We have not had fabric yardage for quite a few years. That seemed to be my go-to place to buy.

And the precuts they have don’t seem to be best quality . Do miss the bolts though.

Theresa

Walmart tried to get out of the fabric market years ago, and customers complained. So it was brought back. I think the problem is two-fold (pardon the pun) People say they want fabric, but just look, don't buy. The other part is that the counter is hardly ever staffed. You can't sell fabric if there's no one there to cut it.

OK, so...........Walmart.

I did manage to find a bolt of a fairly decent poly/cotton and bought a length and made a pair of pants. But it is pretty slim pickings and anything worth taking a chance on is far and few between.

And, getting someone to come and cut it almost nigh impossible! I finally got someone to come and cut and she started telling me about how they would call her at home on her day off and ask her to come in and cut fabric and I should only shop when she is there. It was just pretty darned ridiculous and I am thinking that, no, this is a big corporation and they do not work that way.

So, she cuts it and puts that sticker on the fabric and off I go to the self checkout and try to scan it and the machine wont scan it. I montion to the monitor of teh self check and he comes over, tried to scan and it wont scan. He turns to me and tries to tell me that I cant buy this at WM, they dont sell it. ^%# &%$$ what? At that moment I felt like a real "karen". I said to him, "Well, go and get someone who can scan it!" I am not normally a trouble maker like that and I have worked retail for many years and been behind the register so I am not one to go off like that. He was not a native speaker of English and he was struggling.

It was such a frustrating experience just to buy a lenght of fabric!

When he went walking off to find a supervisor to help I tried a few more times to scan it and finally it did. Both of us had tried , but this time it registered.

What was he thinking? I felt a bit sorry for him as he was in over his head .

WM is a zoo! I expect to see the bolts of fabric that they currently do have to become what you are seeing in the one near you. I have bought a couple of things there over time. But you cant depend on that.

I get so disgusted walking into a store. I see so much pure junk of all varieties. It is so disturbing that our economy is built on buying such awful and mostly useless stuff, and lots of it. Quality and value and durability are fading and giving way to cheap, useless and quickly broken and not repairable in everything!

I fear that in the near future we wont be able to even buy a fabric of good fiber.

I'm sorry that your fabric-buying options are diminishing. I remember how depressing it was when my favorite (and the closest) quilt shop closed some years ago. I am so lucky to have a huge fabric outlet store a half hour from me. They sell fabric from many fine manufactures such as Marcus, Andover, etc., and also cheaper stuff that I avoid. All cotton fabrics are $6.50 to $7.00 a yard. Baticks are a bit more, $8 or $9 as I recall. They have solved the cutting problem by allowing any buyer to cut their own fabric up to a limit of four yards. Anything larger must be cut by an employee. They have huge tables with yardsticks, scissors and stickers and pens to mark the price with. Never any waiting. The only downside is that you have to return the fabric to the shelves yourself.

Another quilt shop in the Dallas area is closing this week. They will continue their quilting business at the present location. They say they are looking for another location for the store.

bkay

Our Walmarts here dropped their sewing departments years ago - and the fabrics weren't that great either.

We do have a legacy fabric/home decor store nearby that seems to be doing fine. They opened in the 1960s, IIRC, and I even worked there when I was in college. I think what's kept them afloat is what has become a large and successful home decor service - half the retail store is dedicated to it, and they have a warehouse that provides home furnishing fabrics, etc. to the trade.

I think that's 1 reason why I find so much good fabric in local thrift stores.

I miss the piece goods/odd lots stores we used to have that thrived in the 80s. I used to get lots of great designer fabrics for pennies on the dollar. They were called Mae's Fabrics, and there were maybe 4 throughout the area. Very bargain basement vibes, with large wooden bins of piece goods to sift through. They sold yardage, notions and patterns as well.

This also reminds me of how dept stores have all dropped their outdoor garden centers.

All the Walmarts in my area only have one and two (three?) yard precuts, some fat quarters, some felt bundles and some tulle bundles. They have some pillow forms, not much batting, a small thread section and the usual needles, etc. It all happened over the summer here in the DFW area stores. I wish I had bought some of the good deals they had just prior to changing everything.

They are redoing many stores (moving stuff around) close to me. It appears they are trying to make them have all the same merchandise in the same location in each store. Example: they are moving the dog food/supplies/toys to the back of the store close to the food, when it used to be across the store close to the paint department. It seems like they are eliminating anything that requires a semi-skilled attendant like mixing paint, cutting fabric or opening the case for ammunition purchases.