – Fleece by the yard.
StitchedModern.com – Handwork: Embroidery, punch needle, cross stitch, emboridrey floss, hoops, aida cloth.
Feelgoodfibers.com – Marektplace to sell and buy fabric that won’t be used.
Quilt Shops
Lots of small quilt shops will have bag making supplies too, along with thread, batting, interfacing, apparel fabrics. So check out your local shops to see what they carry too. Here are some online shops I love.
Noodlehead – Sells great bag patterns and hardware and hardware kits to support her patterns.
Sewtopia – Mainly Quilting Cotton but with unqiue modern items imported I don’t find elsewhere.
Hawthrone Supply Co – Mainly Quilting Cotton with alot of house designed and printed on site fabric. Plus wallpaper.
Pink Door Fabrics – Mostly Quilting Cotton with lots of bag making supplies as well.
Stitch Supply Co – Mainly Quilting Cotton with exclusive Ruby Star Society Webbing Collabs and a large selction of notions.
Kristens Craft Room – Mainly Quilting Cotton with kits and notions. New Shop.
Nova Quilt Shop – A fun mix of quilting cotton with curated bundles.
Monograms for Makers – Etsy Fabric shop with great preorders and a wide selection.
Another great resourse is this site, Quilting Hub, to find quilt shops where you are. I would deifinitely double check before you go as I have found some on there in my local area that are no longer open.
Other Supply Search Options
In my reasearch for this post I came across alot of brands that sell direct to consumer from their website.
For instance when I was searching for craft paint I found you can order from the actual acrylic craft paint brands themselves. Plus some of them sell different sizes then the size typically found in craft stores.
Plaid – Paints
Thermoweb – Interfacings
Pelloncrafts – Interfacings, batting, and fiberfill.
DMC – Embroidery Supplies
LionBrand – Lion Brand yarn
Fairfield – Fiberfill, batting, foam…
It does also seems some brands do sell when you are on their website. But they often send you to their Amazon store front.
Moving Forward
I hope this Chat and Craft Episode about Where to Shop Supplies had been helpful and interesting to you. I would encourge you to work outside the box as you are moving forward afater Joann’s closes for sourcing your craft supplies. Find small business to support and share you resources.
Don’t forget to be kind and give your Joann’s employees grace during this closing time.
P.S. My Friend Stephanie and I are going to embark on a journey to complile a list of all the crafting stores in the Chicagoland Area. Please email me or comment below if you know of any fun fabric, craft, or art related stores in Chicago or the Suburbs that are a must visit. We will be visiting a bunch of the next month or so and have a video about all the ones we visit along with a list of all the shops available in the area.
Thanks for stopping by!