Michael's is definitely not Jo-Anns and I miss it. I've ordered yarn on line once I know the brand and style. I'm also lucky enough to have a old-fashioned fabric store nearby which has all the fabrics from fine silks to upholstery as well as trims and braids and sewing notions and interfacing to help fill in the gap. But I still won't go into hobby lobby.

you could probably find a lot of them (some even personalized) online.

i'm not a crafter but i do go to michael's any time i need something framed. they do an awesome job and have even occasionally helped me pick out the best mattings to compliment what i'm having framed.

Annie - heartening to find another who won’t darken the doors of Hobby Lobby! We’re in minority.

I don't sew, but I do knit, and finding yarn has become quite a journey. All of our local yarn stores have closed. I've been ordering from a place in Illinois, but choosing colors and fibers on the internet isn't satisying. Plus, all of my NYC trimming and button stores have closed. A lot of the button manufactureres are out of business.

Michaels doesn't have anything in the category of fine yarn, and neither do they have nice buttons, only packs of colored buttons of various sizes and colors.

I wouldn't go to Hobby Lobby if the items were free.

I like Hobby Lobby and Chick-Fil-A. Also, I detest any organized religion of any sort!

Once people get ahold of an idea, God departs and dogma takes over!

Agreeing with Nina that there's more available from Michaels online - including coupons.

And you can do store pickup for shipped items too, IIRC.

There's a Michaels just around the corner from me - and a fabric store too. I already have enough fabric and patterns to last me forever, tho. I've always checked the bins/shelves at local thrift stores for fabric and notions and found some great deals over the years. They often have yarns and cord too.

If my Michael’s could expand into the space next door, I wonder if they could have actual sewing and needlework departments.

Some Hobby Lobbies have decent sewing departments, but not all. I hate shopping for certain things on line. I need to feel and see the real colors etc. Michaels said they would take up JoAnn's slack and carry many of their brands but I've yet to see it happen.

I read an article today, can’t remember where or i would link it, that some sewers are hoping to create a Joann co-op, like REI or Ace. It will probably take awhile to get off the ground.

Arcy, I think most Michael’s just don’t have the space. We have some empty bigger storefronts, maybe they could move to bigger digs.

I don't sew or knit anymore, but I will say that recently I had a nice poster framed at Michael's and was shocked by how great a job they did and how little I paid after discounts.

@Bunny i have found the same thing. with coupons and in-store discounts, the total cost for framings i have had done was a fraction of the total cost. i think they offer these discounts all the time. over 20 years and numerous memorial portraits done, i have always gotten a significant discount. these are just a few...

My issue isn't with HL's religion...but rather that they went to the scotus and were (incorrectly IMO) granted the right to exclude insurance coverage for contraception for their employees. It's one thing to freely exercise your religion. It's another to warp the 1st amendment and foist your beliefs on your employees particularly about such private matters which should be between patient and doctor.

Yes - ditto to what Annie explains. This is not a recent occurence - it’s been this way for awhile. 2014 ruling

I don't care what your religion is, just don't let it make life difficult for other people who do not follow it. Which is what HL did. I won't set foot inside.

Forgot to mention the last time I was in the Michaels near me, they had an aisle of fabric at decent prices - not a huge selection, tho.

bpath - we may have seen the same article. There was one that popped up online from the Guardian 2 days ago about JoAnn Fabrics fans contemplating opening again but as a worker-backed co-op

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/sep/24/joann-fabrics-fans-crafts-co-op

Annnie - how lucky you are to still have a well-stocked shop that is local.

Nice to know about the framing. I used to go to AC Moore, but that's now gone too.

Michael's website did show items that I could have ordered but I wanted to mend the sweater and give it back to her today. The annoying part about their website is that it showed several items were in stock in one of the Michael's near me. When I went with my list one of the sales staff just smiled and said they didn't have any of those and showed me where to look. Their display was nearly empty and only had about 20 individual pieces and none of the assorted packages.

I've been using Hobby Lobby for notions, they have seam binding for .99cents. We have a Mill Outlet fabric store, privately owned that's FANTASTIC! Or...online...Fabric Guru.

I greatly miss JoAnn Fabric store and other fabric stores. So many times I have wanted to get something. Michael’s, Walmart do not come close. I want to feel, see fabric, yarn, thread and goods; I do not want to buy online or order without seeing, feeling.

I believe the company went out of business because of poor management high up, not because there was no interest or need on the part of consumers. It was relaxing and interesting to go to JoAnn’s. I often ended up finding other useful items beyond those that I needed to check off my list that day.

I’m reminded of decades ago when getting over the flu, I was shopping in downtown Boston at a fabric store. I saw this adorable, well-made little Singer sewing machine with a case. It was the white colored Featherweight. Simple portable sewing machine. I bought it for $99! I still have it and it has appreciated in value and still stiches well — forward and reverse and still fun to use.

▪️https://www.ebay.com/itm/128100667916?_skw=singer+featherweight+sewing+machine+white&itmmeta=01M3W0ZQDGNAET60CCEK0RB5A3&hash=item1dd365120c:g:z9wAAeSwlvRquF~s&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAABAGfYFPkwiKCW4ZNSs2u11xAWgPlgvFwxcWpjc%2FNv5mKeySkHxIeyc3ikvJNR4XGB9dGCf3Owu%2B3km--N4RWRZM8gaQv0dpCiTyckBq1MkCHwbj7lzea%2BWm7C3qI7YMVy0aN%2Fw4liaAuEWyMP4IV%2FXWhtEH7oNn19bSFmLwBURkXB%2B9SfernOKKjTFYfex%2BLlB0ipdOzbCDsX%2FD9f2PajqPaScowYpc6cAfHd6R9vtx0V0bk2N91DfuvL%2BRF9Os0LJYLPsdVCLpd4AH5U%2FZeJCfkbjOfjHa6Y%2FWKPT2O2tStFSiKCCJG1uVP%2FdofrxmNW8SfH3wYc55V%2BE%2BIWGtXJ2hw%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMjPf-gJ9o

Yikes! Maybe I should sell mine. I’ve got to start thinning the herd.

Anyway, I sure wish JoAnn’s was still a few miles away.

@maire-cate, photo of the sweater and hole? I may have lavender yarn. Is it lightweight wool?

Also, you might ask about mending it on Ravelry.com

Oh Petalique - Thank you so much for your offer. This wasn't an expensive sweater just a little girl's size 4 Land's End cardigan. My grand daughter will probably out grow it in a few months. Their new puppy got excited and jumped up and grabbed the sweater and thought it was a tug of war game when my grand daughter tried to grab it away. You'd laugh at my poor attempt to mend it. I've never knitted and the hole was larger than a quarter with missing yarn and ragged edges.

I can sew adequately for my needs and over the years have done intricate crewel, needlepoint and embroidery. I naively thought I would just use my embroidery thread and embroider a star to cover the hole. I'm not sure what it looked like but it definitely didn't look like a star.

That's when I decided to buy an applique and whip stitch it to cover the hole.

My DDIL came over last night to pick it up and my grand daughter was thrilled. So I gave my DDIL the appliques in case she wanted to use them to iron on a denim jacket or backpack or for future puppy misadventures.

Annie - now that is a fabric store!

Great repair job @maire_cate! That little puppy is resting up for the next tug of war game that was so much fun!

Thanks KW. A heavier knit would have been easier, this was really lightweight.

Nice color match and cute repair.

I find that I am making an additional hobby of fabric collection these days. I had the opportunity to buy a stash of quilting cottons, mostly precut but some yardage, mostly at $3 a yard or less during the pandemic. I have them on shelves in a closet, but they aren't what I'm needing for the things at the top of my list. I'm going to have to make a point of using them.

I've bought some fabric at Michaels, some online from quilt shops and some cottons at a new fabric store in our former Joann location - Parisina. They are out of Mexico and this was their first US store. The only fabrics I am likely to buy there are cotton prints, and they only have one partial wall of them. It's a limited selection, but I bought some batiks at$4.99 a yard and one yard I bought was apparently on clearance for $1.99 -- had I known that I would have bought the remaining yard or two.

I avoid HL if at all possible, and it is usually possible. Every 2-3 years I need to look for something I can't get elsewhere or in time, ususally something for my son's choirs. Once was jewely finishings for necklaces to be worn at a concert. Joann was still open then but neither they nor Michaels had what I needed. I found somehting at HL, they were half price -- and they were such poor quality that sme of the necklaces didn't make it through a single wearing (middle school girls, but still). I made extra, so we got throughthe concert, but good grief. Another reason to avoid HL

When Joann went into its final bankruptcy, and a few times since, I have thougth briefly about opening a fabric shop -- just fabric and connected items (embroidery perhaps, but probably not yarn for knitting and crochet -- they seem to more options). I see and feel the need -- I know of locations sitting empty, I know someone who does fabric liquidations and would be a starting point -- but I stay busy as it is. I still think about it, but I don't think I need a new full time job. Tell me again how retirement is supposed to be relaxing....

What a pretty repair!

I will accept wayward pup. Free training, but it might take 12 years, if that’s okay. Adorable puppin.

“Also, I detest any organized religion of any sort!

Once people get ahold of an idea, God departs and dogma takes over!”

Gee Sherry, that all sounds pretty …… dogmatic. 🐶

Nicely done Maire!

Jo-Anns went bankrupt due to a LBO. The business was a going and successful business until the takeover....they loaded it up with debt, pocketed the cash and then the business couldn't support the debt and over it went. Been going on for decades....

remember Gimbels in the 80s? Same thing.

They were fostering 2 litter mates. Bogart, the little male above has been placed and the new family will pick him up this weekend. His sister, Ingrid is still available. The rescue group brought them all the way from Georgia to our area - near Philadelphia. DH would take a puppy in a hot minute - but he realizes that his health is too poor and he's too unstable to be around a little one. So he just enjoys the dogs from the safety of the sofa at DS's house.

“Religion“ has killed more people than anything else!

Keeping the crowds down at Hobby Lobby works for me! Your ignorance is my bliss! There's always a huge line as it is.

I was just thinking the other day "what are people doing that sew, now that Joann's Fabric isn't around?" There is this new trend to sew your own clothing. I see FB posts all the time and wonder where they get their stuff. I have seen people using sheets for the fabric which is only kind of useful for certain things. I sew a little bit, usually just repairs and dog bedding type stuff. I can usually find what I need at Walmart as far as thread and notions. They have a tiny amount of fabric.

Thrift stores are a place to look for fabrics too...drapes, bedding...

In the 10 years before they closed, JoAnn’s stores carried less fabric and more seasonal home decor/florals and general crafts. My superstore had aisles of polar fleece and some of their home dec fabric seemed to sit for years. It was a source for zippers and thread, but that’s about it. Presently, I order fabric swatches from online sources. It can get pricey, but it’s the only way to verify color and texture.

Annie reminds me that we have two large fabric stores nearby-ish. One I think is more household/upholstery fabric, I bought some upholstery fabric there many years ago and it’s still around. The other store is older than I am, but I’ve never been. I need some curtains so maybe I’ll head down there.

I have to feel the material! Even ready-made for some simple sheers is hard to find. JCPenney, BBB, used to be handy for a quick window fix.

I still miss Pat Catans, they were replaced by Michaels in my area. However, I don't recall Pat Catans selling fabric. But I'm not a sewer.

Annie, thanks for telling us about Stoddards. Those huge places are amazing. unfortunately, these days I’m more aspirational than productive. Entering one of those huge stores with rows of fabric bolts, ceiling high, makes me feel like an utter failure ;)